On average, college students take about five courses for about 15 credits per semester. In most cases, the maximum amount of credit hours a student is permitted to register for during the fall or spring is 21 credits. If a student wanted to take more than 18 credits, they must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and obtain the permission of the student’s Department Chairperson, Dean of the School or Provost. So how was I able to finesse my way into taking 30 credit hours in one semester?
For starters, I was a dual student-athlete majoring in Mathematics at Queens College. Although I played sparingly in the men’s basketball program, I was able to achieve some success as part of the Queens College Track and Field Program. During my time as a track and field athlete, I contributed to the Outdoor Conference Championship campaign in 2014. Additionally, I won four All-Conference honors as part of the 4×100-meter relay, the 4×200-meter relay (indoor season), 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles.
In terms of academics, I was extremely studious and I spent a lot of time developing a good rapport with my academic advisors and the chairperson of the mathematics department. I was able to confide in the faculty and staff members, sharing the issues that I may have in and out of the classroom. Hence, I did not have much pushback from the members of the Undergraduate Scholastic Standards Committee (USSC) when it came to obtaining consent to take 10 courses.
What courses did I take that semester?
Some people may argue that my classes were probably easy. Well, the difficulty is in the mind of the observer. In the spring 2015 semester, I was permitted to take three graduate courses as a matriculated second-year (undergraduate) student. Here’s a quick look at my course load for the spring 2015 semester:
My elective courses were ACCT 101: Introduction to the theory and Practice of Accounting I (three credit units), ACCT 261: Business Law I (three credit units) and ASTR 1: General Astronomy (three credit units). I was given an additional credit as a member of a varsity team sport.
My required (applied mathematics track) economics course in that semester was ECON 202: Price Theory (three credit units).
My required undergraduate mathematics courses were MATH 202: Advanced Calculus (three credit units), MATH 223: Differential Equations with Numerical Methods I (three credit units) and MATH 231: Linear Algebra I (three credit units).
On top of that, my three required graduate mathematics courses were MATH 505: Mathematical Problem Solving (three credit units), MATH 618: Foundation of Geometry (three credit units) and MATH 619: Number Theory (three credit units).
Though I was very fortunate to make it out of the tumultuous semester with a 3.0 GPA and a degree in hand, I was able to walk away with three lessons I learned from the experience:
1. Failure is inevitable.
In school, I was programmed to believe that failure is horrible. I was implored to strive for a 4.0 GPA. I was told that good grades would lead to elite employment opportunities. This notion is far from the truth.
Before taking 10 courses, I took seven classes (21 credit hours) and obtained a 2.05 GPA in the fall 2014 semester. I failed my linear algebra and probability/statistics courses during that semester. I can assure you that failure is inevitable. In addition to dealing with the academic woes from the previous semester, I did not receive any internship offers. Failure.
Moreover, perfection is a myth. If you are chasing perfection, you are holding yourself back. You are reserving yourself from giving your best effort toward achieving what you want in your academic and professional endeavors. It is imperative to fail forward on your way to success.
2. Time is your biggest competitor.
People love to say they are competing against themselves. I would argue that people compete against themselves when they are practicing. When people are practicing, they are training to become better than they were in the past.
When it really matters, time is your biggest competitor. If you really want to complete a goal that really matters to you, set a deadline. With this action, you are drafting a binding contract with your goals. You are ultimately responsible for completing your objectives for your goals.
3. If it’s possible to accomplish the impossible, it’s possible that nothing is impossible.
Taking 10 courses in a semester may not be considered a world record. But world records exist for a reason. World records are also meant to be broken by people who believe that it is possible to accomplish the impossible.
However, it is impossible to complete a task if you don’t commit to that mission. No one has an obligation or the insight to tell you what is either impossible or possible for you. Everyone can determine their limits on their own. It all depends on how one can react to the failures that have led them to success.
The only question that you need to ask yourself is: How far are you willing to go to get what you want?
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