Most students build a semester schedule with 14 to 18 credit hours of courses. To graduate in four years, you will need to average about 15 hours per semester.
Here is an example of a good schedule for a first semester freshman. Notice that each item in the list is a clickable link that will answer questions about that category.
With ST 101 H , Math, COS 100, and possibly ENG 101, you should have between 8 and 12 hours. You will need one to two more courses to complete your schedule. There are a couple of ways to find courses. One is to look at your Degree Requirements, another is to fill admissions deficiencies in Foreign Languages, and a third is to explore possibilities for a second major or a minor.
Taking the right number of semester hours is important for your success. At first when you look at your schedule, you will say "What am I going to do with the rest of my time?" That is because High School and College are very different. In College, we expect that you will spend 2 to 3 hours working on a course outside of class for every hour in class. That means if you take 15 semester hours of course work, you will be spending 45 to 60 hours during your week on school work. Some of you may be more efficient in your studying and might be able to take a little bit more. Some will find 15 hours more than you can handle. In your first semester, try about 15 hours and in later semesters we can add more or take less depending on your experiences.
If you have taken the AP exam or an IB course you may receive NCSU credit for these courses. You need to be absolutely sure your scores were sent to the Admissions Office at NCSU. Many times students take AP or IP courses in their sophomore and junior years and do not request this. You must request this for each year. Only official scores from ETS are accepted. Click here for information about NCSU credit for AP and IB courses.
Register for your classes based on what credits you know or expect to get as a result of these courses.
If you have taken courses through a community college or a four year school for college credit, you must request that a transcript be sent to the Admissions Office at NCSU. Do this immediately if you have not already done so.
