How many Classes is it safe to take a year while on active duty?

[EazyE]

I'm halfway done with my bachelors and was thinking about taking 3 classes at a time to get my degree faster. I'm active duty Air Force and I was wondering if three classes at a time is too much or not.

[rlw74]

Depends. Are you talking about studying for DSST exams, taking courses at a community college or using someone like straighterline / study.com ?
I personally preferred to take one course at a time. I could usually finish a course within a few days to a week when I was solely focused on that one course. That allowed me to finish 5-6 courses a month. The benefit with the ACE courses (or testing for that matter) was that I could spend any free time I had on it when I wanted to. If I needed a couple days off because of a busy weekend I could take the time off then pick up where I left off. I could test when I was ready. I was on my own schedule, not someone else's schedule. If you want to go the route many of us on this forum are taking then I recommend one course at a time and do as much as you can when you can. You may be surprised at how quickly you can get through the courses.

[dfrecore]

It sounds like you're actually taking online courses at a college? If so, then it would really depend on what your time is like. There's no way for anyone here to be able to tell you this without knowing your personal situation (spouse? kids? how many hours a day you work? how much free time you have to study or go to school?). Too many variables here.

[Collegelady2]

Crank those courses out depending on how much time u have

[bjcheung77]

I'm halfway done with my bachelors and was thinking about taking 3 classes at a time to get my degree faster. I'm active duty Air Force and I was wondering if three classes at a time is too much or not.

You need to see how much time you have and how much energy you've got when deciding amount of courses.
It all boils down to time management, if you have enough time and dedication for X courses, take X amount...

For example, if you were already work on 3 courses each time and you're deciding now if it's OK, go with 3.
If you were working with only 1 course at a time and you're jumping up to 3 in this amount of time, you decide.

[mrskitty]

I've been taking two classes at a time on ground. Initially, I started with three classes this semester and dropped a class during first week because I received my score from College Composition in time. It all depends on your work schedule and if you are able to balance with family life (if you have kids/spouse). As long as you don't have any TDYs or upcoming deployments or huge Exercises/Inspections, taking three classes is doable.

[dfrecore]

I've been taking two classes at a time on ground. Initially, I started with three classes this semester and dropped a class during first week because I received my score from College Composition in time. It all depends on your work schedule and if you are able to balance with family life (if you have kids/spouse). As long as you don't have any TDYs or upcoming deployments or huge Exercises/Inspections, taking three classes is doable.

I don't think that the OP should think that because you can do this, he/she can as well. They might be able to handle 1 class, or 6, who knows. A lot would also depend on the class; a history course is going to require a lot of reading; English comp is going to require a ton of writing; math is going to require a lot of homework. But if they're good at math, or writing, or a fast reader, or love the subject, then it's going to be easier for one person than another.

25 years ago, my mom was working 60 hours a week and decided to go back to school. She needed 21 additional credits to get into a cohort program that was starting in January; she took 18cr in a single semester, plus CLEP'd a course. Did she do it? Yes. Did she hate every second of it? Yep. Did she have a life during those 16 weeks? Nope. Would she recommend it to anyone? Not unless they were in a similar situation. Then she'd tell them to suck it up and get it done.

The is just no way to tell someone how much THEY can handle.

[SolarKat]

Thank you for your service!

Are you using TA? If so, I'd take advantage of that and use it for the expensive stuff...gen-eds can be had 'on the cheap' through DSSTs/CLEPs and so on. Focus on classes that are hard to find for your degree, and/or expensive. Perhaps a big "name brand" for Area of Study courses, for example. Or laboratory/technical stuff that requires expensive equipment/lab access. I'd place this as a higher priority than speed.

As far as taking 2-3 classes, that's a matter for you to consider based upon your other obligations, stamina, endurance...I'd try to balance it so you're not taking, say, 3 upper level writing-intense classes at the same time. Depending on your degree/college, you might find that you like to take one or two 8-week classes (or summer intensives, 4-6week) vs three 15-16 week classes. There are many ways to skin this cat. If you want to give us more info on your college/major, we might have more detailed suggestions for you.

[Life Long Learning]

Have you taken all the DSST and CLEP the AF will pay for?

I'm halfway done with my bachelors and was thinking about taking 3 classes at a time to get my degree faster. I'm active duty Air Force and I was wondering if three classes at a time is too much or not.

[Collegelady2]

I'm very lucky I have a community college just down the street where I'm able to take tests.