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+--- Thread: 15 credits term - too much or doable? (/Thread-15-credits-term-too-much-or-doable)
15 credits term - too much or doable? - boblax - 12-29-2025
I'm currently planning my BA CS + BS BA second degree, and I'm planning on doing a 15 credits term at TESU that would include:
SOS-1100: Cornerstone
LIB-4970: Liberal arts capstone
CIS-1070: Computer concepts and applications ePack
CIS-351: Software engineering
PHI-1300: Intro to critical reasoning
I'm already a software engineer. I tried the CIS-1070 TECEP preview and passed, so I'm assuming the ePack shouldn't be an issue and won't take me more than a couple hours.
Not sure what CIS-351 is about (I read that there is actually no programming), but again I think maybe 10-15 hours total should be enough.
Which leaves me with the other three, the cornerstone, the capstone which I read is quite time consuming, as well as intro to critical reasoning.
I can dedicate about 30h per week total (4h per day 7/7 give or take). Would it be doable to complete these 5 courses in a single term, and possibly score As in all of them?
RE: 15 credits term - too much or doable? - Insert Name - 01-14-2026
Cornerstone isn't hard.
Capstones are always a lot of writing, so be careful there.
The other 3, I'm not sure on the workload of those specific classes.
Depending on how comfortable you are with the subjects, I think I would try it, but I tend to bite off big bites for short periods instead of many small bites. Just have a plan on which you will re-do/drop if you have to.
RE: 15 credits term - too much or doable? - boblax - 01-15-2026
(01-14-2026, 04:28 PM)Insert Name Wrote: Cornerstone isn't hard.
Capstones are always a lot of writing, so be careful there.
The other 3, I'm not sure on the workload of those specific classes.
Depending on how comfortable you are with the subjects, I think I would try it, but I tend to bite off big bites for short periods instead of many small bites. Just have a plan on which you will re-do/drop if you have to.
Mmh yeah, it's mainly the capstone I'm worried about. Another option would be to just do 4 (without capstone), and keep the capstone for the next term so I can focus on it. Will also allow me to send my transcripts since I will be enrolled. I suppose the only downside is that it would cost me something like $1000 more or so?
Also, if I happen to try a 15 credits term and fail a class, how does it work, does it show on the transcript? Or can I just retake it later and overwrite the previous grade?
RE: 15 credits term - too much or doable? - LevelUP - 01-16-2026
If you can put in up to 30 hours a week, then yes, it is doable to get everything done in one term.
Some other considerations:
- Pre-study for some courses before the term begins, such as Critical Thinking, Computer Concepts and Applications ePack, and prewriting your capstone.
- You can request an eight-week extension for courses if you fall behind, as long as you complete at least 50% of the course. This serves as a safety net.
RE: 15 credits term - too much or doable? - PauFraTat - 01-16-2026
I took four consecutive terms, 9 - 13 credits each term, which meant a lot of overlap in the two middle terms. This helped me tremendously:
https://www.tesu.edu/about/blog/2015/if-you-miss-midterm-final-or-tecep-exam.php
For practically any reason you can push a midterm for any class out until the final day of the term. Before the midterm is due, email email the course mentor and [email protected] something along the following:
Quote:I will be unable to complete the midterm examination this week as scheduled. INSERT YOUR REASON HERE
According to this blog post from the TESU website, I have until the end of the term to complete the midterm:
https://blog.tesu.edu/what-to-do-if-you-miss-a-midterm-final-or-tecep-exam
I'm sending this email in accordance with the blog post's guidelines.
I have already scheduled the midterm for a future date in this term. All of my coursework is up to date, and I do not anticipate any problems completing it before the end of the term.
With this approach I never once received any pushback or challenges to my reason.
I also had situations where I reached out to mentors in advance requesting extra time for late submissions. Generally this was not a problem, but be sure that you and the mentor are on the same page, and that the agreement is in writing. I had two instances where the mentor still deducted points despite our agreement, and my capstone mentor was certainly playing some weird game with me despite the agreement.
RE: 15 credits term - too much or doable? - animuscerebri - 01-26-2026
Hi boblax,
you haven't mentioned what your objectives are for finishing the degree. Are you aiming to complete it:
- as fast as possible
- as affordably as possible
- or in the most customized way possible?
All of the above? Or one criterion is more important than the other?
The capstone will undoubtedly be the most time-consuming of all. It is similar to a Bachelor thesis, but not exactly the same, because it is less focused on original research/experimentation and more on research synthesis and application of knowledge. That's why, you can do it in 12 weeks; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to do any other classes in parallel. In short, it is a big reading and writing assignment over 12 weeks and many (in some cases, not so many - depending on the topic and the student + mentor relationship) meetings with your mentor to discuss the content.
If you don't have a clear idea what you wanna write about, you will - then - spend quite some time on fleshing out the topic. Thus, I'm not sure it is a good idea to do a full 15 credits term with other classes that are reading and writing heavy, such as Software Engineering + Intro to critical reasoning. For some, writing those essays will be a piece of cake, others don't like writing papers. Thus, it depends a lot on your objectives and what type of student you are.
Apart from that, LevelUp's tips are spot on. Take them into consideration for your plans.