College question: What do they mean when they say per credit hour?

[greeneggsnham]

I am trying to estimate the money I will need for college and keep reading $xx per credit hour and then the total is something way up there. What does a credit hour entail? I am trying to figure out what my classes will cost for a semester. I'm sorry I am probably asking a stupid question but I really need to know.

 

[Eliza]

each course is either 1, 2, or 3 credits. This means that the price per course is then multiplyed by the credits per course. Credit hours are necessary for accrediation, that's all. Apply for a Pell grant on line. And get your text books from Amazon marketplace or Cheaptext.com good luck!

 

[Alabama ee]

Most classes at a freshman level have 3 hours of credit. So, English 101 would be 3 hours. Some classes , especially ones like Bio 101 that have a lab, are 4.0 hours. To be a full time student, at most colleges here, you would have to take 12 plus hours per semester. Also, once you reach a certain amount of hours, the price with some colleges goes down per hour.

I hope that helps.

 

[greeneggsnham]

Thanks guys that really helps!

Now maybe I can figure out how far I'm gonna be in debt.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Generally the number of credit hours is a the number of hours in class per week. A 3 hour class is typically held for 1 hour every MWF or 1.5 hrs every TTh. But sometimes they play with that and you might have a class that meets once a week for 3 hrs (usually some sort of field work or flex schedule) Or it might be held MWTh or MTW or MW or ...

Many science classes are 4 hours, but sometimesthe schedule is a 3 hr lecture and mandatory concurrent enrollment in a 1 hr lab. Different schools do the details differently. Also, some schools have quarters rather than semesters, and they count their credits a bit differently.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Don;t forget to figure in fees. Class fees are pretty easy--usually listed in the catalogue with the class description. However there are also various activity fees of one sort and another.

 

[manuelhardin]

Fees per credit hours defines that for example a three credit hours class will charge three times the credit hour price. I had to do my homework too calculating that 3 credit hours for a 15-week semester class met for 150–160 minutes per week. Anyway, good luck to you!

 

[kittydurgans]

Thank you for your information. Share, This would be really really useful.