College credits are the system used by advanced high school courses and college classes to classify time requirement and difficulty of classes. A certain accumulation of credits, usually around 128, are required to graduate from colleges and universities.
Hours
College students usually earn 1 course credit per 1 hour of class. So, a 3-hour course would translate to 3 credits for the semester.
Semester
High school students earn college credits for their advanced courses. Usually the conversion factor is a 1/2 college credit for each semester of the class. So, 2 semesters would be the equivalent of 1 college credit.
Student Status
Most colleges and universities calculate student status as full-time or part-time, based on the amount of college credits/credit hours an enrolled student is taking. American universities and colleges will usually set full-time at 15 credits a semester.
College Costs
College financial aid and tuition costs are generally based on credits. A student taking 14 credits will pay more than a student taking 11 credit hours.
Testing Out
Colleges and universities will often apply credits to student who test out of classes. However, the class will be given a designation to show that while the student is not required to take the class, the class does not factor into a student's grade point average.
Credits and GPA
Universities and colleges use credits to determine a student's GPA. The math is done by applying a 4 to every A, a 3 to every B, a 2 to every C and so on. If a class is 3 credits, multiply the grade by 3 and so on. Then add all the numbers together and divide it by the total number of credits carried. That is the GPA for the student.
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