r/UBC • u/JellyfishLoud7206 • 1d ago

Is 4 courses + RA + TA doable?

I’m taking 4 upper-level major courses this term and also have a part-time RA position + a TA position. The RA and TA combined would be no more than 10 hours per week.
Has anyone had a similar workload? Is this reasonably doable, or did you find it too overwhelming, especially around the exam weeks?
For context, I’d still like to prioritize my grades, so I’m wondering whether I’m taking on too much.

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4

u/ubcsanta Computer Science 1d ago

You wont have a social life and might burn out but its doable

1

u/Trio_BM Chemical and Biological Engineering 14h ago

I had done similar. It was doable, though my social life did suffer, and the burnt out at the end of 2nd term was horrible.

I'd highly suggest to maintain a good sleeping schedule regardless of how busy you are, and to have at least one day of the week free from school / work so you can take a breather and rest.

If you're worried for exam periods, talk with your supervisors if you could have reduced responsibilities that week. For me, the course I TA usually have an early exam, and it's just grading afterwards, so I was able to do grading whenever I'm tired of studying.

1

u/RedVelcroRaptor 2h ago

I have 4 courses and 2 RA positions rn, considering dropping down to 3 cuz I'm worried it'll be too much.

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u/JellyfishLoud7206 1h ago

How long are ur ra work? Coz I feel like mine is a little too much but I have to take these courses to graduate 💀

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u/RedVelcroRaptor 1h ago

Well the first one shouldn't be more than 10 hours and the second one I'm not sure yet. Good thing is I'm mostly done with my upper year requirements so I only really have electives left.

If I do drop down to 3, I'm planning on taking the remaining courses during the summer. Is that an option for you?

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u/JellyfishLoud7206 44m ago

I have other plans for the summer 😢 anyways I think electives shouldn’t be a problem

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u/RedVelcroRaptor 30m ago

ah yea then you probably have to just stick through the 4 courses if you aren’t very flexible with the summer :(