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On average, college students enroll in 12 units, as that’s the bare minimum to be classified as a full-time student. This way, they have enough time to study and work a full/part-time job.
However, there are still some students who tend to challenge themselves by aiming for higher achievements, and try to take 21 units, the max number, and work a full-time job at the same time.
Any full-time student who is interested in taking a 21-unit semester can submit an overload petition on their LBCC Viking Portal in the Student Homepage, and click on the Forms tab, or they could try contacting the Counseling Department.
In order for the student to take 21 units for the Fall or Spring semester, the overload petition should be filed at least two weeks prior to open registration.
According to the Lumina Foundation, 40% of full-time students tend to work less, but any full-time working student who attempts to take 21 units would have to deal with about 40 hours a week, on top of studying 63 hours in total for the week.
The Lumina Foundation also said, “Working more than 20 hours per week negatively affects academic performance. According to research from the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES), students who worked 25 or more hours per week were less likely than those who did not work at all or only worked part-time (less than 20 hours per week) to complete their bachelor’s degrees within six years of starting college.”
Any student who’s working full-time and a full 21 units should take full advantage of LBCC’s resources.
LBCC offers flexible 8-week courses for students who want a faster pace course where they have to submit and work on a lot of assignments in a shorter time frame.
Additionally, LBCC also offers a program by the name of CalWORKS for working students who rely on public assistance. CalWORKS gives a variety of services, including priority registration, school supplies, and child care.
There is another helpful service called Cooperative Education (Work Experience), in which students can earn college credit for their employment, directly assisting in accumulating units while working.
It is incredibly easy for a student juggling a packed semester and a job at the same time to burn out, so it’s important to take full advantage of the available resources at LBCC.
To have more insight, ask a counselor or consult with a professor, as managing a 21-unit semester and a full-time job at the same time is incredibly difficult.
