Taking more than a normal course-load requires a careful examination of what you want. Please plan to sacrifice in order to have a successful semester. Some people manage this easily and others fail. If you have a job I do not recommend this path.Only motivation, commitment, and successful time management will get you through a +19 credit hour semester.

1. You forget stuff.

At some point in the semester you will walk into one of your many classes and hear your professor ask about the online homework that was due...before class. Get organized and find a way to manage your time more efficiently.

2. You run out of time.

You run out of time for friends, interest meetings for organizations, and that thing called sleep. There simply is not enough time in the day to socialize, study, sleep, and work. A good friend of mine once put it this way: You can have two out the three in college, a social life, good grades, and an adequate amount of sleep to get through the day. Choose the two that are more important to you.

3. Friends...What are those!?

It's not like you mean to neglect your friendships, it just happens. Like I said before, you will have to pick. And not everybody picks their friendships. Hopefully you will have friends that understand, if not tell them to find you after finals week.

4. One day you lay down at 7 PM and not wake up until 7 AM the following morning.

That's what happens after weeks and weeks of late night studying, drinking Red Bull, and still trying to keep that social life active. You lay down and the sleep coma, noodles it's way in.

5. You burn out. Every morning for you is like this...

The powerhouse of the brain shuts down. Congratulations you have fried your brain! You might have something like 7 or 8 finals in one week and a couple of final projects due. The brain is too busy trying to get you out of bed, it's not focusing on that astrophysics final. Experiencing a burnout can be a good reminder to slow down or push harder to the finish line that is finals week.