I got admitted into January 2015 Master of Engineering program at University of Toronto, which is course-based, or courses+project.
My program says I have to take between 3-5 courses per semester. Now I have 5 courses on my calendar, and after the first couple classes, I'll decide which one to drop before deadline, so that eventually I should have 4.
However people keep telling me that four courses is too much, I'd burn myself out. However taking < 4 per term would mean I may need to do an additional semester, since some courses are offered annually or even biennially.
A little background:
There's no thesis needed for my program. I'm not going to do TA or RA, or work at all during first year of grad school. After working for 3+ years this opportunity to go back to school is too precious, and I'll try to devote a lot to studying, but still leave some room for social life.
As an undergrad I was actually kinda known for taking a lot of workload, for two semesters I took 12 courses (for major, electives and minor), was in charge of a student organization and the student union, also working part time and volunteering for the Olympics. Got 3.3~3.5 for major and minor (Not amazing but still not bad I guess), and excellent reviews from work.
But I have to admit it was really tough, and honestly I don't want to go through that kind of pain again, but instead focus on studying alone this time.
I understand graduate courses will be much harder... but is 4 courses really going to be overwhelming?
And I know everybody is different... just want to get different opinions. Thank you in advance!