Is taking 3 courses and doing a 20hr/wk co-op too much?

[paulwece]

I'm in an ECE curriculum and I want to take 3 courses (12 hours) in fall. Problem is, I got a internship for the summer and they want me to continue on a part time basis in fall as well (20 hours/week). The internship would really help my career and the company is located in a research park near campus.

The courses are mostly theory (one stat course, one on mathematical optimization in vector space, and another on information theory). I want to get in touch with the professors next week and find out more about the course material and buy the textbooks now so I can self study. By fall, I would've familiarized with most of the course materials (hopefully) which should save me some time during the semester. Is this a good strategy? Aren't you supposed to do most of the study yourself anyway in grad school (or even college)? From my experience, the brain learns new materials the slowest the first time around. The 2nd time becomes easier and your mastery of the material goes up each subsequent time you review the material. 

The way I look at it, this is like decreasing the difficulty level of the courses which should save time.

Thanks

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by paulwece

[otherss]

I suggest you talk to your school (either advisor, departmental head, or secretary) about this. There could be rules in place to prevent you from even having this option. If your school is funding you, then you may not be allowed to take an outside job/internship during the Fall or Spring semesters. Actually, you may not be able to take an outside job even if they aren't funding you (that's my brothers current situation). But as for the workload, I know full TA/RA-ships are for 20 hrs/wk anyway with a full course load. I don't see how this would be any different.

I can't help you out on the second part of your question. That's more of a personal thing. Though I will say by doing this internship during the fall, you may be able to connect your classwork with the internship (which might help you understand better).