So this wise message from simpak kind of got lost in pages and pages of moaning about the shitty timetable system. Quoting for truth:
I get why you want to do it scribble I just don't get why people who aren't doing diplomas want to overload.
Like where does it get you? (Legit question).
More often than not, as hobbitle alluded to, even if you finish early you can't go straight into your postgrad degree...are you just trying to put yourself through hell so you eventually reach a 6 month break? Overloading makes grades suffer - unless people have a legit reason they would want to do it I just don't see the point. Wanting to free up space in later semesters so your grades are better in those semesters is stupid because you already ruined your grades in the semester you overloaded. It would even out.
I would even argue towards doing a diploma and then overloading being a shit reason because people had chosen to take the diploma knowing that it was designed to extend your degree...because it's an extra qualification. You're not actually 'meant' to take a diploma and a bachelor and still finish in three years. This isn't America - you are paying the same. In America, if you do 5 subjects or 4 subjects (at least at my uni) it still costs 40 000 a year. Here, you pay per subject! So overloading just means you paid more that semester!
But each to their own - time is money I suppose. Perhaps I am the only one who doesn't care about having an exceedingly lengthy education. Perhaps I am 'one-of-a-kind' because I shy away from the real world, crawling into my bubble of academia forever because it is so beautiful and serene.
Idk in all seriousness, I feel like the fact that so many people are doing it HERE on AN makes it IN VOGUE to other people that are here on AN and I think that is super dangerous. Obviously some people will be able to overload without it hurting their GPA too much but tears will be shed by many when they realise why the majority of the university population doesn't overload. Aka, AN filled with H2Bs. The horror, the shame.
I overloaded for four semesters in my undergrad, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth in a city far, far away. It was pretty common among high-achievers doing double degrees. Got most of the way through a combined BA/BSc, then in my final year got incredibly burnt out. Failed some subjects. Got suspended for a year. Ended up just finishing off the science side of my degree. I'm not saying that it was entirely due to overloading, but it certainly didn't help.
When I do my MSc, I'm seriously considering taking an extra six months and doing just three subjects a semester. There are other things in life besides studying, plus when I have a thesis to worry about I suspect even a 3/4 load will be pretty significant, and I'm hoping to get marks good enough to get a PhD scholarship.