<p>Since all classes last 10 weeks, all classes are essentially 14 weeks of material crammed onto a 10 week term. Language, English, science, psych- all tend to be faster because of the term length. Taking 3 classes instead of 4 or 5 kind of offsets the increased per-day workload</p>
<p>Yeah, but the other elite schools on the quarter system require 42 or 45 credits, which is quite a bit more than 35. Not trying to make Dartmouth out to be easy, cuz I doubt that, but taking 1 less class at quarter than you would at Northwestern or Stanford is quite significant.</p>
<p>Also, babes, are you sure that you can ONLY take three 2 class quarters?</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Yes, you are only allowed three 2-class terms. You can have more than three 4-class terms, but will have to pay extra tuition for the fourth such term onward.</p>
<p>As someone who took 4 classes twice, I think it’s usually a bad idea. I don’t know how the system works at Stanford or Northwestern, but 3 classes a term at Dartmouth is definitely enough.</p>
<p>My D got five credits for AP work and then was able to skip into classes for math and chem (she went right to orgo). The upside was she was able to major in Bio and minor in econ and chem and she still got one term where she took only two classes. As a senior she did an honor’s thesis so having only 2 classes in her senior winter was a big help. My nephew also had several APs, but chose to graduate early and save money. Lot’s of good choices.</p>
<p>Also, don’t be deceived by the 3 course terms, you are getting just as much material as at Stanford or NU or Caltech, it is just formatted differently.</p>
<p>Your daughter did not jump to orgo from the outset, unless she took a special placement test that got her out of Chem 6.</p>
<p>As I recall (she’s a '10) she took a test and passed out of 5&6. She could have taken 10, but she opted to speak with the Orgo prof, who let her in the class. It worked for her because she had a very strong background in chemistry. The prof helped her understand what was required and if she was ready for orgo, he was very helpful and she did great in the class.</p>