<p>The quarter system seems very odd. Do all the students need to go for all four quarters, meaning all the students need to go to school in the summer? Do students need to take classes in June, July, and August? Or does the school follow what I think is a Dartmouth model and have like four quarters but students only need to attend three of them? Or is it something completely different?</p>
<p>Can any current or former students explain?</p>
<p>You just need attend 3 of them, Fall, Winter, and Spring, totally 30 weeks including reading and examination period. Summer is optional.</p>
<p>It’s actually 33 weeks including finals. (10 week quarter + 1 week of exams)*3.</p>
<p>In the 1980’s the Chicago autumn quarter started on a Monday and was a bit longer because of Thanksgiving. The school year was effectively 34 weeks. It’s now only 33 weeks.</p>
<p>At Chicago, either 3 or 4 courses is a full load. So the Chicago quarter system is not a trimester breakup of a four course load. </p>
<p>The Dartmouth Plan evolved from a 3-3-3 calendar. Three courses three times a year for 10 weeks (9 weeks class + exams). The D Plan enables Dartmouth to have only 3/4 of its students on campus at once. The D Plan has a required sophomore summer after the first year. The Dartmouth Fall Term starts earlier than Chicago’s and ends just before Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>Is there any difference between the quarter system & a trimester system (Dartmouth College, for example). My impression is that there is not any significant difference. The use of the word trimester more clearly conveys that the school utilizes a typical 9 month academic year (even though Dartmouth requires attendance during the sophomore summer under the D-Plan) whereas the use of the word quarter suggests year-round flexibility. What is the difference, if any, between the two terms ? Thanks !</p>
<p>The main thing about UChicago’s system is that a) they start classes very late in September so right out of high school you have an extra month to work or vacation, b) there’s usually very little time between Thanksgiving weekend and the end of the quarter around the 10th of December, and c) you finish the year around the 2nd week of June about one month after everybody else so it makes it harder to find a Summer job (outside Chicago). Although 10 week quarters are kind of hectic, only taking 3 or 4 classes is not too bad. We told S that, yes he could graduate with 42 classes but that we didn’t need to go to Booth to know that 48 classes would be a much better return on our money. He did take 4 every quarter.</p>