<p>Is the Cal Poly system set up such that, in theory, you only need to attend the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters to graduate in 4 years?</p>
<p>Or would a student typically have to attend the Summer quarter as well to stay on tract?</p>
<p>Leave your summers free for internships and co-ops. You can stay on track if you really apply yourself in Fall, Winter and Spring. However, it can take more time than other schools to graduate. Not because of classes being impacted. More often it is just the intensity of the major and the time required to satisfy all requirements. Not being able to graduate because you can’t get classes is extremely rare and most of the time the student plays a significant role in not getting the classes needed. My kid always applies immediately upon opening of registration. In cases where he can’t get the class he wants, he waitlists and then crashes the class to add it and on occasion he asks for help and favors, but he has never failed to get a class he really wanted or needed.</p>
<p>When you say “really apply yourself”… how many classes does that entail taking per quarter?</p>
<p>16 to 18 credits per quarter – busy schedule.</p>
<p>Do students usually participate in internships during their first couple of summers or during the second half of college? My son is considering taking a few summer session classes at our local community college to help lighten the load during the regular year–along w AP credits he’ll come in with. His major has 204 required units! :/</p>
<p>I think that for internships you should start looking no later than the second half of college. The summer after freshman year most of my friends took summer jobs, like working at camps, not necessarily related to their major. It’s never too early to try and get an internship though. Experience is always good, and it might help you determine if that’s they type of work you want to do for the rest of your life.</p>