<p>There's been some good discussion about the pros and cons of "trimesters", "quarters", and other non-semester undergrad calendars. Can we form a list of just the names of schools that people know with alternative calendars?</p>
<p>Colorado College
Drexel U</p>
<p>Field sport… There are many hundreds of schools that are on quarters or trimesters. Do you really want folks to list them all here?</p>
<p>Dartmouth, Kalamazoo College, University of Denver, Rose-Hulman</p>
<p>Cornell College (Iowa) uses a one-class-at-a-time block schedule. </p>
<p>The year is divided into eight blocks of eighteen class days each. Students take one class at a time that meets for about four hours a day for four credit hours. Students take eight classes each year with a four-day “block break” between classes. i would have loved that kind of schedule when I was in school!</p>
<p>Most, if not all of the UCs are on a quarter system. I partially agree with Thumper; the thread would be more interesting if it was limited to schools that have a truly unique type of schedule (Mayterm, D-Plan, block system, etc)</p>
<p>On the East coast, traditional semesters still seem to dominate. Those who find this of value may wish to comment.</p>
<p>Fieldsport… Not sure what you mean when you want folks to comment that many schools in the east are on semesters. </p>
<p>I suspect you mean the northeast because there are many schools on the east coast further south that are on quarters.</p>
<p>I’m not sure there is any “value” to schools being on semesters, quarters, or other schedule variations. It is what it is for each school.</p>
<p>Northwestern is on quarters.</p>
<p>I think semesters vs. quarters/trimesters is a topic worth discussing. I’ll start: if you are on quarters or trimesters, you will be done later in the spring than your peers who are on semesters and thus done for the year in early to mid-May. That can be a problem for those seeking employment or internships.</p>
<p>I don’t see the big deal either. I wouldn’t make it a consideration one way or the other.</p>
<p>If you want lists, Google will produce them, e.g., </p>
<p><a href=“Articles | Cappex”>Articles | Cappex;
<a href=“http://www.planetbauer.com/colleges.htm[/url]”>http://www.planetbauer.com/colleges.htm</a></p>
<p>As other threads have noted, some kids do better taking fewer courses for shorter periods of time. In the northeast, semesters seem to be the norm. When searching for colleges, most filters don’t filter for this. So without hijacking a thread that debates the merits of non-semesters, perhaps those who want to list non-semester colleges can pool the names of those they know.</p>
<p>People who find this uninteresting need not bother with it.</p>
<p>TX, thank you for the citations. Handy.</p>
<p>Some students prefer the more intense, shorter periods (fewer classes, more focused work). For some students with organizational challenges (possibly due to disabilities), it can be a very good choice. Fewer classes to track at one time.</p>
<p>A couple of trimester schools (3 terms, a full load is 3 classes per term) are Carleton and Union.</p>
<p>Knox College is on a trimester system. I start later, but also get out later. I also get a six week winter break, which I like. I only take three courses per term. It’s called a 3-3 calendar. The only cons to this is if I want to take summer courses at a local four year university or community college. The summer term already starts before I’m even out.</p>
<p>WPI has 4 7-week terms, students usually take 3 courses per term.
Don’t make assumptions about what that means for the overall calendar. WPI got out May 3rd last year, before many other colleges we know about, and they started Aug. 23rd or so.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>However, a quarter system school may be an advantage if you want to do an internship or co-op that lasts longer than a summer, since an extended internship or co-op will take out only 1/3 of the academic year instead of 1/2 of the academic year (although it will be slightly shorter than if you were at a semester system school).</p>
<p>Quarter versus semester system may be relevant to intercollegiate athletes. For example, a football player would have to handle practices and games during 1/2 of the academic year at a semester system school, but only 1/3 of the academic year at a quarter system school. So a football player who is serious about academics has more flexibility at a quarter system school (only needs to avoid scheduling “hard” course loads in one of the three quarters of the academic year instead of one of the two semesters of the academic year).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not all – Berkeley and Merced are on the semester system.</p>
<p>The UC system changed to quarters in the late 1960s. Berkeley changed back to semesters in the early 1980s. Merced started as a new campus with semesters.</p>
<p>Lawrence is on the trimester calendar, and it was explained to me that the biggest benefit for the school is that they can keep energy costs down by closing during one of the coldest months of the year. I imagine that a few extra weeks at home away from a Wisconsin winter would not be the worst thing either. Holiday retail jobs are easier to get as well, since the students will be there from Thanksgiving to New Years. </p>
<p>Depauw has a January term and Hanover has a May term.</p>
<p>Some comparisons between semester and quarter systems (although the last one only discusses the pros of the semester system):</p>
<p><a href=“http://academicsenate.ucdavis.edu/ra/cep.htm[/url]”>http://academicsenate.ucdavis.edu/ra/cep.htm</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ous.edu/sites/default/files/state_board/jointb/sem/files/Semesterconversionpros-cons10-31-092.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ous.edu/sites/default/files/state_board/jointb/sem/files/Semesterconversionpros-cons10-31-092.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/aa/semester/docs/PedagogyStudentLearning.pdf[/url]”>http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/aa/semester/docs/PedagogyStudentLearning.pdf</a></p>
<p>And a news article about how the semester system’s majority share among colleges is increasing:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/07/colleges-increasingly-switching-quarters-semesters[/url]”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/07/colleges-increasingly-switching-quarters-semesters</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It can matter. Consider an East Coast kid who goes to Northwestern (not an unusual situation). If the student wants to return to the East Coast for the summer, he/she may find it difficult to get a job or internship or attend a local college’s summer session because Northwestern’s schedule is so different. The student returns home too late in the spring to be eligible for some opportunities. </p>
<p>Also, if you’re an East Coast student who goes to Northwestern, a UC, or another quarter-system school, you tend to be home when your friends are not, and vice versa. This is lonely.</p>