<p>I know that NU is in trimesters, but I haven't really heard much feedback on how this affects social life/workload/sleeping habits etc. I know what trimesters are but can somebody who goes to NU or has somebody close at NU explain how it would affect me as a student? Is it really as bad and endless as I have heard? What are the differences that you think I should know as a student who is contemplating on applying ED at the end of this year.</p>
<p>We’re on the quarter system which basically means after about 3 weeks, you’ll start having midtems and you’ll continue to have them every week or every other week until the end of the quarter.</p>
<p>Yes, this can be very stressful but the upside to this is you get to take more classes overall and each class is only 10 weeks long as opposed to 16 weeks on the semester system. You get used to it so don’t worry about it too much. Most people I know think the benefits of being on the quarter system outweigh the negatives.</p>
<p>Fall quarter: 12 weeks
Winter and Spring quarters: 11 weeks
Each quarter: 3-4 classes</p>
<p>It was a huge difference from semester to quarter when I was a freshman in undergraduate (not at NU), but after having finished my degrees, I can say I preferred quarter over semester. The fact that breaks came after finals (and not in the middle of a term) played the biggest role in my being focused throughout my studies. If I were halfway through a term, spent two weeks getting trashed in Mexico, only to return to class, I’d have been a much worse-off student.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback guys, it all really helped. So it sounds like all of the stress and exams ends up being worth it. What about being home at different times of the year than everybody else? Does this prevent you from seeing them? About when does school end for summer break?</p>
<p>Northwestern Academic Calendar
[2010-11</a> University Calendar: Office of the Registrar - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.registrar.northwestern.edu/calendars/2010-11_University_Calendar.html]2010-11”>http://www.registrar.northwestern.edu/calendars/2010-11_University_Calendar.html)</p>
<p>Compare this with Cornell’s
[Cornell</a> University - Academics - Academic Calendar](<a href=“Academic Calendar 2023-2024 | Cornell University Registrar”>Academic Calendar 2023-2024 | Cornell University Registrar)</p>