<p>For any current/past students or parents of students, what's the 4 quarter academic system like? To me, it seems somewhat inconvenient as you go to school in late September but get out in mid June. How does this affect getting summer internships?</p>
<p>I was wondering about this too. What is it like having twice as many exams? I didn’t deal too well with exams in high school so I’m kind of worried about this…</p>
<p>Well, unless you’re planning on taking summer classes, you won’t have twice as many exams, you’ll have 1.5x as many. Of course if you don’t understand why that is, you may well end up taking summer classes ;)</p>
<p>chuckle ;)</p>
<p>Lots of threads on this. In general, kids who have gone through this system at places likely NU, Dartmouth, Stanford, Chicago, most of the UCal system, etc. prefer it.</p>
<p>You’ll be taking only 3-4 courses a term, most typically 11 or so yearly, as opposed to 4-5 classes/semester. You have the potential to dabble and take more classes if you so choose in a quarter system. You won’t have twice the number of exams. Courses typically at the lower levels have a midterm and final, but occasionally papers/take-homes in their stead. At the higher levels it’s much more common to have only papers, take-homes, without any in-class testing at all. </p>
<p>Because the term is 10 weeks instead of 15 and you’re paced by the exam or paper schedule it’s harder to fall so far behind you can’t catch up as you might in a semester program if you’re partying too heavily and regularly. If you mess up in one course, it also hurts less statistically come your final GPA (i.e. 1/45th, not 1/32nd-1/40th). If you happen across a bad course, it’s also over a lot faster as well.</p>
<p>I will say more usefully that I was on the semester system while abroad and I much prefer the NU schedule’s pacing, though (because?) it is much more intense.</p>
<p>the pacing prevents you from procrastinating too much and screwing yourself over for the midterm/final big time.</p>
<p>As people have said, it’s a little more pressure but gives you a lot more classes in four years.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at NU and it doesn’t seem to bother him. Classes are fast paced but he likes the idea of having some of his major courses daily (like his Chem meets every day - his math meets 4 days a week) it keeps him focused. It’s really not overwhelming at all. PM me and I’ll send you an example of his classes and how the day looks.</p>
<p>I’m currently a junior at Northwestern. There’s a lot of good and some bad about the quarter system. Some classes feel a little rushed at 10 weeks rather than something longer. Sometimes the turnaround between midterms and finals is pretty quick, and you feel like you’re always taking tests.</p>
<p>But even if you feel that way, you’re probably not. Taking 4 classes at a time is much nicer than taking 5, and the quarter system lets you try a lot of things that maybe wouldn’t fit into a normal semester schedule. It’s easy and encouraged to take classes that aren’t in your major.</p>
<p>Internships are a little tougher to find, but most people seem to manage to find something. It’s a little disheartening in June when all your friends from home are done but you’re still in school. On the other hand, Lake Michigan in June is absolutely beautiful, and it’s nice to get a chance to experience it when the weather is perfect (ie. not February). I’ve had friends from home visit me at Northwestern after they were done just for that.</p>
<p>And starting late September? It might get a little lonely after your friends have left. But there are pre-orientation programs that you can do (usually ~$250), or, if you’re musically-inclined, you could join the [marching</a> band](<a href=“http://numb.northwesternbands.org/]marching”>http://numb.northwesternbands.org/) like I did (basically free) and have an amazing time on campus a week early.</p>
<p>How many hours per week do you spend in class? And for any music majors, how many hours do you spend practicing?</p>
<p>I am an OSU alumni (also quarter system) and attended NU. I have to say the quarter system is extremely tough and the pace can be brutal. You will take exams more often than your semester based friends. I think quarter systems are fine for people who like variety and are in more liberal arts based curriculum. I personally thought it tough in both business and science. I advise everyone to consider it carefully and ‘know thyself’. If I did it all over again, I would go to a university with semesters hands down.</p>
<p>I actually liked the quarter system – lots of variety in course selection, awful classes could end sooner. However, it could become brutal for those concentrating in the STEM-related majors.</p>
<p>On STEM majors-- I’m a math major (WCAS), and not even a particular smart/talented one compared to some here, and it’s definitely manageable. I guess brutal is in the eye of the beholder, but while you’ve got to work hard some nights, that’s kind of why you would choose a school like Northwestern anyway. You really do get what you put into it.</p>
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<p>I can’t comment on music majors, but for me, a math class is typically four 50-minute classes each week-- three lectures (MWF) and one TA discussion (T or Th).</p>
<p>A science class is usually pretty similar, but often has an additional lab period, which gets longer as your classes get more advanced.</p>
<p>A typical history/other humanities class (which I’ve been able to take more of, thanks to the quarter system) is often two 80-minute classes each week (TTh, usually), sometimes with a 50-minute discussion section for bigger lecture courses.</p>
<p>I can’t comment on engineering, music, etc. but that should give you some idea.</p>
<p>I’m a chemical engineering major minoring in chemistry and planning on getting my masters during my 4th year. I’d say the quarter system has pushed me to do more than I would have been able to do on a semester system. The fast pace forced me to improve my time management skills, plan things better, and look at things down the road ahead of time. I’ve taken so many exams that I know exactly how to figure out how to study for a class in order to understand the material well. I also don’t ever get nervous before taking exams anymore (always nervous before getting it back though). Like others said, it allows you to try new things without suffering too much. It has allowed me to challenge myself by taking 6 classes per quarter and improve my time management skills to deal with it. Even if it didn’t work out, that was only 1 quarter out of 12.</p>