<p>Hi,
I would appreciate it if you guys could help me make an important decision...I'm currently studying at the Ohio State Uni which runs on quarters. I am an international student. I've been on the annual system all my life. We had 9-10 classes the whole year through.
I did pretty well back home but now that I'm on the quarter system at OSU, I've been totally freaked out. I am an undergrad...I'm majoring in Molecular Genetics and have a minor in Psychology.
The classes are SO fast-paced, it's incredibly overwhelming. I hardly find time to adjust myself to the new schedule each quarter. I don't remember much of what I learned my last two quarters.
I'm the kind of person who likes to review the material taught in class over and over again. It helps me retain information. But, I can only dream of doing that right now. I'm doing poorly on almost all my classes.
Do you think a person like me would do better in a semester school since I come from an annual system?
Someone told me that there's no difference between the two systems. You're basically covering the same amount of material in both the systems. Is that true?
I've been thinking of transferring to a semester college which is going to be a big change for me since I would have to move to a different city and since this is my first time in the US, it will take a bit longer for me to get adjusted to the new place.
So is it that if I'm taking a general chem class in a quarter college, I would get a mere 10 weeks to go over the material whereas if I were in a semester school I would get close to 15 weeks to cover the exact same thing?
I'm a pre-med student so I HAVE to retain the information that I'm being bombarded with.
I found people here talking about getting done with a class sooner in a quarter system. I personally want to enjoy the whole process of learning instead of thinking about getting done as soon as I can.
I would really be grateful if you could advise me on this.
Should I transfer to a semester school?
How often do you have quizzes/midterms/finals/assignments in a semester?
Thanks! :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
So is it that if I'm taking a general chem class in a quarter college, I would get a mere 10 weeks to go over the material whereas if I were in a semester school I would get close to 15 weeks to cover the exact same thing?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Bingo. </p>
<p>
[quote]
How often do you have quizzes/midterms/finals/assignments in a semester?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It really depends from class to class. It isn't really "set in stone."</p>
<p>I have a feeling the semester system would be better for you, though I can't say for sure. If you know that right now, the quarter system isn't working (doing poorly in all your classes, feeling like you haven't learned anything) then change systems. I'd rather stress about adjusting to a new city then to stress about failing for four years.
If you change to semester and you are still doing poorly, you might want to consider changing majors or transferring to a school where the workload isn't as rigorous.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So is it that if I'm taking a general chem class in a quarter college, I would get a mere 10 weeks to go over the material whereas if I were in a semester school I would get close to 15 weeks to cover the exact same thing?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not always. In many cases, the curricula are changed, so that you're not covering the same amount of material in a less time. Instead, the material cut from the course is put into another course, even combined with other material.</p>
<p>The people that I know who are on are were in quarter systems didn't like it. Finals come up so much more frequently (as well as final projects) and you get more stressed.</p>