<p>I've been wondering for quite some time, is it normal for most students to take 4 classes if their school is on the quarter system. I had thought that students take 3 classes if on the quarter system and 4 if on the semester system. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to take more classes, but is this the norm at other similarly ranked schools on the q-system (like UChicago, Dartmouth...)?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>At NU you can take EITHER 3 or 4 for a full load, but you can't take 3 every quarter or you won't graduate on time.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind NU is technically trimesters since summer quarter is not required... I am not sure if other schools on the "quarter system" actually take 4 quarters of classes each year, or if they are trimesters as well.</p>
<p>At Dartmouth, the norm is 3 a quarter.</p>
<p>UChicago is also 3 a quarter.</p>
<p>3 or 4 a quarter at Chicago. Some people, by third year, realize that they can graduate early only taking 3 classes each quarter.</p>
<p>My impression is that not many people take 3 classes a quarter here even if they can.</p>
<p>I believe UCLA also operates on the quarter system.</p>
<p>^Stanford also.</p>
<p>I think you can carry a 3 class load for 3 quarters at NU, 4 all the others, and graduate on time. Unalove, I'm confused by your post - I thought the norm was 3 classes a quarter at UChicago (guess I'm wrong on that) but do you mean you can only graduate early if you take 4? Maybe I'm misreading something.</p>
<p>I am also curious, at schools where they only take 3 a quarter, how does anyone graduate on time? Are their quarters structured differently or do they mimic trimesters like we do? Because only taking 9 classes a year definitely should not be enough for a 4-year program.</p>
<p>^Northwestern requires more courses than any school I know. Some of our peers require significantly less. Duke requires 34 courses if I remember correctly. Dartmouth requires 36. I saw the engineering curriculum at Michigan and their engg students take 8-9 courses per year. Yet, the graduates from these schools don't appear to be any less prepared than ours. I think Northwestern can lower the requirement so students have more time/freedom to pursue independent study.</p>
<p>to minor in something do you end up taking 4 like every quarter (esp if major is engineering?)</p>
<p>My son is a student at Northwestern University. He is taking three classes this quarter (with a heavy EC load), but has signed up for 5 classes plus music lessons for next quarter. A strategy to consider at Northwestern University is to sign up for 5 courses, attend classes for the two week drop/add period & drop the least interesting class.
The typical class load at semester schools is 5 courses per term.</p>
<p>The add period is short, but the drop period is far more extensive. You can drop classes until around halfway through the quarter.</p>
<p>I have found alternating 3 and 5 classes is tough since 5-class quarters can be really really rough. Two quarters of 4, to me, would be better.</p>
<p>To answer ham's question, minors are typically very easy to accomplish and especially if you come in with some AP credits you should be able to take some quarters of 3 classes. (Most programs come with built-in "elective" credits, and you can simply take classes for your minor instead of some random electives.) Although I did come in back when we were allowed to have many more AP credits, I still took a bunch of 3-class quarters, and I am graduating 2 quarters early with my minor completed, so minors definitely allow for a lot of wiggle room.</p>
<p>It is also important to know that AP credits can reduce up to one quarter of required residency at Northwestern University; or, alternatively, AP credits can reduce the number of required courses for graduation. AP credits give students more freedom, more choices & less requirements.
Taking a heavier class load than 4 courses is difficult but can be accomplished with sensible planning; for example, taking two foreign language courses in the same language during the same quarter can help if the courses complement one another, while taking 3 in your major--one of which is easy for you.</p>
<p>ham,</p>
<p>Engineering school requires 48 credits (courses), 3 more than other NU schools.</p>