Is the quarter system more difficult than Semester systems. I’m going to DePaul in the fall and I’m worried about the difficulty of classes as I also do boxing and don’t know if I will be able to manage my time properly.
My kid is on a quarter calendar at college (and so was I, back in the Dark Ages). It works well for her because she learns best in intense, short bursts… 7-8 weeks is just right; she’d run out of steam during a semester-long term. You take fewer classes, but cover a lot of material in a quarter. I think the kids who struggle most are the ones who tend to be procrastinators. If you fall even just a little bit behind, you will have a lot of difficulty trying to catch up… quarters move really quickly. Stay ahead of your assignment deadlines, make use of your prof’s office hours, and you should be fine. Good luck and congrats on beginning your adventure at a fine school!
How long how long would you say she studied on average daily?
I have studied on both the semester and quarter systems eons ago. It is true that you cannot procrastinate or miss class on the quarter system and you move through the material quickly. I actually preferred the quarter system though because I did not get bored. Also, when I had a professor or class I did not enjoy, I was more likely to stick with it as the quarter was over in a matter of 10 weeks.
I did undergrad on the semester system, and graduate school on the quarter system. Both were at relatively demanding universities. Personally I preferred the quarter system. However, you MUST NOT fall behind. The end of the quarter comes up quite quickly.
As long as you never fall behind and make a huge effort to always stay ahead, the quarter system has advantages in that you get to put more classes into a year of university, and it doesn’t drag on quite as much.
To be fair when I was in graduate school I pretty much studied all waking hours. The main exception is that I usually took Saturday evening off from about 6pm to the end of the day. I never felt stressed or overworked, but that was because I kept up with the work.
At DePaul (of course this was over 30 years ago) I probably studied what, 2 hours a day? Most of my time was spent in the lab though as in those days no one had personal laptops and we spent so much time on University computer terminals. Also during my last 2.5 years I had a job from 2-6pm and then I sometimes had evening classes, then commuted 30 minutes from downtown back home, so I had to learn to be efficient on time. Like others said, you basically need to be on the ball from day 1, because midterms come right away and then finals sneak up on you.
Chicago Youth Boxing at the church?
@Allam12: Study time varies, as her school’s curriculum is very project-based, so there is a lot of lab work and group project work in addition to ‘book study’ for exams. She estimates 3-4 hours a day. She had attended a boarding prep school that was on a trimester system, so she was used to having about 4 hours of school work daily outside of class. She acquired a lot of time management skills there (she used to procrastinate, but learned quickly that it’s not a good plan), and has done well so far at college managing her academic work along with several ECs that she’s very involved in. Really, like everyone here has said, the key is to have self-discipline and keep up with the work (even one goof-off day will cost you!).
It depends. Yes, the pace of the quarter system can be a challenge. OTOH, if you hate a class, it’s over quicker on the quarter system. And in many schools with the quarter system, you have much of September off – perfect for travel. 
Conceptually, three 10-week quarters is just a different way of slicing up 30 weeks of instruction compared to two 15-week semesters. At some quarter system schools, each course is “smaller”, but you take more of them over a year. At other quarter system schools, semester course content is crammed into a quarter, but you take fewer courses per quarter, so that the number per year is similar to that under a semester system.
Both boxing & the quarter system require discipline in order to do well. Good organization &time management skills are necessary because if you get behind, it is hard to catch up.
Dartmouth College does the quarter system (although they label it otherwise) well because one only takes three courses at a time; Northwestern University is on a quarter system in which students typically take 5 classes per quarter. East to understand why Dartmouth kids are happier & less stressed.
My kid’s school year consists of 4 quarters, which are 7- 8 weeks long. (There are 2 additional quarters during the summer, for those who choose to do more.) They cover a lot of material but generally take just 3 classes (sometimes 4) per quarter. She was very happy to have completed 3 college courses by the middle of October! 
I think it depends on the student.
I’ve done both quarters and semesters and found I had a strong preference for the quarter system. The pace of the quarter system (3 classes for 10 weeks) suited me. I did not fall behind.
Semesters on the other hand? That was the first time I encountered classes that had little more than a mid-term and a final in 15 weeks. It provided enough rope for me to get myself woefully behind. And classes or professors I did not care for seemed to go on forever. I caught on, eventually, but the rhythm was definitely different than quarters.
And with quarters, I always scored the good holiday UPS jobs because I was home for break by Thanksgiving.
I loved the quarter system, but then I have a short attention span.
For every hour in class, you are expected to have 2-3 hours of reading, studying or homework outside of class
I did my last two years of college at a quarter system and then came back to school later in life to a semester system. Quarter systems are great if all you’re doing is college classes and don’t have a job. Semesters are easier on people who work because they’re longer. All you need is time management.
Shorter, timewise, classes will place an emphasis on time management. Playing a sport (or other committed activity), no matter what the course length is, will place a larger emphasis on time management. Just be prepared.
I did better in college when my sport was in season as I did have to manage my time better. Out of season I’d lull myself, sometimes, into thinking I had more time to get things done when I really didn’t.
Yeah I’ve done both and I can safely say I’m better on the quarter system. Like someone else said, I lose steam with the semester system, and my grades kinda tend to drop off. Whereas classes are about half as long in the quarter system. Honestly, I do not feel like the quarter system is more intense. Another advantage is you take fewer classes at once on the quarter system, which lowers the temptation to skip class.
@FlyingCoffin: I agree with most of your post above except for “you take fewer classes at once on the quarter system”. While true at Dartmouth College, I do not believe that this is accurate at most quarter/trimester system schools.
In fact, a main selling point of the quarter system is that one gets to take more classes; the primary negative is that many profs try to get a semester’s worth of material (15 weeks) into a quarter (10 weeks).
Quarter system is better because it forces one to get things done & to learn time management skills. Plus, if the student dislikes the prof or the class, it is over quickly.
@Publisher I disagree.
I’ve been to two different quarter system schools, one with 3 quarters per school year and one with 4. At both, the norm is to take 3-4 classes a quarter, which is less than the 5-6 whch is common at semester schools. Although you’ll probably end up taking more classes a year, that’s still fewer classes at once.
It would help to know the schools. I have direct experience with five schools on the quarter system (three undergraduate schools & two law schools). All but one (Dartmouth College) required 5 courses per quarter. Northwestern University is an example of a university on a quarter system which requires/is the norm 5 courses per quarter.