Thank you! I find that podcast a bit frustrating, slow and repetitive. But I will check out that episode.
My son was diagnosed with ADHD in the 8th grade. He is textbook ADHD but is also off the charts brilliant in a number of ways. He tests extremely well in both math and language arts and grasps concepts very quickly. His late diagnosis was mostly due to is ADHD struggles reading as boredom mixed with a bit of defiance. High school was rough. He had a few classes he barely passed because of the sheer number of missing and incomplete assignments, and the tedium of online classes during Covid was torture.
Fast forward to today, he is thriving as a mechanical engineering student on the quarter system. It moves quickly enough that there really isn’t much time to get bored, and the speed of the quarter speaks to his one of his strengths ( much to my frustration), getting things done fueled by last minute panic. His school also uses a much more intuitive course management system which goes a long way as well. I’m not sure he wouldn’t have done just as well on the semester, there has been so much EF growth in the last 4 years that maybe it wouldn’t have mattered one way or the other, but the quarter is working well for him so far.
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That’s so great to hear! What school did he choose? The “intuitive course management system” sounds right up my son’s alley.
He’s at Oregon State University. It’s larger than what your son is looking for, but it really doesn’t feel overwhelmingly huge.
Yeah, a bit larger than he’d like, but so glad to hear it works well for your kid. I just love how there are SO many schools out there that are great fits for so many kids. Happy Thanksgiving!
Your kid and my kid seem like they have some things in common—adhd, struggles turning in assignments, super smart, tests well, easily bored. Wants to study physics or math. He’s a sophomore now, feeling kind of nervous about his grades this semester. I guess we will see what happens. We are also in the Bay Area. Good luck with the search.
As for your question—my D22 is at ucla and just complained to me a little about the quarter system. The pacing is tough… the first 3 weeks are manageable and then it’s a race to the finish with midterms and finals. She does focus well and does not have EF or AdHD issues, but said she wouldn’t mind a little breathing room throughout the calendar. I think there are pros and cons… but you really have to keep on it with the quarter system
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Schools where students take 3 courses per quarter might be better than schools on a 4 or 5 course quarter system and probably better than 5 course semester system. Easier to focus on three courses per term than on 4 or 5 courses.
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Yeah, I went to UCLA in the late 80s/early 90s (dating myself lmao) and felt that the quarter system went way too fast. You started and then blinked and you were at midterms, and then blinked again and you were at finals. No chance to catch up on reading (which there was plenty), I just felt that I was always behind.
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