<p>Three 10-week quarters vs. two 15-week semesters per school year. Pros, cons, thoughts?</p>
<p>Side question: what’s the difference between quarters and trimesters?</p>
<p>Trimesters are the same as semesters…only roughly 2 weeks shorter. Universities with the trimester system have two main terms, just as universities that employ the semester calendar. The only difference between trimester and semester is the summer session, which tends to be roughly 3-4 weeks longer at schools with the trimester system.</p>
<p>I thought trimesters consisted of 3 ten-week terms.</p>
<p>[Carleton</a> College: Admissions: Choosing A College](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/topics/college_choice/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/topics/college_choice/)
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<p>Which sounds exactly like quarters, as described by the OP.</p>
<p>Northwestern has quarters, but students typically register for 4 courses a term, not 3 as in the Carleton example.</p>
<p>As far as I know, Northwestern requires more courses than anywhere else to graduate. This requirement along with the flexibility that comes with quarter system (see post #4) lead to a large number of double-major and double-major+minor and even quite a few triple majors. Both systems have their pros and cons but if you want to have a really ambitious curriculum without a delayed graduation, it’s generally more feasible in the quarter system.</p>
<p>Carleton’s system sounds a lot like a quarter system. The University of Michigan runs a traditional trimester system. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/lsa_bulletin/Home/LSA%20Academic%20Calendars/08-09_calendar.pdf[/url]”>http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/lsa_bulletin/Home/LSA%20Academic%20Calendars/08-09_calendar.pdf</a></p>
<p>The two primary terms are the Fall and Winter terms. Spring (which starts in May) and Summer (which ends in August) are half terms and completely optional. Most students can graduate in 8 terms (4 Fall terms and 4 Winter terms).</p>
<p>As to the pros and cons:</p>
<p>A trimester system usually lets you sample more courses per year (9 vs. 8 if you take 3 courses per trimester or 12 vs. 8 if you take 4 courses) It is also more intense because you have 50% more mid-terms and finals to contend with. You need to go through the entire course selection/registration process, and attendent juggling of your extra-curriculars and work, more often. And you have two fewer weeks to get to form a relationship with a specific professor (which can be good or bad depending on your view of him or her).</p>
<p>So its a trade-off and one that you have to weigh for yourself.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention, it could have an impact on your ability to study abroad. Most study abroad programs cater to the more popular semester system. The school I attended (which had trimesters) got around this by having their own study abroad programs. Not sure how it works these days.</p>
<p>My daughter is on quarters - she’s a sophomore - she will be the last class to graduate with 4 years quarters - her school is going to semester the semester after she graduates. </p>
<p>She feels her year FLIES. 10 weeks of class, then you change. Things move fast, but so does real life work. Not much time to get bored of a class. One downfall - at Christmas break she is in the middle of a quarter as opposed to having a clean break, no work to do. But end of first quarter is just before Thanksgiving, so she gets a nice break then.</p>
<p>With study abroad, the trimester/quarter system (like Northwestern’s) works both ways. Some of the early-start and full semester programs do not line up with Northwestern’s schedule, but the school is agile in finding or creating study abroad programs that do work with their calendar. My niece is graduating from NU this year and was able to study abroad for both a summer and a fall quarter.</p>
<p>One overall drawback to the NW schedule was that summer internships often wanted an earlier start than NW schedule allows.</p>
<p>Trimesters are in fact closer cousins to quarters than they are full blown semesters. Generally speaking you have less time to cover often the same material. Proponents of quarters and trimesters say ‘we are more intense and get in deeper’ but I dont think that is accurate. What really happens is that the professors expect students to do more on their own. Some kids think Semesters are too long and the quarter or trimester gives you more change and challenge more frequently, or put another way, you can escape the clutches of a bad professor quicker. </p>
<p>I have studied under both systems. Its really a matter of personal preference and study habits. Quarter systems and trimesters are becoming less and less common. Some schools have recently switched over to full semesters to be more in line with the rest of the country. The advantage of semesters is that your breaks will be most likely similar to that of your friends at different schools. Even some schools with semesters start real late and have exams after Christmas…like Princeton. And that makes a difference to some kids. Personally, I would loathe having to study for exams over Christmas break. </p>
<p>Either way, being flexible and willing to adjust to a new way of learning is very helpful towards your success in college.</p>
<p>
Are you sure? The University of Michigan has a trimester system. Each trimester is 15 weeks. For the school year 2008-09:</p>
<p>Fall: 9/2 to 12/9 (last final on 12/18)
Winter: 1/7 to 4/21 (last final on 4/30)</p>
<p>How’s that different from a semester system except that winter break is one week shorter.</p>
<p>^ Did you read the entire thread, GoBlue? I’ve never heard of UMich’s trimesters until now, but many midwestern schools (Carleton, Knox) work on a 3-3 trimester system–three 10-week terms, 3 6-cr courses per term.</p>
<p>My son at Kalamazoo is on the quarter system (effectively, three ten week terms). The Fall term is from late September to early December. The Winter and Spring terms are after the holidays. Three courses a term. What I notice is that it keeps the students moving. Very intense. Great for intellectual kids who like what they are studying. </p>
<p>The only real drawback is that he starts and finishes later than all his friends, and I do worry (particularly in this economy) that it will exacerbate finding a summer job or internship.</p>
<p>Sorry, I haven’t heard of a 3-3 trimester system before. Carlton’s academic year starts on mid-Sept and ends around the first week of June. How’s that different from a quarter system … except that you need 210 credits to graduate instead of 180 (6-credit course instead of 5-credit course). Is that just a different name for the same thing?</p>
<p>Michigan’s three trimesters span the entire calendar year. I suppose it is also one of a kind.</p>
<p>Well, that was what I was asking–the difference between (not-UMich) trimesters and quarters. Someone mentioned that the quarter system has Winter break right in the middle–trimesters, I believe, have one long winter break from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.</p>
<p>Trimesters at UM are, to me, basically like semesters…you can go to school full time, two trimesters per year, and graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>We’re looking at DePaul U. for my D, which is on the quarter system. There she would go to school full time (12 to 18 credit hours, or 3 to 5 courses per quarter), three quarters per year, and graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>Their first quarter ends the Wed before Thanksgiving, and the second quarter doesn’t start until the New Year. That gives her a really long break between the first & second quarters. Of course, then she wouldn’t finish up her school year until June.</p>