<p>I have never been on a quarter system so, if it is that one would somebody please enlighten me as to what that means. Does it mean that I would take 13 units in the fall, 13 units in winter and 13 units in springs. In one academic year I would have 16 classes? So I'm just a bit confused about the whole thing.</p>
<p>i go to de anza college - one of the community colleges on a quarter system.
12 units is considered full time student
6 units is half time student
i usually take 17-20units a quarter
people usually take 3-5 classes per quarter. so in one year they’ll complete 9-15 classes
quarter system is 12 weeks long and semester system is 15 weeks long.
there are advantages and disadvantages to each system! but i prefer quarter system more</p>
<p>I say 13 because I was looking at Cal’s website and it stated that 13 units is a full-time student.</p>
<p>I’m at De Anza too. 
I also like the quarter system better. I believe quarter systems at the UC are actually 11 weeks, though. It’s just cc’s with 12 weeks. I may be wrong.</p>
<p>Cal is a semester school, by the way.</p>
<p>I believe Cal is the only UC on semesters.</p>
<p>Generally classes on the quarter system are longer (physics is 6 units instead of 4 credits, etc) and you have fewer classes at one time. Unfortunately it also means classes that are sequences (like physics or calculus) will require you to take more courses. Oh, and switching between the systems sucks.</p>
<p>In the end it’s really just a matter of preference, some people like quarters, some like semesters. With the way courses are broken up, you end up with (more or less) the same amount of learning anyways.</p>
<p>UC on quarter system is 11 weeks long! UC Berkeley and Merced are on semester system. the rest are on quarter system
@newsoul: cool! 
school starts tomorrow -.- idk whether to be happy or sad lol but this will speed up the waiting for acceptance letter process :]</p>
<p>Oh wow, I’m a bit embarrassed. Okay so I have no worries for the quarter system. Nevermind.</p>
<p>on the UC qtr system, most people take at least 15, if not more. if you take at least 15 units every qtr, you’d be set to graduate in 4 years…unless you’re a science major, then that’s a different story</p>
<p>Normal course load is 15 units, regardless of quarter or semester system. Assuming that you take that many each term…</p>
<p>On a semester system (15 week terms, Berkeley and Merced), you will complete 30 units per year.</p>
<p>On a quarter system (10 week terms, other UCs), you will complete 45 units per year.</p>
<p>A semester unit is worth 1.5 times a quarter unit. E.g. 4 semester units equals 6 quarter units.</p>
<p>If you are taking sequences of courses like math, physics, etc., you may have to be sure that you complete an entire sequence to avoid partial credit when transferring to a school on the other system.</p>