<p>I saw a similar thread in the College Life forum but I thought I'd get your input.</p>
<p>How exactly does the quarter system work? Are you expected to work all 4 quarters? What are the pros/cons when compared to a semester system?</p>
<p>I heard that it's very hard to catch up unless you keep up from the get go. How far is this true? How often do you have tests/midterms?</p>
<p>TIA</p>
<p>There are 3 quarters in the academic year.</p>
<p>Quarter system can be a bit more stressful (more finals and midterms, shorter time between them, less time to "catch up" if you get behind on work).</p>
<p>On the other hand, you get to take more classes. If there is a class you don't like, you are only stuck in it for 10 weeks.</p>
<p>nngmm said it well; I agree. I personally am glad that I get to take more classes, and I don't find it that stressful to have the quick pace.</p>
<p>I was wondering about this, too. Usually, you'd take 5 or so classes per semester, and so you'd take about 10 every year (under the semester system). Under the quarter system, you'd take about 15 every year (given that you take, for example, 5 per academic period)?</p>
<p>You take 12-20 "credits" per quarter (not always all of them "academic"). That is usually 3-5 classes. Different classes have different "weight" in credits (which does not always correspond to their difficulty or amount of work required).</p>
<p>Generally I think the standard is 4 classes per quarter, one of which might be a bit less serious. "Activity" classes (like club sports, social dance, band, etc) are often added on to that. I would consider 3 classes to be a somewhat light quarter, and 5 classes to be a heavy load (I would know...). Don't try 6 unless you take pleasure in burnout.</p>
<p>I've found that number of units given for a class does not necessarily correspond to the amount of work you put in. I measure my load by number of serious (nonactivity) classes, not by number of units.</p>
<p>I really like being on quarters, mainly for the advantage of taking more classes. I'm also used to having finals pretty often, as my high school divided the year into four quarters, with finals every 9 weeks.</p>
<p>Oh, and there's also the advantage that winter break and spring break both fall conveniently at breaks between quarters. Although to get that advantage, we have to start and end the year late, which is slightly awkward.</p>
<p>What's the difference between quarter and trimester systems? Either way you pretty much take three.....</p>
<p>There is no difference. It's just called quarters because technically there is a summer quarter as well, but you have to pay extra if you want to take classes over the summer, and it is not really a part of normal academic year.</p>
<p>Well, first of all, you have an entirely extra set of midterms and finals each year which can be very stressful because they sneak up on you.</p>
<p>The dates of breaks and such at Stanford are very out of sync compared to everyone else, except for maybe Dartmouth, which is also on the quarter system.</p>
<p>The dates of breaks at Stanford are the same as at other schools on quarter system (like Northwestern, etc.)</p>
<p>And yes, you do have an extra set of tests, but they don't really "sneak up on you" - they are scheduled well in advance. And if you get a bad grade in some class, it will be less detrimental to your overall GPA than it would be in a semester-long class...</p>
<p>In quarter system, you can arrange one or two quarters of internship during the regular academic year and don't feel they have as much impact to your schedule. This allows more poeple to double major and internships...etc all in four years without overloading too much. More classes are offered twice a years (e.g. fall and spring), so if you miss the one in the fall, you still have another chance instead of waiting until next year. 5 classes per quarter is tough but nothing out of the world. In a semester system, the equivlence would be 7 classes which is rarer; even if one is smart enough and have the will to do it, he/she would likely end up having conflicting schedule anyway. It's definitely easier to design a more ambitious curriculum under quarter system.</p>
<p>Yes, but not a lot of schools are on the quarter system. Of course the tests are scheduled in advance, I'm just saying that time can fly by and the quarter seems to be over before you know it. That's a definite good point about GPA. And really painful classes are over sooner than in other schools.</p>
<p>Don't all of the UCs except Cal have quarter systems?</p>
<p>^^ I was gonna say 'no,' but then I looked it up, and you're right: all of them except Cal are on the quarter system (at least those ranked by US News are).</p>
<p>Right, all the UCs except Cal are on quarter.</p>
<p>The pace is quick, but not really frustratingly so. You'll adjust to it.</p>