<p>Is there a big difference?
Which is more common?
Is one generally considered easier?
Is a semester calender year shorter?
Is a quarter year better for those that want to explore outside their major?</p>
<p>Basically, what are the main differences between a quarter and semester calender. Is it a big enough difference that i should factor it into my choosing of colleges?</p>
<p>a quarter system is generally much easier. For example Stanford and Northwestern both have a quarter system and they are inflated.</p>
<p>On the other hand universities such as MIT and Johns Hopkins University are semester and are much more deflated schools</p>
<p>My understanding is that a quarter system means you take 4 courses per quarter, each meets 4 hours per week, as opposed to 5 courses per semester meeting 3 hours per week. So, 16 credit hours times 3 quarters (excluding summer quarter) = 48 hours per academic year versus 30 credit hours per semester. </p>
<p>Do you graduate earlier under the quarter system...no, you do not. In, fact it takes longer to graduate under the quarter system because many students take co-op at quarter-based schools. I am not sure, but I believe quarter based systems wind up costing students more money. </p>
<p>You have to register 3 times per year, not two, and pay bills three times per year, which is inconvenient. I think the supposed 4-hours-per-week for quarter-system courses is often shortened to 3 hours anyway so students get shortchanged (although they probably don't complain about the shorter classes).</p>
<p>The quarter system is rare (Northwestern, Northeastern) and is used primarily at schools with a lot of co-op students. The academic year can be slightly shorter under the quarter system but is essentially the same length (10 weeks per quarter X 3 = 30 ).</p>
<p>Holiday break can occur in the middle of a quarter or not and lasts about two or three weeks not 4 or 5 weeks.</p>
<p>Advantages? If you don't like a course or professor, it is over in 10 weeks, not 15 weeks. I think you get to take a wider variety of courses. </p>
<p>Disadvantages? The quarter system is harder, moves faster, more intense. Sequential courses can seem more disjointed. It is harder to transfer quarter-based credits to a semester-based school.</p>
<p>I looked into this issue when deciding between Northwestern and Cornell.</p>
<p>I attended several types of schools. Thus, I have some experience with this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Neither is easier per se. Quarter system has fifteen finals in a year vs. 10 for a semester. Moreover, the finals and midterms come quicker. However, there is less to study for each exam.</p></li>
<li><p>Quarter system is 10 week quarters while semesters are usually 14-15 weeks long in duration.</p></li>
<li><p>Quarter system may be better to explore outside of your major because you take many more courses. It also is probably better for schools that have internships.</p></li>
<li><p>In terms of grade inflation/deflation, it is about the same in grading</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Honestly the biggest difference is that with a quarter system, you hit the ground running. They don't have time to fritter away, and kids start working from the getgo. In addition, if you are sick for a week in a quarter system, you miss 10% of curriculum. If you are sick of a week in a semester system, you miss about 7%.</p>
<p>Bottom line: There are pros and cons to both. Frankly, I didn't find one harder or easier than the other. My GPA was the same at both types of schools.</p>
<p>Yes, as others have said the quarter system is definitely not easier. U Chicago and Caltech use the quarter system, for example. </p>
<p>The quarter system allows you to take more courses, which I think is a plus not to be lightly considered. However, I assume it can be brutal at times- does one really want to take organic chemistry and biochemistry in one year instead of the usual year and a half? :eek:</p>
<p>20% of all schools use the quarter system- UCLA, U Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford, Caltech, and Dartmouth among them. </p>
<p>Here's an interesting article that examines the pros and cons of a quarter system:
<a href="http://maroon.uchicago.edu/viewpoints/articles/2003/05/20/quarters_equal_semes.php%5B/url%5D">http://maroon.uchicago.edu/viewpoints/articles/2003/05/20/quarters_equal_semes.php</a></p>
<p>very interesting article...</p>
<p>I would add a note of cynicism: I would not be surprised if there were a financial advantage to the institutions that practice the quarter system. I look at the fact that students are taking more courses under the quarter system and probably getting less education in terms of faculty attention and lecture (e.g. more time spent giving exams, faculty who don't keep the 4-hour per week per class standard, can you imagine a night class that goes from 6 to 10?, etc.)...yet it takes even longer to graduate...students pay tuition and fees each quarter...buy books each quarter. I think it's a shell game. Something does not add up. What is the average cost of education to the student per bachelors degree, semester vs quarter system? Does anybody know? If the tuition charges are equivalent (example):
quarter 3 qtrs X 4 years X $20,000 = $240,000
semester 2 sems X 4 years X $20,000 = $160,000</p>
<p>Northeastern recently changed to semesters</p>
<p>just correcting what someone said</p>
<p>collegehelp,</p>
<p>quarter system doesn't charge you more. It simply means your payment per semster is 1.5 times more than your payment per quarter so that the tuition is equivalent per year. Other school fees work the same. If Chicago changes to semster system, its yearly tuition won't shrink. Also, as far as fees for books, that's more of a function of how many classes you take. If you push yourself and take 4 or even 5 per quarters, then of course you pay more for books simply because you are taking more classes. But most quarter schools don't require 48 classes to graduate (although Northwestern does require that for engineering majors). Keep in mind for the intro science sequences like bio/chem/orgo/phys, you buy one book for the sequence, regardless if you split it into 2 seemsters (like the chem sequence) or into 3 quarters a year.</p>
<p>You also don't stay longer for quarter system. In fact, I'd say if you are ambitious, its easier to graduate early with quarter system or double major still graduate in 4 years. For example, it's obviously tough to take 5 classes per quarter. But I'd done it before. But to do the equivalent in a semster system, you have to take 7 or 8 classes simultaneously. I don't think I can manage that. Not to mention it's likely impossible anyway because you just can't squeeze that many classes because of conflicting schedule. One of my friends graduated with dual-degree in econ and computer engineering and 6 quarters of co-op (full co-op program at Northwestern) in 4 years!</p>
<p>im deciding between a quater and semster school as well drexel vs. seton hall i plan on majoring in physician assitant for my mhs i can typically handel stress pretty well but i still dont know whcih school would be beter for me</p>
<p>For some, a year of college French is two semesters, for others it is three quarters. Both situtations might use the same book so text might not make a difference there. However for one shot classes the quarter system allows you to take more of those over four years and therefor possibly spend more on books. Many UCs use the quarter system and they seem to educate people quite well. I think the quality is more a function of the school itself and not the quarter vs. semester argument.</p>
<p>Going back to the article that warblersrule86 linked to, does anyone know if 2 quarters=2 semesters at Northwestern and/or Dartmouth? For example, would the organic chemistry course take 2 quarters or 3 quarters at Northwestern/Dartmouth. I couldn't find the length of courses on Northwestern's or Dartmouth's sites.</p>
<p>Oops, double post.</p>
<p>It depends on the classes. At Northwestern, for chem/bio/phys/orgo sequence, 3 quarters = 2 semesters. But there are accelerated chem/phys (at least when I was there) ones for which 1 quarter=1 semester. For calculus, 4 quarters = 3 semester. For my major (chemE) core courses, 1 quarter = 1 semester. In most cases, 1 quarter = 1 semseter.</p>