<p>I was wondering if you guys could tell me which schools are on the quarter system and which ones are on semester systems. And also, for those of you in college, what are the benefits and drawbacks of each system?</p>
<p>hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii</p>
<p>haha, shut up, kirsten.</p>
<p>northwestern and dartmouth are on the quarter system :P</p>
<p>Dartmouth has a quarter system, and I like it, but I know some people who don't, so I'll try to explain both the benefits and drawbacks.</p>
<p>The D-Plan has 4 quarters - one each in fall, winter, spring, and summer. Over your four years at Dartmouth, you need to attend 12 terms, just as you would if there were no summer term. The difference is that you get to pick. You are required to be on campus F, W, Sp of freshman and senior year, and Summer Term the summer after your sophomore year. The other five are up to you to select. Basically, what that means is that for every summer term you spend on campus (and you must stay for at least that one), you get to take your vacation during some other term. This is pretty cool, because then you can get interships and such when there isnt as much competition, and you can arrange to have like 6 months off in a row in which to work.</p>
<p>Students can also study abroad up to 3 times, because there are three terms in one year (although they usually don't do it three terms in a row). I myself plan to study abroad twice. FSP (foreign study programs) and LSA (language study abroad) terms do NOT count as "off," or vacation terms. </p>
<p>The one complain many people have about the D-plan is that you could go up to 9 months without seeing a friend - if you're both off in the summer, and then one if off in the fall, the other is studying abroad in the winter, for example. However, this isnt really that different than when people at other schools take a semester abroad. The D-Plan can make housing interesting, and can sometimes lead to difficulty scheduling required classes. Overall, I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.</p>
<p>As for classes, you take 3 per term, for 3 terms a year = 9 classes/year, same as at many schools on the semester system. At Dartmouth, each class meets for 3 hours a week, plus lab, drill, whatever. Unlike many schools that do weird credit-hour systems, at Dartmouth, each class = 1 credit, making life much simpler, in my opinion.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions about the D-Plan, please feel free to PM me or post here.</p>
<p>Approx 25% of US colleges are on the quarter system. But, Dartmouth's is an extreme case since the individual classes are more intense, but you take only 3 at a time. In contrast, at the UCs and UofChicago, you'll take a more leisurely pace on the quarter system per class, but take more classes per term (need about 4 per quarter to graduate in four years). For example, at most colleges, Frosh chem is Frosh chem -- all year, (but at Dartmouth its two quarters). Thus, with a traditional quarter system, you take Frosh Chem all year , as you would in a semester system. The only difference is one extra final and mid-term, which could be good or bad, depending upon your perspective. One positive feature of a quarter system is that you are only stuck with a bad prof for 10 weeks vs 16 in a semester system. LOL</p>