<p>I've heard arguments in favor of both quarters and semesters for the dreamer/there's a test today?? type kid. Semesters give someone who's floundering time to get help and redeem themselves before finals, while quarters usually cover less material and require fewer classes taken at once.</p>
<p>Anyone with a story to tell?</p>
<p>I went to colleges with quarters and semesters and honestly, I didn’t find either more difficult. Quarters were my preference because if you didn’t really like a class it was over in ten weeks. I liked the change three times vs two each year.</p>
<p>I also liked the school schedule better on quarters… Started mid September and ended in June.</p>
<p>I have had 2 kids go to quarter schools and 1 go to a semester school. I actually think quarters worked better (organizationally challenged kids at both!) because there was less time to procrastinate. Papers and midterms begin very early in a quarter and there is no wiggle room, and I think that worked better for my D. My S, at a semester school, did flounder early on in his collegiate career as it was always easier to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” He’s in graduate school now and I think he still works until the very last second on just about everything. In the end would it have mattered, who knows. They were both quite successful at their respective schools. I think the approach to school is different in each case and the student has to acknowledge the differences right at the start.</p>
<p>I’m at a semester/trimester school. Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer terms are all equally long, Spring and Summer terms being exactly 1/2 the length of Fall and Winter terms each. Personally, I find that simply having more classes even with the same number of credits and about the same amount of “work” feels like it’s more work, simply because you have to have more things in your head. Last semester I had 7 different classes with deliverables, and just keeping up with what was due when and figuring out what I should be doing when felt like it was another class all on its own. The previous semester when I had only 5 (only 4 at any time) it was a lot easier to manage. For that reason, I would think quarters would be easier to manage.</p>
<p>Also, inevitably, no matter what you do, somehow you’re going to have a few times in the semester, every semester, a project, paper, problem set, or a test due in every single class within a 48 hour span. It’s easier to manage when it’s 3 classes than when it’s 7.</p>
<p>My D2 is organizationally challenged. She is currently a high school senior, and goes to a school with block scheduling. She typically has 3 academic classes in a given quarter, with a couple of electives (art, choir, etc.) every day. This works well for her… so well that we are looking at trimester colleges for her (3 terms in the year of 10 weeks each, typically 3 classes taken per term). She does well with fewer subjects in more depth, I think.</p>
<p>There are also a few colleges that have one class at a time, changing classes every 3 weeks with a few days break in between. For example, Colorado College and Cornell College in Iowa both have this option.</p>
<p>One big disadvantage of quarters is that the terms don’t line up with the academic calendar at most institutions. Stanford students are ineligible for many internships and summer programs because those usually start before our spring classes end (mid June).</p>
<p>While quarter schools don’t typically end until June, they don’t start up again until mid to late September. My kiddo was a lifeguard in the summer and her employers LOVED her because her school break actually coincided with summer school vacations. She was always available for the last couple of weeks of August plus Labor Day weekend and beyond, when everyone else had returned to college.</p>
<p>My son has a couple trimester and quarter schools on his list. I think he’d do better at those schools…less balls to juggle, less time to procrastinate. If it came down to a tiebreaker, that would be it.</p>
<p>We’ll see how it goes with the quarter system. I agree with Runnersmom that a shorter term might be better for procrastinators, and I’m hoping it will also mean less bookkeeping for any particular class. Son has a pattern of throwing in the towel once the grade starts tanking, so I don’t think extra instructional time would help.</p>
<p>I was told that one advantage of the quarter system is that when you are on break, your on break. The classes end before winter break and again before spring break. No worrying about papers, tests, etc. I guess that could work against you if your needing some catch up time.</p>
<p>10 weeks goes by fast. The procrastinator, especially coming from semesters in high school, can easily get “caught” that first semester when midterms start popping up after just a month. I honestly think it doesn’t matter. More classes, more time. Fewer classes, less time. Supposedly, one covers the same amount of material per class anyway.</p>
<p>It is the spring break in March where those students on quarters are actually between terms. That IS a plus. Students in semesters are in the middle of the second semester when that spring break occurs.</p>
<p>My S2 went to University of Denver, which is on quarters. He loved it! He got home at Thanksgiving and was always able to find a good job to make extra $$$ over break because he was home a full 6 weeks. He also used that time to line up summer work. He usually got home from school at the end of the first week in June. It may have been disadvantageous to just be getting home then if he had needed to find a job, but he used the extra time at winter break to take care of this. Also, he found that sometimes jobs opened up right around the time he came home…sometimes the initial hire of a student who had come home earlier did not work out.</p>
<p>Academically he loved quarters. When he came home at Thanksgiving, he was done with nothing hanging over his head. The quick pace of classes kept him focused and prevented him from procrastinating.</p>
<p>He also liked the fact that he could fit in more classes and explore more areas…while the average class load was 4 at a time, he often took 5 once he learned to pace the workload.</p>
<p>He also liked the fact that he got through the classes where he did not like the subject matter or the professor in only 10 weeks, instead of dragging out his suffering.</p>
<p>Either way, he should try to take classes that have a lot of assessments and small class sizes. This is helpful for the organizationally challenged.</p>
<p>Note that there can be variation even within semesters/ quarters. I’ve attended two different schools on the semester schedule. I preferred the schedule where the typical full time course load was four classes with each class being worth four credits, over the typical full time course load being five classes with each class being worth three credits each. </p>
<p>For my most difficult classes I really needed that full fifteen weeks for the material to sink in. Similarly, I felt like I got to know professors and fellow students better over the course of 15 weeks than I would have in the course of 10 weeks. I found that for every course I wanted to be over sooner, there was one I wanted for it to go for longer. A semester schedule is slightly more forgiving of a bad month (illness, family/ relationship issues, etc). Another thing to consider that the fewer number of courses per term, the greater each classes’ weight for the term gpa. I’m glad I only had finals twice per year. </p>
<p>I agree with peacefulmom that for the organizationally challenged it is more important to have small classes with frequent assessments.</p>
<p>Quarter schools don’t all have classes end before thanksgiving for the term. DDs school started September 20 or so, had a week off at thanksgiving, and then another week of classes and then finals before the Christmas break. Winter quarter started the second week of January and ended at the end of march for spring break. Spring quarter started the very end of march and ended mid June.</p>
<p>DS went to a school on quarters. Their fall term did end before thandlksgiving. Then they went back in December for a two week intercession. Winter break started second week of january and the rest of the year was just like DD’s. However, for some reason, he was always done by Memorial Day. </p>
<p>So check each school calendar…lots of variation.</p>
<p>I had a brief experience with the quarter system and must say I liked it a lot more than the semester system at my college. Not only does the semester system start you off on a bad footing by going easy for the first 1-2 weeks, it can get boring to be in the same course for almost half a year. The quarter system keeps things interesting and, in my opinion, offers more chances to improve and self-reflect.</p>
<p>@barium: It’s widely known in the corporate world that Stanford, NU, UChicago, etc. are on quarter systems and so a lot of the top companies make sure to fit them in. I know that in my occupational interest, all the well-known firms do.</p>
<p>Definitely do not choose UG because of preference for quarters or semesters. Should not be in consideration at all. There are many other very important aspects that should be considered.
Improve organizational skills / time managements skill if needed. Future life will require them. There is a life after college…</p>