<p>I'm under a semester system and I was just wondering someone with experience/knowledge of both systems could give me some pros and cons of each.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm in a trimester system (which we call a quarter system -- we include summer as the 4th term). Some things I've found:</p>
<p>Pros:
- Shorter term means that if you hate your classes, it's over with more quickly
- For the price of slightly shorter classes, I can take many more humanities classes
- By the time finals come around, you haven't forgotten everything from the beginning of class yet</p>
<p>Cons:
- Different schedule from other schools -- all my friends back home start in early September and end in May. I start and end a month later and my spring break is at a different time than many other colleges. Of course, I think all the UC's are on a quarter system, so this shouldn't be a problem for Californians.
- Often, we get the same amount of material packed into a shorter amount of time (though that's partly because I go to an exceptionally difficult school)
- More textbooks to buy! I average about $100 per course per term. Since I'm taking 15 courses over the year rather than 10, I spend an extra $500 every year on textbooks</p>
<p>But does that mean you graduate faster? I'm sorry, but I'm just really confused between the quarter and semester system.</p>
<p>For instance the requirements for a chem major at a semester school read: General Chem I & II</p>
<p>But at the quarter system school it read: General Chem I,II,III</p>
<p>Now that is probably a vague question, but after alleya's saying that you learn the same amount of material in a quarter (i'm assuming all quarter schools are like that) I'm just really confused.</p>
<p>I'd really appreciate it if someone cleared it up for me.</p>
<p>hmm, I'm not sure I can explain the chem thing to you, but I am in a quarter system, and no, you don't graduate faster. Basically you just take one fewer course and pack in the material for few course. That sounds vague. What I mean is...most people at my school take 3 classes per term, while people at other colleges might do 4 classes per semester. You basically just do the classes in a more intensive manner. Do I think it's better? I think it keeps you from getting overly bored with your classes, but I don't know if it's better for learning. I do like it, however. </p>
<p>As far as the chem thing- my guess is they just spread out what you have to do in two semesters into three terms because you couldn't possibly get it done with shorter than a year's period.</p>
<p>i like the quarter system. its easy to play 'catch up.' </p>
<p>pros: can play catch up, gives you time to explore other areas of interest, oppurtunity to graduate faster i mean the oppurtunities there its yours for the taking</p>
<p>cons: will take more classes compared to a semester system, no time to get lazy cause if you do you will die</p>
<p>i'm on quarters (UC as well) and finals start monday. the quarter has gone by incredibly fast. if you fall behind on even one assignment in one class, it brings you down in everything. be good with time management!</p>
<p>i know for language classes, you learn the same amount in year as you would on a semester schedule, it's just broken up differently. chem is probably similar to that, especially since 3 quarters are required.</p>
<p>also, i think i'm taking fewer classes on the quarter system than i would with semesters. we're 'supposed' to take 3 classes a quarter (i'm an overachiever and taking 5...kill me now) but one of my friends at a semester school is taking 6 courses - with fewer credits than i have right now.</p>
<p>I think most people can adapt to either method pretty easily, and the biggest difference is, how long are you going to be in class? 10 wks or 16wks (I think 16 for semesters, not sure though)</p>
<p>No you don't graduate any faster under either system -- in both it takes 4 years. About the chem thing, I'd bet that at the semester school, Ch1 and Ch2 are each a semester long, meaning a year of intro chem classes. At the quarter school, I'd bet Ch1, Ch2, and Ch3 are each a quarter long, meaning a year of intro chem classes. So you see, it's the same amount of time either way, the material is just divided out differently. When I referred to more work, I was referring to the fact that at my school (with a quarter system), for example, we only have Ch1 and Ch2, that is 2/3 a year of intro chem classes, but we learn the same amount of material as is learned at the other schools in a year. But, this is something that's going to vary between schools based on the difficulty of that school. It's always hard to generalize workload and difficulty between separate schools. For instance, apppro said that he/she only takes 3 courses per term, rather than the 4 for a semester school. But at my school, taking only 4 courses is extremely rare -- 90% of people take 5 or 6 courses a term. So really what you need to do is ask the specific schools about their workloads. Good questions (that will be comparable between schools with different systems) are:
1) How many classes does a student take at once?
2) How much time a week does an average student spend in class? studying?
3) How long does it take to fulfill basic requirements (e.g. rather than asking how many intro chem classes are required, ask how much time of intro chem classes are required)?</p>
<p>i go to a lac, and i normally take 18 credits per semester (6 classes)...</p>
<p>and with that... i spend.. who knows how many hours... per week working on stuff..<br>
mondays i have classes/work/clubs from 8 am till 10pm... i then work on stuff till about midnight.. tuesdays I have class at 11 and at 2.. so i usually spend most of the day working on stuff... Wednesdays are the same as mondays, thursdays i have class at 11, 2, and 6:30.. so i work on stuff when i get a chance... and Fridays i have no classes, but I work at my job... and then weekends i do a lot of work as well.. </p>
<p>for instance due before finals are:</p>
<p>a db project (almost done)
2 websites (1 is done, 1 is almost done)
a 3 page paper (done)
a cd redesign project (almost done)
a 16 page self designed magazine (3 pages done)</p>
<p>But at the same time, I don't have any finals... so instead of studying, i'll be spending all of my time working on my projects..</p>
<p>your just blind if you can't see that you can graduate faster on a quarter system</p>
<p>Are you on a quarter system? Those of us who are can tell you we're not graduating any faster. I can't think of one one college that expects it's students to graduate in less than 4 years with a BA or BS, regardless of whether they have a quarter system or a semester system.</p>
<p>You can graduate whenever your credits are completed. One of my roommates is graduating this december (3.5 years). Another one of my friends graduated from RPI after 3 years, another from NYU after 3 years,.. and the list goes on.. colleges don't expect it,but it can be done.. semesterly or trimesterly, i guess :)</p>
<p>yes, im on the quarter system. </p>
<p>notice i never said anything about graduating early being easy. i just said its up for grabs if your on the quarter system.</p>
<p>I agree with fendergirl that it can always be done, but it's never expected by a college (all colleges expect you to spend 4 years to get a BA or BS, though they aren't going to stop you from taking more classes and finishing early). But the important point is that it's no easier in the quarter system, because you have proportionally MORE classes to take than in a semester system.</p>
<p>(Excuse me if I sound annoyed -- there's few things I hate more than when people make incorrect generalizations and insult others while doing so.)</p>
<p>Berkeley is the only UC school on semesters</p>
<p>alleya: are you blind?</p>
<p>Actually, it's no easier to graduate earlier on a quarter system. You still need to cram four units worth of units into three years and it doesn't matter whether they're quarter units or semester units.</p>
<p>I took classes under both systems. The quarter system is very unforgiving if you fall behind for any reason (including getting sick)...mid-terms and finals are alway right on top of you it seems. But what I like is the greater number of courses, allowing you to explore more areas. </p>
<p>The semsester system is more leisurely and the plus side is that you get to explore a subject in greater depth. If you're taking a year sequence in something, then it doesn't matter. But if you're taking either major electives or general electives, the breadth vs. depth question does come into play...at which point it's a subjective decision for everyone.</p>