justcallmebob

I noticed that Stanford, unlike most schools I've gotten into, has a quarter system. What is the difference between a quarter and a semester system? Are there the same number of midterms and finals in each? Do the majority of classes in the quarter system last more than one quarter, or do students switch classes like crazy? What are the pros and cons of the each system? Which one entails more work? Thanks.

I go to an English school, by the by.

googol123

I'd say the Q system definitely entails more work. The major thing about it is the rush factor - 10 weeks to final grades every quarter, so about midterm at 3rd/4th week and 7th/8th week with the 10th week being dead week. If you're on a specific track, a lot of the classes are continuous but you do get final grades more often than semester/year people do. A semester system is 14-15 weeks with about 3-5 regular exams spaced at 2-3 weeks each and final/midterm at year schools at the 16th week. Supposebly, the Q system let you take more classes but you have a heavier workload. The S system supposedbly eases your workload and give you more chances to bring your grades back up. Hope this helps.

J mom

so is stanford known for hard work and grade deflation like Princeton. ofcourse it depend on subject but generally what is the enviroment there? thanks

jkjkjkj

^^^^^^Someone please answer this, especially for premed, because I know I'm gonna die if I do premed at Stanford. Help!

nngmm

Quarter system has it's advantages and disadvantages.

It goes at a faster pace (much less opportunity to procrastinate, midterms start before you know it) - this can be a plus or a minus, depending on your personality.

You get to take more classes. If you take a class you really like, you usually can take another similar one if you want to. On the other hand, if you find that you hate it, but can't (or don't want to) drop it, you are only stuck there for 10 weeks, as opposed to 15.

If you get a bad grade in a class, it is much less devastating to your GPA in the quarter system (I know a kid who started out with <2 GPA his first quarter, and still graduated "with distinction" (which is top 15% of the class, I think))

Your break schedule will be different from most of your friends, so you'll only get to see them on winter and summer breaks - it will be much less of a problem that you might think right now...

The hardest part, from what I've seen, is to wait around for the school to start your freshman year (most of your friends will be gone to their colleges, and you'll have a few weeks to hang out by yourself...)

undisclosed

Newb question: Does that mean that you graduate early? What does it mean for transfer credits from a semester system? Do transfered semesters=quarters (If you've completed 3 semesters than you get only 3 trimesters worth of classes?)

nngmm

- You do not graduate early
- I think transfer credit will depend on the school you are coming from (you'd have to find out from Stanford directly what credits count, for how much, what can count towards major, etc.) At Stanford you get different number of credits for different classes (3-5 usually for academic classes, and the difficulty of the class does not necessarily correspond to the number of credits).

peachiepizzazz

how does the quarter system effect going abroad opportunities? I know stanford says that if they don't offer the specific abroad program you want, you can do it through a different school's abroad program. However, most other schools are on the semester system so how would the timing work out for this?

dangermoose

I live on the east coast, so going to stanford in itself would limit the amount of time I could spend back home w/ friends and family, etc. And most schools over here go August to May on the semester system, so my friend's breaks will most likely not line up with mine. Could any current east coast undergrads speak to their experiences with this?

MrSpam

Semester goes August to May, while quarters are end of September to mid June

nngmm

peachiepizzazz

In a way, study abroad is actually easier with quarter system, as long as you go in the fall - that way you only miss 1 quarter (fall Q. ends at the end of December)

Princess'Dad

Christmas break OFF without having to study for finals.

Premed sucks. Graded against the elite of the elite.

Most people try to go overseas Winter and Spring and then play Summer overseas.