<p>There are often two midterms prior to the final (if that makes sense), so that means one is faced with a midterm after about 3 weeks into the course. There never seems to be a down time. The studying and test preparation needs to be nearly constant. Whereas in semester systems (and I have been in both), one can take a couple of days to unwind after a major exam. I felt much more hurried in the quarter system than I did in a semester system. (BTW this was true in a much less “intense” school than Chicago as well). Having said that, I liked the quarter system. </p>
<p>Another aspect of coursework at Chicago that is often overlooked is that there is not a strict correspondence between credit hours and course hours, actually there is none at all. A course, no matter how often it meets, is worth one credit. S1 had a social science course that met for 4 hours per week and another that met 7. The prof added evening hours once the course started. At most schools the more a course meets the more credit one receives, not so at Chicago. While at Chicago I once took a course that met 11 hours per week, and two of them were on Saturday morning.</p>