<p>does this pretty much mean that two quarters = a one semseter course? I gues the only thing is two additional grades each year.</p>
<p>There are three quarters each year, plus an optional summer session that counts as the year’s 4th “quarter” (most people who don’t take a traditional summer vacation use this time to study abroad or take one or two distribution requirements at other schools). </p>
<p>It’s not like high school, where 2 quarters=1 semester. Each class lasts one quarter, and a full-time undergraduate who takes a full 4-course load all 12 quarters (standard, though you’ll inevitably end up taking fewer than 4 courses on many occasions due to AP credit, independent studies/research, and other loopholes) ends up with 48 credits. We do not have credit hours, but rather a more straightforward system where one 1-quarter course=1 credit.</p>
<p>You actually need <em>more</em> credits to graduate from NU than you you would need to graduate from a semester school, but the trade-off is the fact that grading periods are shorter. This means that midterms sneak up you you fairly quickly, and our calendar is adjusted a bit (school starts in late Sept. and gets out in mid June), but overall, I found that the advantages outweighed the disadvantes.</p>
<p>good answer WildLion, thanks</p>
<p>The answer varies, depending on what classes you take.</p>
<p>Freshman general chemistry takes 3 quarters instead of 2 semester. So 1 quarter = 2/3 semester. This applies to general physics and premed bio also. The accerlerated general chemistry/physics (if they are still offered) takes 2 quarters only–so you’d learn as much stuff in 1 quarter as in one semester in most other schools. </p>
<p>Most other schools have 3-semester sequence for calculus whereas at NU, it takes you 4 quarters to finish. So here, 1 quarter = 0.75 semester.</p>
<p>However, for macro and micro econ, 1 quarter = 1 semester. That’s when your course is going faster pace than it would be in semester system. </p>
<p>I’d say for most courses, 1 quarter = 1 semester. So it wasn’t easy when I had to absorb the same chemical engineering theromdynamics as other schools’ but in 10 weeks instead of 14 weeks.</p>
<p>do you think it is much more difficult or easier than the semester system. I guess this system affects pretty much your whole work/study life and pace at school.</p>
<p>Do you prefer this quarter system, especially in college? I guess back in high school, it perhaps was easier to maintain a good GPA because you get quizzes and tests almost every other day. In college, there is so much pressure on perhaps one or two grades, and then before you know it, you have perhaps a low grade on your report.</p>
<p>But in a more optimistic approach, does this also mean that you have more chances (more grades and quarters) to boost your GPA. That is a 4.0 one quarter can really help you out if you understand what I mean.</p>
<p>any decent answer is that there are ups and downs to either system.
the positive aspects of the quarter system are that you get to choose classes 4 more times during your time in high school than do people on the semester system (this provides a chance to study more diverse subject areas, and take classes with more teachers)… it starts nearly a month later than everyone else (im starting at NU in the fall… my summer is 4 months long this year)… and each class counts for less of your total GPA because you are taking more classes (so getting a low grade in one class because you hate teh teacher or subject wont hurt you as much as it would in semesters)</p>
<p>the downs: you end the year later, your breaks are at different times than your friends who are on semesters, midterms are 5 weeks into the class… so you’ll feel more like you are always preparing for a final or a midterm…</p>
<p>im sure there are more arguments on both sides. When trying to decide which system is “better” it may be helpful to look at which colleges use which system… it seems to me like the vast majority of elite schools use quarters.</p>
<p>Stanford, Chicago, and I think the UCs are among schools that also use the quarter system.</p>
<p>hmm…for some reason NU’s break seem to be matching up with my friends from sem. schools… oddly enough… except for summer vacation… which is defiantely a month after them. The ending in june for me and starting in september, is hardly a change for me. I’ve been starting school in Sept. and ending in June for my whole school life… ahha so the quarter system… actually seems quite noraml to me. =)</p>
<p>The one disadvantage I have with the quarter system is that we get out in June. It’s hard to find internships (I had to schedule my interviews in April and May and fly back to school) and retain them if employees realize you get out a month later than the rest of the college students. California and Illinois understand this, but the quarter system seems almost foreign in Michigan.</p>
<p>i think overall, the quarter system has more problems than benefits. I really do not know why any school has it. I mean all schools should either have it or none should, it just creates more confusion. For example, for transfering reasons, if you want to transfer to Northwestern or any school on the quarter system, b/c they end so late, they want to SEE ur entire freshman year while a school on the semester system generally only cares about your first semester of work.</p>