semester or quarterly system

ALF
Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:54:58 +0000

They both have pros and cons. The biggest pro of quarters is that you take fewer classes (usually 3) at any one time, compared to semesters (usually 5). So, if you have trouble organizing yourself or keeping track of multiple classes, quarters might be best for you.

The biggest pro of semesters is that things proceed more sedately, over about 15 weeks, instead of quarters (about 10 weeks). If you don’t want more intense continuous work, then semesters might be best for you.

A disadvantage of quarters is that you have one more cycle of enrollment, financial aid, final exams, etc. to deal with.

A commonly-shared myth is that there are more hours in a semester course than there are in a quarter course - this is not true. Either way, a full (5-quarter-credit or 3-quarter-credit) course takes up about 45-50 hours of class time.

I work at Everett Community College, a quarter school like Edmonds (and all the rest of Washington state schools, except for WSU).