Stanford AP policy

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
1

<p>What the heck are quarter units??
<a href=“http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/registrar/files/AP%20Chart%202010-11.pdf[/url]”>http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/registrar/files/AP%20Chart%202010-11.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2

<p>Stanford has quarters instead of semesters … so the quarter units are their name for credits …</p>

3

<p>Oh, interesting. </p>

<p>Is there any upside or downside to having quarters instead of semesters?</p>

4

<p>^The upside, you get to take more interesting courses, and you have greater flexibility in the courses you can take. It’s easier to double major/minor. Also, it may be beneficial when looking for internships/research opportunities. One downside is that the quarter system isn’t in-sync with the semester system that most colleges go by,</p>

5

<p>The other downside that you hear people complaining about is that you don’t get to go as in-depth with the material as you might in a semester course.</p>

6

<p>Huh, interesting. It must be pretty rigorous then.</p>

7

<p>@wulfran, I haven’t found there to be a lack of depth in any classes so far. Plus, many classes are offered in a series across several quarters, so you can get greater depth by continuing along in the series. Quarter classes do typically move at a faster pace than semester classes, so basically everyone knows that you have to keep up with the readings and assignments and not slack off. This tends to be a good thing w/r/t people showing up to class prepared.</p>

8

<p>^ I mean, I haven’t taken any, so I wouldn’t know. That’s just the complaint I’ve seen.</p>

9

<p>depth definitely isn’t a problem.
if you are taking a year-long sequence (3 quarters), you do the same info as a different college would in 2 semesters. if you take a 1 quarter class (like most classes), you will learn the same material (or sometimes more) in a 10-week quarter that other colleges cover in a 16-week semester. </p>

<p>SO, one major downside of quarter system is that the pace is really fast, so you really have to stay on top of everything or you will fall behind really fast. just in my first quarter, i can tell you that it is really difficult to catch up if you are really behind. (a couple days isn’t a huge deal in most classes but it is in some).</p>

<p>but personally, i love the idea that we can essentially take 1.5 times as many classes as other college students because there are so many awesome classes here to take</p>