The dreaded quarter system. Starting school about a month later than most of your friends, and always having breaks that do not coincide. The quarter system splits the year into four segments. Fall Quarter starts a new year off in September and ends ten weeks later for holidays like Hanukkah and Christmas. Around January, Winter Quarter starts and another ten weeks go by before spring break. Spring Quarter ends the year for many students, but for those who decide to attend summer school, Summer Quarter adds up to an entire year of just school.
Here's a list of the pros and cons of attending a school with a quarter system!
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PROS OF THE QUARTER SYSTEM:
1. If you dislike a class, you'll be done with it soon! Sometimes your major requires you to take certain classes before declaring. If you find yourself hating a class, you only have to deal with it for ten weeks. Ten weeks seems like a lot, but often times, classes only fall on two or three days in a week.
2. You get to indulge in more. Every quarter you'll register for three to four classes and in ten weeks, you'll be registering again. In one year, not counting the Summer Quarter, you'll have taken nine to sixteen classes. All these classes do not need to be directed towards a major; you'll be able to take more classes that interest you.
3. Your breaks are truly breaks. Every time you have a major break, you have a clean slate. When you go back to school, you'll be taking brand new classes which means you can truly enjoy your breaks without having a constant reminder that you could still be studying.
CONS OF THE QUARTER SYSTEM:
1. If you get sick or miss a day of class, you miss out on a lot. In classes following a quarter system schedule, it is a lot easier to fall behind in classes. Accidentally falling asleep in one class or a day of feeling ill often times means missing a lecture that went through half a chapter.
2. Study abroad is mainly directed towards semester systems. If you're planning on studying abroad, the quarter system makes it a lot harder. Study abroad programs tend to have students taking classes for longer durations because there's more than ten weeks worth of material to learn.
3. It's time for another midterm. The beginning of the quarter is exciting because you're learning new material and you understand it, but then the first midterms hit you and you fall a little behind. As soon as you've completed all your midterms and you're ready to understand what you don't, it's time for the next round of midterms. After both midterms have exhausted you, it's already time for finals.
4. Internships and jobs! Because many colleges follow the semester system, it's harder to get jobs and internships coming from a school following the quarter system. You get our about a month after, so other students will already be working and there won't be as many places hiring.
Schools that used to be on the quarter system have recently been switching to the semester system, but there remains a discussion over which is better.
