Quarter system vs semester system?

Hi Albert,

Congrats on applying to colleges! Also, It's great that you are looking into details such as quarters v semesters to best suit your needs! I attended the University of California, Santa Barbara which was on a quarter system. I am also very familiar with semester schools (such as UC Berkeley). The quarter system is broken up into 10 week quarters (Summer quarter is the 4th and is not mandatory as a full time student). One advantage of a quarter system is that you get at least 3 sets of courses. So if you take 4 classes each quarter, (and not attend summer school) you get to experience a total of 12 different courses in one school year. A semester school on the other hand, with 4 classes a semester, would only give you 8 different courses This can especially be helpful exposing you to more topics/majors if you are entering college a little unsure about your academic and career interests.
Quarters do go by quickly, so one can fall behind in a hurry if they are not focused on keeping up on their work. With that said, because the quarter goes by so quickly there almost isn't time to fall behind! (At least that was my experience). Whereas in a Semester system, you may hit a lull in your studies at about week 8 or 9 and still have 6 weeks left in the semester to get through.

There are also plenty of benefits of a semester system. For one, semester courses are great for students that like to really dive into subjects and do thorough work that gives you a well rounded grasp of the subject. Sometimes, a quarter class doesn't allow enough time for the class or professor do really dive deep into different issues/topics about the course subject. Think about this in terms of a week in high school: How would a lesson differ on U.S. presidents if you had 3 days vs. 5 days to learn and discuss.

Many students enjoy semesters because you only have 2 sets of finals, whereas in quarters you would have 3. A possible counter to that though is that often times Semester courses have heavily weighted midterms around week 8 of the class that similarly reflect the time and energy spent in studying for finals. In my experience at UCSB, I usually did not have any huge midterms, although all schools are a bit different and heavily weighted midterms do exist in some quarter system schools.

Hope some of these details help! Add a comment with a follow up question and I'd be happy to answer!

Bryant

<span style="background-color: transparent;">You have to set a routine for yourself and stick to it for the most part. Once you get into the groove of a routine it will be much easier for you to manage your time and have enough time for everything you need to do (including relaxing). Make yourself to-do lists on a weekly basis, use Google calendar or a planner to keep track of events, deadlines, and due dates. In addition to setting a routine and sticking to it, plan out relaxing activities into your day. Or set aside a time, after everything is done for the day, that you can have "me" time. I have also personally found it essential to not only find time for myself but also make use of that time in a way that is best for me and my holistic wellness. I have found the HeadSpace app to be an essential tool in helping me relax and generally feel more relaxed throughout the day, Guided meditation, even if you have a busy schedule, will make you feel more at ease and relaxed throughout the day as a whole (not just when you have the time to relax and focus on that "me" time).</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent;">Set a routine.Use Google Calendar.Set aside Me TimeWrite weekly to-do lists and use a planner.Find a peaceful and restful activity that will help you feel relaxed.</span>