The summer is rolling to a hazy end. If you’re a lucky Californian like me, the temperature has dropped from a scorching 115 to a mild and breezy 98. Kids are packing up their backpacks and their lives to return to school, or perhaps to start it for the first time.
If you are the latter, you and most of your peers have probably packed up and headed to set up your dorm/apartment/room at college. However, if you attend a school that is on the quarter system, there is still a month left of heat, semi-loneliness, and anticipation.
Point blank, the quarter system gets a bad rep. In high school, I had friends who crossed certain colleges off their application list simply because they operated on this widely feared schedule. However, as someone who has spent a year enduring the quarter system, I can say quite frankly that I wasn’t enduring anything at all; I liked it.
In my opinion, the only negative aspects are the start and ending times. It’s hard to stick out that last month of school while you watch your semester system friends slink back into their queen size beds, live a life of extravagance sans shower shoes, and reunite with their friends and family from back home.
In the same vein, it’s difficult to persevere through the last month of summer and watch those same friends posting and recording their fun college times on every form of social media while knowing that you have five weeks until college friends, themed parties, and tailgates can become your reality.
So, here is a PSA to all quarter system kids: wipe that (literal) sweat off your brow and don’t let yourself get down. The quarter system rocks! Here are some reminders why:- You get to take way more classes! More time to explore and find out what subjects you like and what subjects you really don't. When it comes time to select a major, you will have tons of experience under your belt and feel ready to choose.
- There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. If you hate the teacher or the subject matter, you’re only there for 10 weeks! On the other hand, if you love the teacher, you can sign up for his or her next class! By taking more classes, you get to meet more people! You always have an excuse to stay in: “I’m stressed about midterms.” You always have an excuse to go out: “I want to forget that I’m stressed about midterms.” When it comes to finals, you only have to remember material that was introduced in the past two and a half months. No struggling to remember concepts from August for a December final.
- You will always have someone to study with. It’s easier to graduate earlier (and save your parents a few $$$). You can start fresh three times a year.
