If you haven't heard about the collegiate quarter system, it is a period of ten weeks in which everyone must cram and work as quickly yet efficiently as possible...unless they don't want to graduate.
The credit or unit requirement usually ranges from 12 to 13 per quarter, yet some people go as far (and crazy) to go higher than that number. I'll confess, I've gone up to 17 units in one quarter, and in the winter, I may have to take 20 in total. That's right, you're reading this right: 20. There are many misconceptions about this kind of system though. In order to clear these up, here are the myths versus the truths about the quarter system.
1. "It's easier than the semester system"
Okay, I don't know who came up with that one, but it's a laughing matter. This claim is literally the ultimate joke among any circle of students attending a quarter-system school. This is certainly not easier than the semester system. Think about it guys: over 12 units per quarter, all crammed into ten weeks. And with many students choosing to take above 15, do the math - it's simply not any easier than a semester period. You have less time to get everything done, to write those papers, to study for those midterms...to think.
2. "You get more breaks"
How can I put this politely? NO. YOU. DON'T. Being that it is a ten week system, you do not get more breaks than the semester system students do. In fact, you get less holiday breaks, and most are shorter than how other schools make theirs. Winter break can be as short as three weeks! Spring breaks is only about a week and a half, but usually is only one week for some students who have late finals. However...that summer break. All I have to say is that it's pretty generous. Four months of summer, from June to late September. Who can complain about that?
3. "Just 'cause it's a lot of units/credits, doesn't mean it entails a lot of classes"
I have no idea where this one came from, but just to clear the air, the answer is "yes, there are still a lot of classes." Some believe that each class has a huge amount of units and therefore, limits the stress, because how bad is it to just have three classes as the minimum? While that can definitely happen, only having three classes, it doesn't always happen, that's for sure. Most students have at least four, and some of those classes may have up to five whole units in credit...That's a lot of work.
Even though us quarter-system college students tend to complain (just a little bit), it is justifiable considering how a lot of people continue to misunderstand what we're going through. And some even question how beneficial it is to be in this seemingly overly difficult environment. Although it is obviously harder, being that midterms can happen as early as in the second week (if you need valid proof, I have a midterm and it's only the second full week), homework and other assignments keep piling on, and before everyone can blink twice, the quarter is over, all of us are actually developing better under this type of program. When people learn how to work faster and more efficiently, they do well in any job they obtain.
So to all of you students in this wonderful system of ours, here's to you. Hang in there because fortunately, yet unfortunately, the quarter will be up before you know it. You'll probably miss that class and this particular block of ten weeks after it's over...or not.
