If there’s one make-or-break factor for deciding whether or not you like your school, it probably has something to do with the scheduling system. Here at SCU, we have the luxury (and sometimes burden) of having our class schedule based upon the quarter system. Yay? The quarter system plays a pretty big role on our college experience; let’s take a look at the pros and cons.
Pros
- You can take an average of 12 classes a year instead of 8. This is pretty awesome when you think about it, especially with SCU’s humongous core requirement system. If you are an undeclared student in the arts and sciences, you’ll take at least 24 classes before you have to decide your major; there’s no legitimate excuse at SCU for not being able to pick one. Also, if you are an engineer, you have loads of room to get all your core requirements out of the way (maybe not loads, but you get the point). Basically: more classes > less classes.
- When you take a class that you absolutely hate, it’ll end faster. With three quarters instead of two semesters, classes are only 10 weeks instead of 15 so you don’t have to spend half of your year taking Christian Tradition, which may very well be a fun class, but honestly, who wants to take that for half the year? (Jesuits FTW!)
- Instead of bi-annual events, you get tri-annual events! That doesn’t just sound legit, it is legit. Even though the quarter system is in place for classes, it has an effect on the campus culture. We get one extra term for events like Love Jones or midnight-breakfast. Imagine if SCU just had two quarters? It’d be hella awkward deciding which semester gets two Love Jones’ instead of one. We don’t like to pick favorites.
- Two is lame, three’s a party. You don’t want to go to a school that is just like every other school with the boring old two semester system. We’re indie here at SCU and we like to do things our own way; the quarter system is a symbol of our hipster-ness.
Cons
- Just like the first pro, this con is that you’re taking 12 classes a year instead of 8. That means four more finals, midterms, projects, and just overall hassle. It makes it hard to enjoy your classes when you’re on that constant study grind. And three dead weeks is just too much, it feels like high-school and I hate it. SCU, stahp.
- Terms are shorter which means you have to learn faster. For certain classes, (any science class) it would really help to have more time to learn the nuts and bolts. I almost failed a political science class last year because it just went too fast for me (and I didn’t do the reading, oops). Really though, it’s very stressful sometimes, and we need to unload somehow. Quarter-induced-alcoholics?
- We get out of finals in JUNE! JUNE?! Really? It’s a hassle with internships, summer plans, not to mention completely distracting when your friends come home from college a month and a half before you. Getting a drunk call during dead week from your best friend is a bitch. There’s no good way to spin it.
- Perhaps the most annoying part of the quarter system is the mundane small talk between you and your family-friends when they ask why you have weird breaks. It’s one thing to have small talk about college with your parents’ friends. It’s another to have small talk about a system that sometimes seems to be ruining your life.
There are other unique things about the quarter system like abroad scheduling and course enrollment, but the bottom line is that if you like to move quick, be efficient, and don’t mind an extra work-load, the quarter system will most definitely be for you. If you are not the best test-taker, you like to get super in-depth, and you value taking your time, then you probably hate the quarter system. Either way, try to look at things from a different perspective and you’ll find the bright side. Good luck on finals, Broncos, only two more rounds after this!