Quarter system at Northwestern

[Anonymous]

I think the winter quarter is hard for a lot of nonacademic reasons.

Other than that, it seems to be the same or as easy as the semesters at my other child’s Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Not an issue for my kid (at U Chicago). Freshman who has a great internship lined up for this summer! (and no, not a nepo job - he found it on Handshake). The faster pace works well for him.

Also, they can often work out their schedules to only have 3 classes winter quarter plus a lot of them do junior winter q abroad).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not an issue for my kid (at U Chicago). Freshman who has a great internship lined up for this summer! (and no, not a nepo job - he found it on Handshake). The faster pace works well for him.

Also, they can often work out their schedules to only have 3 classes winter quarter plus a lot of them do junior winter q abroad).

The one thing that was hard was the late start for first year - waiting around for 4 weeks when all his friends had already left for college! But this year he's looking forward to those "free" weeks.

[Anonymous]

My kid had zero problems with the quarter system at Northwestern.

[Anonymous]

Agree—faster pace has been great for my son at Northwestern. Quarter system is a big plus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it feel rushed? Does short class terms mean less likelihood to get to know professors and get undergrad research? Is it harder to manager your course load when it is so rushed and constantly drinking from a fire hose with exams?

It's definitely not for everyone

[Anonymous]

NP anyone has a DC with ADHD doing well at a quarter-system school? Do these kids tend to do better at a slow-paced school?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It’s terrible and a massive pressure cooker. Can’t ever be sick. The worst are matching times for internships and other activities.

Companies will wait for student interns on the quarter system like UChicago, Stanford, NU and Dartmouth.

Ours doesn’t. If you can’t start on our date, you don’t get the job.

That’s cool. Your company’s loss. Most are lining up at these schools to recruit interns.

It’s a buyer’s market. This is not 1997 and no one is waiting for kids from Northwestern when they can choose from MIT, CMU or even UIUC they know will be as good as NU

OP don't listen to this one. The entire UC system has quarters including UCLA and Berkley. Kids do just fine with classes and internships all across the land. It can be an adjustment at the beginning but kids figure it out quickly.

[Anonymous]

My ADHD kid loves the quarter system but he has classic ADHD--his mind moves a million miles an hour in 20 directions. He takes a stimulant to slow it down. He likes the hyper focus and speed of the quarter system.

[Anonymous]

The quarter system has benefited my child - loves the pace and taking many more classes. It has been a non issue for very prestigious internships - think senate, etc.