Uchicago - how crushing is the quarter system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't think you can handle it, then you aren't the student you think you are.

If you have nothing helpful to offer, then please scroll on by.

The pace is different. Better for some, worse than others.

It’s true though - why sugar coat it?

Because it is better for some, worse for others. And inquiring about the experiences of others is a sensible way to learn.

The comment is snotty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't think you can handle it, then you aren't the student you think you are.

If you have nothing helpful to offer, then please scroll on by.

The pace is different. Better for some, worse than others.

It’s true though - why sugar coat it?

Because it is better for some, worse for others. And inquiring about the experiences of others is a sensible way to learn.

The comment is snotty.

If you think your kid is an awesome student, then they should be able to handle it. Why do you need to ask?

[Anonymous]

Actually, sometimes the key to “handling it” is *not* to be an awesome student. Whether you want your kid (or whether your kid wants) to be in a setting where triage is always the order of the day is a real question. As a prof, a parent, and a former awesome student, I’m not a fan of educational environments like this. YMMV, but that variation is not a function of ability or confidence. It’s about how you view education (and maybe life more generally).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't think you can handle it, then you aren't the student you think you are.

If you have nothing helpful to offer, then please scroll on by.

The pace is different. Better for some, worse than others.

It’s true though - why sugar coat it?

Because it is better for some, worse for others. And inquiring about the experiences of others is a sensible way to learn.

The comment is snotty.

But the kid has slow processing speed for gosh sakes. Doesn’t sound like a good choice for him at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, sometimes the key to “handling it” is *not* to be an awesome student. Whether you want your kid (or whether your kid wants) to be in a setting where triage is always the order of the day is a real question. As a prof, a parent, and a former awesome student, I’m not a fan of educational environments like this. YMMV, but that variation is not a function of ability or confidence. It’s about how you view education (and maybe life more generally).

Not sure what gobbledegook nonsense this is but my kid loves the quarter system and the intensity and the intellectual atmosphere as well as the social scene at this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't think you can handle it, then you aren't the student you think you are.

I was PBK @ Harvard and am pretty sure, watching my DC currently at UChicago, that I would have found the quarter system crushing. Probably still would have gotten excellent grades, but the system would have sucked a lot of the joy out of learning. I like to explore, read everything that’s assigned (as well as stuff that isn’t), and then have time to synthesize and reflect.

The kids at the school (u of Chicago) that I know like it fine & aren’t stressed.

[Anonymous]

This question surprised me. I went to UChicago for grad school and it was just different, but fine. I think each quarter was about 10 weeks (so only 3 quarters in a normal school year, not 4 because the 4th is summer). It worked fine for me. It didn't give me time to procrastinate, which was a big habit for me in high school and college when the end seemed so far away. Because 10 weeks is an amount of time when I can see the end coming, it was a manageable horizon to plan my work and my life. It also didn't let me get bored because you were onto a new subject in 2.5 months. I have no complaints about the quarter system.

[Anonymous]

My UChicago DC prefers the quarter system, as do I. It allows students to take fewer classes at a time, meaning they can focus on each individual class better. If anything, I think that’s better for a kid with slow processing speed.

In contrast, the semester system requires a sustained attention span over a longer period of time, and also more frequent switching between tasks/subject matter, which can be difficult for those with executive function challenges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't think you can handle it, then you aren't the student you think you are.

I was PBK @ Harvard and am pretty sure, watching my DC currently at UChicago, that I would have found the quarter system crushing. Probably still would have gotten excellent grades, but the system would have sucked a lot of the joy out of learning. I like to explore, read everything that’s assigned (as well as stuff that isn’t), and then have time to synthesize and reflect.

Have you met this generation of kids. Bare minimum

[Anonymous]

WPI has a quarter system and the students love it. They focus on 3 classes at a time. Tend to go to all of them 4 days a week and off one day. You can easily set it up as a Wed or Fri for an entire study and work day. They also all go overseas for one quarter in sophomore or junior year. They get 3 credits to do meaningful things. They also have at least a full week between 1-2 and 3-4. A month off between 2-3. A very long summer. You can take a summer course first if needed and still do a summer internship.

Harder courses like Calc are split into 4 courses instead of 3. Many group products and collaborations but down on excessive reading. It is very hands-on project base. Not sure if U Chicago is the same.

My friend’s daughter graduated computer science in 3.5 years and had a job before she graduated. And that was with going to New Zealand for a quarter.

My kids are her interested in this approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give you an idea of how much downtime there is if a kid takes 3 classes per quarter - my DC is also an athlete w 4-5 hours of practice a day plus also a research assistant and a TA and part of a social club. To do all this, you need discipline in time management.

That's true but a kid doesn't have to do athletics or sign up for multiple activities. If all you did was three classes plus may be one EC, there's plenty of non class time to focus on papers and studying. My point is that to a large degree the schedule pressure can be self-driven. Unless you are on work-study.

Don’t you generally need 4 courses about half the time (and 3 the other half) to accumulate enough credits to graduate in 4 years?

Also, workload may be a function of number/selection of courses (with the latter not always in the student’s control, both because lots of (STEM?/core) courses are sequences and because undergrads do get shut out of top choice classes), but pace is a function of the length of the term.

DC is a STEM double major and hasn't had an issue with course shut out as an undergraduate. I do have the impression that sometimes he's gone to a professor to be enrolled but so far it's worked out. Overall I get the impression that the faculty goes out of their way to be supportive. However, I don't believe they pamper and that is an important distinction. Numerically, I'm sure there are quarters where 4 classes are needed but honestly there are courses at every university that aren't a lot of work. I'm not involved enought to know the # courses but if he can graduate in 3 years, it can't be all that bad. His friends are having the same experience. This is the age that they should go forth with their educations with no fear. Is it a school for everyone? Of course not. No school is. I will say that the work can be hard but the peer group is supportive and friendly. It's not a cut throat environment. A good place for kids who want a hard academic workout whatever that means on their terms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give you an idea of how much downtime there is if a kid takes 3 classes per quarter - my DC is also an athlete w 4-5 hours of practice a day plus also a research assistant and a TA and part of a social club. To do all this, you need discipline in time management.

That's true but a kid doesn't have to do athletics or sign up for multiple activities. If all you did was three classes plus may be one EC, there's plenty of non class time to focus on papers and studying. My point is that to a large degree the schedule pressure can be self-driven. Unless you are on work-study.

Don’t you generally need 4 courses about half the time (and 3 the other half) to accumulate enough credits to graduate in 4 years?

Also, workload may be a function of number/selection of courses (with the latter not always in the student’s control, both because lots of (STEM?/core) courses are sequences and because undergrads do get shut out of top choice classes), but pace is a function of the length of the term.

DC is a STEM double major and hasn't had an issue with course shut out as an undergraduate. I do have the impression that sometimes he's gone to a professor to be enrolled but so far it's worked out. Overall I get the impression that the faculty goes out of their way to be supportive. However, I don't believe they pamper and that is an important distinction. Numerically, I'm sure there are quarters where 4 classes are needed but honestly there are courses at every university that aren't a lot of work. I'm not involved enought to know the # courses but if he can graduate in 3 years, it can't be all that bad. His friends are having the same experience. This is the age that they should go forth with their educations with no fear. Is it a school for everyone? Of course not. No school is. I will say that the work can be hard but the peer group is supportive and friendly. It's not a cut throat environment. A good place for kids who want a hard academic workout whatever that means on their terms.

My DC is also a STEM major and has had to wait a year for a course in the major and has also routinely not gotten specific ARTs core offerings when desired. My broader point, though, is sequences, prerequisites, and caps on course size (as well as scheduling conflicts generally) mean that it’s a myth that in the quarters when you must take 4 courses you can always put together a collection of 4 easy courses. Judging from what you’ve said, I believe your kid was admitted the same year as my kid. Rules about AP credits have changed since then and an additional on campus credit minimum has been established. (My DC, too, could graduate in three years — I suspect the University is trying to make that harder since it’s a money-losing proposition for them in most cases).

Agree that the faculty are generally very supportive (a number have been amazingly so). And undergrads are supportive of each other. But that not infrequently means a bunch of stressed/depressed kids huddling together for warmth. And/or the least stressed kid feeling compelled to help others worse off vs focus on their own work. How/whether/to what extent these issues will affect any particular kid going to UChicago varies, of course, but they are real issues (and not a function of drive or academic ability or fear) and should be taken into account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give you an idea of how much downtime there is if a kid takes 3 classes per quarter - my DC is also an athlete w 4-5 hours of practice a day plus also a research assistant and a TA and part of a social club. To do all this, you need discipline in time management.

That's true but a kid doesn't have to do athletics or sign up for multiple activities. If all you did was three classes plus may be one EC, there's plenty of non class time to focus on papers and studying. My point is that to a large degree the schedule pressure can be self-driven. Unless you are on work-study.

Don’t you generally need 4 courses about half the time (and 3 the other half) to accumulate enough credits to graduate in 4 years?

Also, workload may be a function of number/selection of courses (with the latter not always in the student’s control, both because lots of (STEM?/core) courses are sequences and because undergrads do get shut out of top choice classes), but pace is a function of the length of the term.

DC is a STEM double major and hasn't had an issue with course shut out as an undergraduate. I do have the impression that sometimes he's gone to a professor to be enrolled but so far it's worked out. Overall I get the impression that the faculty goes out of their way to be supportive. However, I don't believe they pamper and that is an important distinction. Numerically, I'm sure there are quarters where 4 classes are needed but honestly there are courses at every university that aren't a lot of work. I'm not involved enought to know the # courses but if he can graduate in 3 years, it can't be all that bad. His friends are having the same experience. This is the age that they should go forth with their educations with no fear. Is it a school for everyone? Of course not. No school is. I will say that the work can be hard but the peer group is supportive and friendly. It's not a cut throat environment. A good place for kids who want a hard academic workout whatever that means on their terms.

My DC is also a STEM major and has had to wait a year for a course in the major and has also routinely not gotten specific ARTs core offerings when desired. My broader point, though, is sequences, prerequisites, and caps on course size (as well as scheduling conflicts generally) mean that it’s a myth that in the quarters when you must take 4 courses you can always put together a collection of 4 easy courses. Judging from what you’ve said, I believe your kid was admitted the same year as my kid. Rules about AP credits have changed since then and an additional on campus credit minimum has been established. (My DC, too, could graduate in three years — I suspect the University is trying to make that harder since it’s a money-losing proposition for them in most cases).

Agree that the faculty are generally very supportive (a number have been amazingly so). And undergrads are supportive of each other. But that not infrequently means a bunch of stressed/depressed kids huddling together for warmth. And/or the least stressed kid feeling compelled to help others worse off vs focus on their own work. How/whether/to what extent these issues will affect any particular kid going to UChicago varies, of course, but they are real issues (and not a function of drive or academic ability or fear) and should be taken into account.

There’s no credit given for AP’s @ Chicago & no outside credit is accepted. Is that what you meant?

[Anonymous]

Yes. That wasn’t true a few years ago. Also, I think the relationship between AP scores and placement changed in some cases (which may mean requirements that previously could be satisfied by AP can’t anymore). My DC is one of the “could graduate in 3 years” students mentioned in thread but came in under the old rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To give you an idea of how much downtime there is if a kid takes 3 classes per quarter - my DC is also an athlete w 4-5 hours of practice a day plus also a research assistant and a TA and part of a social club. To do all this, you need discipline in time management.

That's true but a kid doesn't have to do athletics or sign up for multiple activities. If all you did was three classes plus may be one EC, there's plenty of non class time to focus on papers and studying. My point is that to a large degree the schedule pressure can be self-driven. Unless you are on work-study.

Don’t you generally need 4 courses about half the time (and 3 the other half) to accumulate enough credits to graduate in 4 years?

Also, workload may be a function of number/selection of courses (with the latter not always in the student’s control, both because lots of (STEM?/core) courses are sequences and because undergrads do get shut out of top choice classes), but pace is a function of the length of the term.

DC is a STEM double major and hasn't had an issue with course shut out as an undergraduate. I do have the impression that sometimes he's gone to a professor to be enrolled but so far it's worked out. Overall I get the impression that the faculty goes out of their way to be supportive. However, I don't believe they pamper and that is an important distinction. Numerically, I'm sure there are quarters where 4 classes are needed but honestly there are courses at every university that aren't a lot of work. I'm not involved enought to know the # courses but if he can graduate in 3 years, it can't be all that bad. His friends are having the same experience. This is the age that they should go forth with their educations with no fear. Is it a school for everyone? Of course not. No school is. I will say that the work can be hard but the peer group is supportive and friendly. It's not a cut throat environment. A good place for kids who want a hard academic workout whatever that means on their terms.

My DC is also a STEM major and has had to wait a year for a course in the major and has also routinely not gotten specific ARTs core offerings when desired. My broader point, though, is sequences, prerequisites, and caps on course size (as well as scheduling conflicts generally) mean that it’s a myth that in the quarters when you must take 4 courses you can always put together a collection of 4 easy courses. Judging from what you’ve said, I believe your kid was admitted the same year as my kid. Rules about AP credits have changed since then and an additional on campus credit minimum has been established. (My DC, too, could graduate in three years — I suspect the University is trying to make that harder since it’s a money-losing proposition for them in most cases).

Agree that the faculty are generally very supportive (a number have been amazingly so). And undergrads are supportive of each other. But that not infrequently means a bunch of stressed/depressed kids huddling together for warmth. And/or the least stressed kid feeling compelled to help others worse off vs focus on their own work. How/whether/to what extent these issues will affect any particular kid going to UChicago varies, of course, but they are real issues (and not a function of drive or academic ability or fear) and should be taken into account.

What do you mean by STEM? Science? Math? That kind of describes many different majors at the University.

https://www.uchicago.edu/academics/programs_of_study/