Quarter grades are given by the teachers justifying their grades in their respective subjects. The quarter grades which include A-, A, B-, B, B+, C-, C, C+, D, D+, or F are awarded to the students. The grade depends upon the depends and mastery of learning rather than based upon the solely numerical average of all grades during the quarter. Let’s see ->Do colleges have quarter grades?
The grades which are reported on the transcript matter the most. The grading system varies from college to college. Some of them use the quarter system and others use the semester system. College look at the semester grades, the quarter grades are also important as they determine the semester grades. However, semester grades are the most important grades. Also, colleges look at the whole GPA and whatever grades are present in the transcript. If the college gives grades quarterly, that means they finalize the grades 4 times a year but it depends upon the grades which are shown in the transcript.
What are quarter grades?
The academic year which follows a quarter system divides sessions into four sessions which include summer, winter, spring, and fall. Can complete a degree in advance or also can complete the classes that were not offered by the other sessions, generally, this happens in the USA colleges as they do not require the summer session. The session approximately lasts ten weeks in a quarter system. Depending upon how many credits each class has, mostly it is three or four classes. Generally, a school year starts at the end of September and finishes in June, for an American university. Primarily community colleges are the most commonly used college’s quarter system associate’s degree.
Classes will be higher than the semester or trimester as the quarter is just 10 weeks long so the intensity of classes will be high. The amount of the classwork and exams will be the same and difficult but the amount of work have to complete in less time. The work which has to complete in 15 weeks now has to complete in 10 weeks so it requires a bit of effort and hard work to complete work on time. On the other hand, we can see the brighter side that there will be fewer classes to focus on and remove the confusion of many tasks at a time.
Features of the quarter system:
- The quarter system offers many flexibilities.
- Smaller course loads in each term.
- Gives students more time to learn and build.
- Students can give more time to their extracurricular activities.
- Consists of 10 weeks of sessions.
- The average student takes 3-4 courses per term and 9-12 credits.
Pros of having a quarter system:
- Lots of flexibility
- Load of course is less
- The freeing time is less
- The brakes which are shorter prevent distraction
Cons of the quarter system:
- Pursuing an internship will be tricky
- The option for abroad study will be less
List to make most of the Quarter system:
- Make a balance of classes-
Sometimes having too much work makes overwhelmed. With the help of the quarter system, it becomes easy to do or manage the most challenging courses more manageable as such quarter system provides flexibility in the classes. Pursuing the most demanding course makes us so overworked, overstressed, and overwhelmed because of the amount of work we have to do. A quarter system reduces the overall strain and may create and combine more difficult classes with manageable electives and proven to create more options. More time to focus on different and critical tasks depending upon the electives which have and also give a scheduled break to do something and have fun in their life.
- Make good connections-
In the academic journey, there will be the most rewarding experience anyone can experience in networking. Studying in any university which has a quarter system can provide some very good networking experiences. In the semester system, the student’s places are mostly of the same type for the majority of the time at university. During the semester connecting with new people is slimmer as the semester is longer and the following courses are taking to one after the another. On the other hand quarter system will connect with different professors, students, and faculty members that are in every tenth week and on the other end of the spectrum. The types of students came across are from different degrees and majors. They will span all sorts of different majors. The quarter system is the perfect time to build a network with friends and career connections. The relationships which are made besides the classes are equally important and rewarding.
- Do something exciting-
In the quarter system, you can get plenty of time to work on yourself and make new hobbies. It is a good time to learn new things about yourself and pick an extra skill or two. In this system, it gives many opportunities to experience classes that are maybe not taken earlier. Finding the right balance between play and work make sometimes stressful but many times enjoyable also as you have time to give those things which you love to do.
Conclusion
The grading system varies from college to college, some of them follow the quarter system and others follow the semester grading system. In a quarter system, the college decides the grades four times in a year and for semester grades quarter grades are important, but it depends upon which grades are shown in the transcript.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1: Why quarter grades are important to college?
Ans: The quarter grades are not as important as semester grades and final grades but can have a vital role in taking some early decisions and early actions that are often for admissions too.
Q2: Give some examples of colleges that have the quarter system.
Ans: Stanford University, University of Washington, University of Chicago, and the University of California system are some of the popular examples which follow the quarter system grading.
