Semester vs. Quarter credit

[doe_eyes]

Hi everyone.

Does anyone know how strict the conversion between semester and quarter credits are? Most schools have their requirements in semester credits and I happen to have attended a school that utilizes the quarter system. I have been using a chart to convert the credits, but I'm wondering how strict the conversions are. For example, Minnesota requires 3 semester units of an introductory stats class, which equates to 4.5 quarter units. I took an intro stats class that was 4 quarter units. If I were to fulfill the 3 semester credit hours, I would have had to take an additional stats class since the highest amount of units I would have received for ANY stats class my school offered was 4 quarter units. Has anyone else had this problem? I am having this problem with Tufts and Penn as well. I emailed Minnesota about this issue and have not had a response back yet....

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[Teepster87]

Not a concrete answer for you, only second hand experience. My friend (also at Davis) had only done the 4 units stat class and got accepted to Minnesota last cycle. She ultimately chose to go elsewhere, but I don't think there was a problem based on the quarter v. semester system.
I know nothing about tufts or penn though.

 

[allykd]

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[doe_eyes]

Thanks for the reply everyone! Have not heard back from Minnesota yet and have yet to call them because I have been working all day lately. Penn got back to me and said I must take another stats class to meet the requirement, so looks like I can't apply there....

 

[sorasea]

If Penn is one of your top choices and you don't mind risking money on the app, I would suggest applying there anyway. I was also on a quarter system in undergrad and had some gray-area prereqs that ruffled feathers at other schools. Somehow, however, Penn has yet to ask me to clarify my prereqs and I'll be starting there this fall.

 

[Jess Monster]

From what I've seen, it's usually not purely a credit hours issue that schools have. Most schools write their pre-reqs using their own offered undergrad courses as guidelines so credit number will not be universal. As long as the course you take is equal in terms of material coverage, you're usually good to go even if the credit hours are not what the school is requiring.

As for Penn, I would check to see what their stats course covered and compare it to the course you took. Honestly, sometimes people just say "no" because it weeds out people who aren't serious about applying to the school. If you feel the course if equivalent and you want to apply, I would ask again and maybe copy and paste your course's description into your e-mail. Many schools will offer to evaluate courses to see if they meet the pre-reqs but you might have to push a little to get it done or connect with the right person.