semester vs quarter conversion

[aspiring20]

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my undergrad uses a strict/traditional fall/spring semester system in which two semesters equal a year, and summer session counts as one full semester.

i am thinkinb about doing informal postbacc at UCSD's quarter system via UCSD extension. i wonder how will UCSD's classes compare to those at my undergrad?

will two quarters at UCSD equal one semester at a traditional two semester school?

 

[plumhill]

my undergrad uses a strict/traditional fall/spring semester system in which two semesters equal a year, and summer session counts as one full semester.

i am thinkinb about doing informal postbacc at UCSD's quarter system via UCSD extension. i wonder how will UCSD's classes compare to those at my undergrad?

will two quarters at UCSD equal one semester at a traditional two semester school?

Usually one quarter = 2/3 of a semester, which is a very odd conversion. On the quarter system, you're usually taking less classes per quarter (usually 3-4 as opposed to 5-6) and the courses are slightly more fast-paced. Three quarters will generally translate to two semesters, although sometimes one semester equals one quarter (particularly for humanities classes)

 

[aspiring20]

Usually one quarter = 2/3 of a semester, which is a very odd conversion. On the quarter system, you're usually taking less classes per quarter (usually 3-4 as opposed to 5-6) and the courses are slightly more fast-paced. Three quarters will generally translate to two semesters, although sometimes one semester equals one quarter (particularly for humanities classes)

i see. it is rather odd.

so i took physics 1 at a semester institute and still have physics 2 to go. do i need to take 1 or 2 semesters of physics at a quarter-place such as UCSD in order to meet the year-long physics requirement ?

 

[plumhill]

First see if the physics sequence at UCSD is two or three quarters. Some schools on quarters only have a two-quarter-length sequence for a pre-requisite class. If the physics sequence at UCSD is two quarters long, then take the second quarter. If it's a three-quarter sequence, you need to take the last two quarters of the sequence, and note that you will have some overlap (which will hopefully give you an edge in the class 🙂 )