While your high school academic year was probably divided into two semesters, your college may follow a different calendar, like say, the quarter system.

It’s important to know what kind of academic system you’re getting yourself into while applying to college because school feels very different in a quarter system versus a semester system.

In a quarter system, the year is parceled into four quarters, while only three quarters make up an academic year. That means students have the opportunity to take more classes, however, the pace is much faster in a quarter system and finals will sneak up on you like woah.  Still, many people find that the shorter periods motivate students to be more focused throughout the quarter.

Here are colleges that are on quarter systems:

Antioch University – Los Angeles, Midwest, Santa Barbara, Seattle

Ashland University Dwight Schar College Nursing

Athenaeum of Ohio

Baker College – Allen Parr, Auburn Hills, Cadillac, Clinton Township, Flint, Jackson, Muskegon, Owosso, Port Huron

Bastyr University

Bellevue College

Bethel Seminary of the East

Bethel Seminary San Diego

Bethel Seminary – St. Paul

California Institute of Technology

California Polytechnic State University

California State University

Central Washington University

Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science

City College - Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Miami

City University of Seattle

Cleary University

Columbia Basin College

Columbia College – Hollywood

Dartmouth College

DePaul University

Dongguk University of Los Angeles

Drexel University

Dunwoody College of Technology

Eastern Oregon University

East-West University

Humphreys College – Stockton and Modesto 

John F. Kennedy University

Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte, Denver, Florida, Providence, and online

Kalamazoo College

King’s University

La Sierra University

Life University

Loma Linda University

Louisiana Tech University

Marylhurst University

Midwestern University – Downers Grove, Glendale

Milwaukee School of Engineering

National-Louis University

New England Institute of Technology

North Central College

Northwest Indian College

Northwestern University

Ohio Northern University

Ohio State University

Ohio University

Olympic College

Oregon State University

Otterbein University

Pacific States University

Pacific Union College

Palo Alto University

Peninsula College

Portland State University

Principia College

Robert Morris University

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rush University

Salish Kootenai College

Santa Clara University 

Savannah College of Art and Design

Seattle Pacific University

South Baylo University

Southern Oregon University

Spertus College

Stanford University

Temple Baptist College

The Evergreen State College

University of California – Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz

University of Chicago

University of Cincinnati

University of Denver

University of Northwestern Ohio

University of Oregon

University of Saint Mary of the Lake

University of Washington

University of Western States

Walla Walla University

Western Washington University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wright State University

Do you prefer a quarter system? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!