Quarter system lessons

By Anna Woelfel

It is only week five of the fall quarter, and not only am I reading 100+ pages a day, but I am also writing a paper, working on a project and studying for two midterms; and it's been this way for the past two weeks.

Sounds like fun, right?

But for Santa Clara students, this is the norm. The delightful quarter system means almost constant chaos and insanity.

It means that the first two weeks of school seem like a dream. But when third week hits it is a schedule nightmare that will continue until the end of finals.

Yet as terribly stressful as this can be, this frantic quarter schedule is not without its perks.

Think about the long summer. Some may take it for granted, but three and a half months with no classes, papers or projects is as close to heaven as I can imagine.

Sure, the summer can seem too long at times, especially once other semester system friends leave, but it is so much better than juggling four classes and extracurricular activities.

Another thing to consider: spring break. If Santa Clara were on the semester system, everyone would be writing papers and studying, not tanning and relaxing. Spring break would not be a break. It would be filled with constant school work.

While a quarter system does mean one has a shorter time to learn the course material, it also means less time spent in each class. Taking a difficult course taught by a bad professor is a lot easier to handle knowing that it will only steal ten weeks of one's life.

By the fifth week, you are already halfway through with a professor.

That means only five weeks until those teacher evaluation forms come out and the need to hide your true feelings about that particular professor is gone.

The quarter system also allows students to take a wide variety of classes. After a year at a semester school, students have usually only taken eight classes. After a quarter system, he or she has most likely taken 12 courses.

Imagine having to fulfill all of Santa Clara's core in eight classes a year. It would be impossible. The quarter system gives students breathing room in their course load.

Want to take an interesting class that does not fulfill any requirements? Go ahead. The quarter system lets you.

The biggest benefit of the quarter system by far, though, is the stress.

Now that may sound odd or masochistic but stick with me here. The craziness, time crunch, and deadlines prepare students for real life.

If a student skates though college, never experiencing the all-nighter or the near nervous breakdown due to a Mount Everest sized mount of work, how will he or she handle the stress of a real job and its demands?

College is the time when it is acceptable to freak out about stress. In a professional work environment, losing one's composure is not a great way to impress the boss.

Now is the best time to complain and whine.

Not only are we surrounded by hundreds of other students experiencing the exact same feelings, but professors almost expect this type of reaction. It is not out of the norm.

College should be the place where students learn to deal with their stress in a way that won't make them lose their job in the future.

So freak out in the library, but realize that everyone else is probably screaming inside too.

These stressful nights, when all of the work miraculously gets done before 4 AM, can be learning experiences for the future.

Anna Woelfel is a sophomore communication major.