Semester: There are two semesters per academic year, September-65438+February is the autumn semester, June-May is the spring semester, and each semester is about 16 weeks. Due to the long summer vacation, the school will arrange summer vacation, and students can choose whether to attend classes or arrange exchange programs with universities in other countries according to their own conditions.

Most American universities adopt the semester system, requiring students to complete 120- 128 credits before applying for graduation, and at the same time, they need to complete 15 credits or more each semester. Students should have no less than 12 credits and no more than 18 credits per semester. If it is exceeded, they need to apply for and pay extra tuition fees.

Representative schools include Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and most universities on the east coast of the United States.

Quarter system: a school year is divided into four semesters, namely, September to 65438+February is the autumn quarter,1October to March is the winter quarter, April to June is the spring quarter, and July to August is the summer quarter. Three of the school seasons are study weeks, and each school season is about 65438+.

Schools that implement the semester system require students to complete 180- 192 credits before graduation, and 14- 18 credits every semester. In addition, you must register for at least three academic seasons a year, and you can also choose courses in summer. If students want to graduate early and earn more credits, they can make full use of this period of summer vacation.