see “academic year” – refers to the academic calendar of schools that have four separate terms during a school year. These schools often have a slightly different academic timeline than schools on a semester system (which generally has three semesters–see “semester” below.) This is important for applicants as “quarter system” schools might also have slightly different application timelines than the slightly more common “semester system” schools. Quarters tend to be more common outside of the United States academic system.