Beyond College Rankings: January Terms, Interim Terms, and 4-1-4 Academic Calendar

Once you get past making sure a college has your potential major, there are all kinds of ways of distinguishing colleges from each other besides college rankings. There are the obvious ones such as cost, rural versus urban, size, and location. But there are some that can significantly affect a student’s college experience that many have never heard of, much less considered. One of them is the 4-1-4 academic calendar.

The what calendar?

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Sometimes referred to as a January term, J-Term, or winter term, it is the “1” in the 4-1-4 academic calendar. It is a short-term, usually 4 weeks, that takes place between the fall and spring semester in, you guessed it, January.

What’s interesting about the January term is that it often provides students a chance to take a course they likely wouldn’t have considered otherwise. And since it is only one course, this opens up incredible possibilities.

Study Abroad

Among the most popular of these courses involve study abroad. It’s a great way for a student to travel abroad without having to commit to an entire semester. And the subjects range from studying art, providing medical services, researching food sustainability, examining local politics or history, and of course, language instruction.

Study abroad for J-terms is so popular that they are offer by most of the Study Abroad organizations. The study abroad options usually involve costs beyond normal tuition. However, many schools offer students grants to make the option affordable. You can see an example of the variety of courses at Linfield Colleges’ January Term Off-Campus Course History.

Domestic Exchange

Students often can take a January term class offer by another college. Many colleges with 4-1-4 academic calendars have exchange agreements where students don’t pay any additional tuition to take an interim course at their campus. Students may still have to pay housing and travel costs. Not only do these exchanges expand the variety of courses available, they also provide excellent opportunities for student to explore and develop contacts in different regions of the country.

Career Development

The career centers at some schools have set up Career Exploration Classes that include working on a resume, job shadowing, or even short internships. In 2018, Linfield College’s program offers career exploration courses on Sports Management and the Wine Industry.

Research Opportunities

January terms offer the chance to study astronomy at an observatory, marine life on the sea-shore, or desert biology in the desert. There are plenty of off-campus possibilities that don’t involve leaving the country.

On Campus Options

Then there are the on-campus classes that provide the chance to study a subject from a different perspective. Courses have included:

• “From Metal to Money: Ancient Numismatics” at Williams
• “Should Cloning and Genetic Engineering be Part of Our Future?” at Elon
• “Unity 3D Game Design Workshop” at Austin College
• “Music and Social Justice” at St. Olaf
• “Star Wars and Theology” at Saint Mary’s

Some schools, including MIT and Williams, offer the classes on a non-credit basis and allow for multiple courses of study. Others require the student to take at least three January term courses before graduation and they are for grade credit.

Some January terms are little more than a way to get in an extra class that you need to get out of the way for graduation. But even these tend to offer students possibilities that wouldn’t be available to them during the regular semester.

A January Term shouldn’t be the only factor to consider when deciding on a college. However, depending on the person, it can be a significant way to distinguish between otherwise similar schools.

The following is a list of schools that have a 4-1-4 calendar according to the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System. This data is also included in the College Rankings College Search Spreadsheet.

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Colleges with 4-1-4 Academic Calendars

Name	Type	State	Full-time Under-grads	4 yr Grad Rate	% Admitted	Avg Net Price After Gift Aid (2016-2017)
Birmingham Southern College	Private	AL	1,270	58	62	$23,846
Samford University	Private	AL	3,272	65	83	$30,017
Chapman University	Private	CA	6,529	69	57	$40,053
Hope International University	Private	CA	582	48	28	$25,150
Saint Mary’s College of California	Private	CA	2,610	65	82	$33,414
University of La Verne	Private	CA	3,773	52	48	$27,718
University of Redlands	Private	CA	2,504	71	75	$32,923
University of San Diego	Private	CA	5,601	69	50	$38,592
Whittier College	Private	CA	1,647	62	74	$26,764
University of New Haven	Private	CT	4,851	52	88	$33,665
University of Delaware	Public	DE	18,170	73	63	$16,286
Eckerd College	Private	FL	1,915	63	73	$33,918
New College of Florida	Public	FL	835	57	69	$12,778
LaGrange College	Private	GA	890	36	57	$19,916
Toccoa Falls College	Private	GA	875	44	59	$20,396
The College of Idaho	Private	ID	899	59	76	$22,277
Elmhurst College	Private	IL	2,731	53	71	$22,685
Greenville College	Private	IL	887	36	66	$20,707
Illinois Wesleyan University	Private	IL	1,649	71	61	$30,147
DePauw University	Private	IN	2,136	76	67	$29,318
Franklin College	Private	IN	965	56	78	$22,408
Hanover College	Private	IN	1,078	69	84	$22,455
Huntington University	Private	IN	861	51	81	$19,219
Manchester University	Private	IN	1,241	47	61	$18,657
Taylor University	Private	IN	1,836	71	87	$25,734
University of Indianapolis	Private	IN	3,815	43	82	$21,510
Buena Vista University	Private	IA	1,515	48	64	$20,016
Luther College	Private	IA	2,012	71	65	$26,013
Mount Mercy University	Private	IA	1,077	45	57	$22,429
Simpson College	Private	IA	1,274	63	84	$22,511
University of Dubuque	Private	IA	1,703	30	74	$22,822
Wartburg College	Private	IA	1481	60	77	22976
Bethany College	Private	KS	713	37	67	23856
McPherson College	Private	KS	674	28	48	21954
Sterling College	Private	KS	599	25	52	20147
Tabor College	Private	KS	555	30	53	23815
Centre College	Private	KY	1450	80	76	26249
Transylvania University	Private	KY	966	69	95	26454
Bates College	Private	ME	1787	89	22	23312
Colby College	Private	ME	1917	89	16	20361
McDaniel College	Private	MD	1542	58	85	22652
Salisbury University	Public	MD	7159	49	65	18374
University of Maryland-Baltimore County	Public	MD	9549	39	60	16056
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Private	MA	4502	85	7	22230
Williams College	Private	MA	2038	86	15	20380
Calvin College	Private	MI	3521	59	83	26306
Gustavus Adolphus College	Private	MN	2159	77	68	29894
Hamline University	Private	MN	2081	59	69	22090
St Catherine University	Private	MN	2116	37	70	20523
St Olaf College	Private	MN	3005	85	43	27587
University of St Thomas	Private	MN	1435	31	81	19221
Lindenwood University	Private	MO	6235	32	74	17305
Hastings College	Private	NE	1074	46	68	21400
Midland University	Private	NE	1194	43	64	23151
Elmira College	Private	NY	835	55	85	27268
Hartwick College	Private	NY	1177	49	89	26012
Keuka College	Private	NY	1318	37	70	25211
Molloy College	Private	NY	2792	51	76	26977
Elon University	Private	NC	5864	78	67	33754
Salem College	Private	NC	676	56	57	18218
Oberlin College	Private	OH	2799	75	34	39794
Oklahoma Baptist University	Private	OK	1827	52	65	19008
Linfield College-McMinnville Campus	Private	OR	1504	65	81	28620
Albright College	Private	PA	1995	44	50	24673
Chatham University	Private	PA	954	52	55	25525
Washington & Jefferson College	Private	PA	1405	67	48	28627
Rhode Island School of Design	Private	RI	1976	66	32	39777
Charleston Southern University	Private	SC	2816	24	56	17858
Converse College	Private	SC	863	67	71	19245
Erskine College	Private	SC	569	56	55	34550
Wofford College	Private	SC	1661	77	69	27101
Augustana University	Private	SD	1679	55	68	18937
University of Sioux Falls	Private	SD	1033	38	92	19871
Maryville College	Private	TN	1157	48	49	18597
Union University	Private	TN	1592	62	60	25162
Austin College	Private	TX	1202	62	52	21893
Dallas Baptist University	Private	TX	2434	44	39	25693
Westminster College	Private	UT	1908	51	93	23608
Middlebury College	Private	VT	2524	86	17	22841
Hollins University	Private	VA	632	58	48	19520
Mary Baldwin University	Private	VA	716	41	95	18339
Randolph-Macon College	Private	VA	1424	60	62	26575
Virginia Wesleyan College	Private	VA	1350	46	70	26231
Washington and Lee University	Private	VA	1827	89	22	25029
Pacific Lutheran University	Private	WA	2655	58	75	24567
Whitworth University	Private	WA	2206	65	89	29281
Carthage College	Private	WI	2604	53	68	26874
Northland College	Private	WI	597	55	61	20547
University of Wisconsin-Stout	Public	WI	6586	24	87	14971