margos

Any suggestions for interesting ways to spend the 5 weeks? Does the school offer any unique options during this time or do most students go home for the 5 weeks and work?

bingle

Carleton has several official programs in December that I'll list below. Also a number of kids go back to jobs at home, particularly in retail. D will be working at a music store and my niece worked at Target at least one year.

Carleton Scholars Program
Carleton’s highest-visibility program: “taste-of-industry” tours introduce students to a variety of organizations in a particular field of interest (e.g., public policy, green tech, business, film/television, public health and medicine), including site visits, panel discussions receptions, and social activities. To date, nine programs have run: Business Scholars (New York, 2006, 2007, 2008); Technology Scholars (Silicone Valley, 2007); Environmental Scholars (Colorado, 2007); Public Policy Scholars (Washington D.C., 2007, 2008); Creative Arts Scholars (New York, 2008) and Social Action Scholars (2008).
There are 3 scholars programs available this winter break: Clean Tech (Bay Area), Public Health/Medicine (Atlanta), and Film/Television and Media (LA). The dates for each program are Nov 29 until Dec 2nd.

Off-Campus Studies
During Winter break Carleton runs some short programs. This year they are:
* Faith and Fiction: Religion & Literature in Contemporary Israel
* Animal Behavior in the Galapagos
* The Road to Agricultural Sustainability in the U.S. and China
In the past, President Oden did one in Egypt.

Mentor Externships
Carleton’s newest major program connects students with alumni for one-to-four-week “short internships,” most with a “focus project,” 80% including home-stays with their alumni hosts. In December 2008, the first six mentor externships were conducted in New York, Chicago, and London.

lunitari

Some students also work on campus over the break. I've got two student programmers who'll be working for me, and I've heard about some winter break research assistant positions too.

I'd say the vast majority of students go home, though.