<p>Just booked Thanksgiving for D on Southwest…
Flights opened up thru January 8…</p>
<p>Already? What if her exam schedule prohibits her coming home that day? Or did you schedule it for the day she gets out?</p>
<p>Soph D’s school calendar, exam schedule already online…so we were comfortable making the purchase (also, no exams before Thanksgiving)…</p>
<p>Very nice! My alma mater’s mid-terms were the week of Thanksgiving, – Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Students complained, as did faculty, so eventually they gave us the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off, and mid-terms were on Monday and Tuesday. (Of course that led to students trying to negotiate to leave on Tuesday…)</p>
<p>I just know that some professors get very testy when they are asked to reschedule exams before a break because a student has bought his or her plane tickets waaaaaay in advance of the semester :)</p>
<p>Does anyone know when Southwest begins their service to Boston? (They had mentioned August or September 09.)</p>
<p>Seattle to Boston flights start on Aug 16 - not sure about the other routes. I will use Southwest for all travel except Thanksgiving. Chicago’s weather in November is too unpredictable, and the break is too short. D’s Tanksgiving travel is paid for with hubby’s Alaska miles.</p>
<p>Thanks BB. Yep, you don’t want O’Hare or Midway in November or D might be eating chicago dogs for Turkey Day.</p>
<p>And this is why I’m glad my school gives students the entire week of Thanksgiving off 
so if my family wants to go somewhere we don’t have to worry about exams!</p>
<p>It’s a bummer when we come back from break and only have one week of class, then “dead” (study) week, then finals, but that week off is a great relaxer right before exams.</p>
<p>I wish schools that draw students from all over the country would give an extra day or two before and after Thanksgiving, so that travel plans could be more flexible.</p>
<p>If you look at these calendars, most students are released for summer in early- to mid-May. How about releasing them a day or two later for the summer (mon dieu!) so that Thanksgiving travel could be better accommodated?</p>
<p>^I agree, though so far mathson has always been able to leave Tuesday evening, he still has to return with the Sunday crowds.</p>
<p>
Stanford made a week-long break around Thanksgiving for the last several years. I am sure this was the reason for it.</p>
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<p>I’ve wondered about this as well. Like I said above, my school gives us the entire week off. We are done with spring finals by the end of the first full week of May, the last 3 years getting out on May 4th, 9th, and 8th. I know a lot of the small schools around here do a “Fall Break” that is 3 days to a week off, usually in October. They then start their Thanksgiving break on Wednesday. </p>
<p>We get one week for Thanksgiving, three weeks for Christmas, one week for Spring break, plus the “Monday holidays”.</p>
<p>My boys didn’t/don’t even try to come home for Thanksgiving from the east coast to middle of the country. They spend as much time trying to get home as they do at home.</p>
<p>My son only has 2 days off for T-day, so he didn’t come home last year (Michigan to Seattle). He did say that week was “dead” at school, and he probably could have taken a couple of days off. However, he can’t count on it, so he won’t be home this year either :(</p>
<p>He did spend the holiday with a very good friend and his family who live within a few hour’s drive and had a wonderfully “Norman Rockwell-ish” time (his words, not mine). However, we all would have preferred him to have been able to come home.</p>
<p>He finished finals April 24th this year and after visiting a few friends was home on May 2nd. I think he gladly would have stayed at school a few more days in the spring in order to have been able to come home for T-day.</p>
<p>This year my husband and I are toying with the idea of flying out there (son is moving into an apartment this year) and preparing T-day dinner for son and any of his friends who are not able to get home for the holiday. We could fly out on Monday evening or Tuesday and home on Friday night or Saturday to avoid the worst of the crowds. </p>
<p>Has anyone done this…?</p>
<p>SeniorMom, I have not doen it, but I do not think it is a bad idea at all! I have no doubts the home-cooked dinner will be very appreciated. :)</p>