@JJames030 As a result of Anthony’s Jack’s activism about 10 year ago, the dorms and dining hall at Amherst stay open on breaks.
Guess which students stay on campus during breaks most? International students. They also get the benefit of being fed and housed when they can’t go home (whether because they can’t afford it or because it’s just too far to go).
Not many colleges are in the financial position that Amherst is. I know most colleges close on breaks or ask international students to move into the one dorm they keep open, but IMO it is definitely a perk worth considering, for a poor domestic student or an international student. Or heck, an athlete or student with a job who has to be on campus.
Of course students with their own housing as you describe at the end there don’t have to leave for breaks either. But at a residential college that requires on campus living, that’s not an option.