<p>I’ve heard that Stanford has a quarter academic calendar, so does that mean 3x the traveling costs? It’s especially important to me, living on the east coast.</p>
<p>The times the majority of students travel home are the same at Stanford as at most colleges, i.e., 3 times per school year: Thanksgiving break, Christmas/holiday break, and Spring Break. At Stanford, you finish your Fall quarter, including exams, in December before the break (this is nice in that you don’t have the exams hanging over your head during your break). I believe Spring Break is the week after Winter quarter concludes and Spring quarter begins. Very reasonable plane fare to the east coast can be found from either the San Jose or San Francisco airports, especially if you book your travel well in advance.</p>
<p>and nothing says you have to go home for thanksgiving or spring break. I typically don’t for either.</p>
<p>What you may find more difficult in the winter is traveling in adverse weather conditions, with flight delays and so forth. If you are going to a location in or nearby a major airport, then that’s less than an issue.</p>