<p>Yep, you get a nice break in between quarters. You can find the academic calendar, which will have the start/end dates for winter break, at the link below. It’s three weeks long, beginning in mid-December and running until early January. You’ll be able to fly home at Thanksgiving (we get a full week off), Christmas, and spring break. It’s also possible to fly home for a weekend, but only worthwhile for a special event like a wedding.</p>
<p>Here’s the link: <a href=“http://registrar.stanford.edu/academic_calendar/[/url]”>http://registrar.stanford.edu/academic_calendar/</a></p>
<p>With the quarter system, 12 classes a year sounds about right. 3 classes in a quarter is a light load, 4 is pretty normal, 5 is a very heavy load. Of course, this varies quite a bit based on what the classes are; that’s something you’ll start to figure out when you get to campus and think about your schedule.</p>