<p>OK, I am confused. It seems like Thanksgiving abuts up against dead week. What exactly is dead week? Are there classes? I care because I'm buying an airline ticket for my son to return to campus after Thanksgiving and the fares are much less on Monday than Sunday. I figure it's OK to leave Monday (12/2) since the calendar says Nov 29-Dec 5 is Dead Week for Arts & Sciences and Blair? </p>
<p>Good question. My son is in VUSE, so i didn’t pay attention, but half his classes are in A&S. Sunday was more expensive, so i booked late afternoon on Saturday.</p>
<p>Dead week means there are no exams or major projects due so students can prepare for finals. There will still be classes</p>
<p>Belated thanks. This helped me with my ticket buying.</p>
<p>yeah, we generally sent son back to Nashville early to save $. In our smaller city, Sunday flights are packed and expensive. He was always better off getting to his room as soon as dorms reopened. Enjoyed knocking around, re-entering his own life a bit, and getting set up for a new semester. Looking back, our biggest mistake was when son was settling in and trying too hard to buy books online for cheap to save cash…when professors also were tardy in communicating with students what was required…without guarantees re shipping which was sometimes by slow boat. Focus on upgraded shipping if you are saving money with online book shopping. Amazon Prime is worth every penny in this online textbook department.</p>
<p>Wait, can they return from Thanksgiving on Sat? I thought the residence halls do not open until 9am Sunday morning.</p>
<p>sorry if I garbled the Thanksgiving dorm entry allow date/time which is available if you google academic calendar Vanderbilt. We did send our son back early rather than later on many occasions but perhaps Thanksgiving was not one of those times. He did ask for early admission to his room a few times which was never a problem and he dined solo near campus as dining facilities are not available for stragglers and early birds or late leaving students. During an ice storm that threatened many airport schedules, he was in the dorms a couple of days extra as were scores of students with car trip or airport plans scuttled.</p>
<p>There is a home football game on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I know that my son will be in the dorms on Friday so that he can attend practice. I remember reading on here that last year the dorms were opened early so students could attend the football game. The dining halls did not open though.</p>
<p>Ah yes, apparently it is not cut and dry about the dorms being closed. Here is the memo from 2011:</p>
<p>[Residence</a> Halls Closed During Thanksgiving Break | InnerVU | Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/innervu/official-notices/residence-halls-closed-during-thanksgiving-break]Residence”>Residence Halls Closed During Thanksgiving Break | InnerVU | Vanderbilt University)</p>
<p>If you come back early without registering, you may not have card access to your room. I’m not sure if that’s actually enforced but I believe it’s the policy. Anyhow it’s very easy to register to come back early.</p>