<p>I just noticed on the academic calendar for my son's school that they close the dorms at noon on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and reopen at 9 am on the following Sunday. Same deal with spring break.</p>
<p>Is this SOP these days? When I went to college many kids stuck around for the in-semester breaks--I stayed on campus for Thanksgiving one year myself. Our son will probably be happy to take the trips home, but it would be nice to have a choice.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s standard procedure. Some schools allow you to make a written request with housing to get approval to remain on campus. If one does get permission to remain on campus, some schools charge a fee per night. Also, often times there isn’t any on-campus food service available during the shutdown times.</p>
<p>It all depends on the school. You should directly ask the housing department at the college your child plans on attending.</p>
<p>Probably the costs to heat/air condition/clean dorms, keep food service, maintenance and security available, etc, for a small number of students who might wish to remain on campus for Thanksgiving is a cost many budget-strapped schools can no longer bear.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s normal.</p>
<p>However, some schools do provide interim housing in another building over the break. You can always ask and see if that is available.</p>
<p>This is typical of many colleges but by no means universal. It is something to check before sending a kid off to a distant college. It certainly can be an inconvenience.</p>
<p>During Thanksgiving many schools keep their dorms open because it’s kind of a short break (unless they get the whole week) and doesn’t mean anything to non-US kids. Most other breaks, schools are more likely to close because of the length of the break.</p>
<p>Many schools do close their dorms for even the short breaks.
I’ve often wondered if the FA packages are adjusted for additional trips home, or for alternative housing in these cases.</p>
<p>I remember when I was in college, my package allowed for only two trips home (Winter break and Summer, but the dorms were open during the other breaks. I think the change as come because of the need to reduce energy costs.</p>
<p>Because to the cost involved with back to back trips (thanksgiving and winder break) many students who live a far distance end up going home with friends that live close by (within driving distance).</p>
<p>The university where I work does this for two breaks a year; Thanksgiving in the fall and Spring Break in the spring - I think the rule is for breaks over 5 days in length (our university closes on that Wednesday before Thankgiving for students). </p>
<p>If a student needs to stay, they fill out an application and pay for the extra days. It is due to security, planning personnel coverage, utilities, etc. </p>
<p>Also, for international students, the community is asked if they want to host a student or two during the break (I’m part of a support community for the international students).</p>
<p>Where my daughter is a student, 1300 miles away, the dorms did not close for Thanksgiving. They only had the two days off (Thanksgiving and Friday). However, for spring break, they did close. Students who needed to stay (international, etc.) could stay by moving to a specific location on campus, but there was no food service available.</p>
<p>In my experience as a parent it is normal for some if not all dorms to close for long breaks; some may remain open for temporary use by students who are unable to go home due to athletic activities or distance. Dining halls also are closed during the breaks even when res halls themselves may be open. Not sure about Thanksgiving though since it is a short break.</p>
<p>D’s school doesn’t close the dorm for Thanksgiving (classes run through Wednesday), but they stop meal service as of lunch on Wednesday and don’t restart until dinner Sunday.</p>
<p>They do close the dorm for winter break and spring break.</p>
<p>I can definitely see shutting down the dining halls; it’s booting the students out of the dorms for a break of a week or less that seems a little over the top.</p>
<p>At the University of South Carolina, some dorms remain open and some do not - you can factor this in to your preference for housing.</p>
<p>Both of my kids small privates closed their dorms and dining halls but exceptions were made for the dorms with international students and students that asked in writing. I was very glad that my son had a car on campus so he could drive himself home for the fall break, Thanksgiving and then Christmas. None of his friends were staying on campus so it would have been pretty lonely.</p>
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<p>If the halls stayed open, the in-hall professional staff would all have to be on duty through Thanksgiving and other holidays for the sake of a small number of residents. In addition, the few who would choose to stay would be sprinkled throughout the campus. A student who, for example, tripped going down the stairs could lie at the bottom for a long, long time before being discovered.</p>
<p>When I was in school, the dorms stayed open for Thanksgiving but not the other breaks. I could not have afforded that trip home. I think that enough students stuck around that it wasn’t an issue, especially as that’s so close to Chrsitmas break, anyway.</p>
<p>My S’s school stayed open from September to May. Since it was in NYC, many students returned to the dorms for NY Eve. But I think that’s unusual.</p>
<p>My daughter’s school only closes the dorms once during the year…but she’s on the quarter system and their ‘long’ break runs from the Friday before Thanksgiving until January 2nd or so. The dorms are closed during that period.</p>
<p>Spring break is always the week that includes St. Patrick’s Day in March, and the dorms remain open. They provide limited meal service in one or two of the cafeterias, and it is no charge to any student that has been on a meal plan.</p>
<p>My son’s school only closes over the Christmas break. When putting together his school list, that was one of the things we considered as we knew he couldn’t afford to fly home except at Christmastime.</p>
<p>Yep, pain in the neck. Sometimes the campus apartments stay open. It’s been an issue for our son as we would have liked to have had him go back a little early a few times.</p>
<p>For international students or special situations, certain dorms may be kept open and those who have gotten permission to stay on campus may be shifted to those buildings at some campuses. Different schools have different rules on this, and you do need to check with housing if that is an issue to you.</p>
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“In-hall professional staff”? I don’t think there were any such things at my dorms when I went to college. Some of the dorms had faculty members living in suites on the first floor, but that was about it. What kind of professional staff are we talking about?</p>