Fall Break?

Background: We’ll be empty nesters this Fall. Looking ahead to that, about six months ago I planned a vacation trip for my husband and I during my birthday week in October. For years we haven’t traveled anywhere in October because of all the school and extracurricular activities of my 3 Ss. I’ve spent the last few birthdays at cross country meets or band competitions. So now my son will be a freshman at ND and he looks at the calendar and says “Hey, we get a whole week for Fall Break. I can fly home and see my friends.” (several friends are going to college locally). And, of course, it’s the same week as the trip I planned to mitigate the empty nest sadness. We’re over 700 miles from ND so will drop him off in August but didn’t plan on being able to see him until Thanksgiving or even the end of the semester. Most colleges I’m familiar with only have a 4 day weekend for Fall Break.

So I’m wondering, do kids leave campus during Fall Break? – if I try to change my trip (or more likely cancel) will he even end up coming home or do students do other things that week? He hopes to be in the marching band if that matters. There’s the Michigan game at the end Saturday of that week. I know we can go away anyway, but I know that knowing he’s at home after two months and we’re gone will impact my enjoyment of the trip.

Tell him to stay on campus or go somewhere with his NEW friends. He can see his high school friends at Thanksgiving. It’s likely he will have band practice so won’t be able to be gone the entire week anyway.

When you get to go to sleep away college, you don’t get to come home all the time.

ND has some great service opportunities that your son can take advantage of during Fall break. My daughter did one last year and loved it.

@“one+two” Insider tip:

"Social Concerns Seminar CSC 33950

A service-learning and community-based learning course, this seminar involves experiential learning at a variety of different sites in the Appalachia region of the United States. Coupled with on campus class sessions providing preparation, team formation, and follow up, students will spend their midterm break on a service-learning immersion with one of 15+ community partners in Appalachia. While learning about the communities in this region and the challenges they face and hopes they possess, students may focus on themes such as sustainability, food justice, housing, education, energy, or a combination thereof.
Immersion Dates: October 19–25, 2019"

https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/content/appalachian-sites
https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/node/264

Great program! Application deadline: Wednesday, August 28, 2019.
PS: The Appalachia mid-term break program is “football friendly”, back on campus Friday night before Saturday game.

Thanks all. I was wondering how lonely the campus will be if he stays. I know some schools clear out on breaks. He’ll be on a tight budget so I don’t think he’ll be able to go elsewhere. The service learning trips sound like something he’d be very interested in but I don’t know about this year and signing up when he’s barely been on campus in August. I hope he does have band practice. He also hopes to get a job in the dining hall so maybe he could work extra that week if needed.

@“one+two” While dorms and one of the two dining halls will be open over Mid-Term Break, it will be relatively quiet on campus, as most students will be off-campus, either heading home or going on a service trip. Mostly some international students and a few others will stay. On-campus activities will become busy again starting Friday of that week, if there is a home game on Saturday, with service trip participants and many other students returning for the game.
PS: for many First-Year students the time between Welcome Weekend on August 23rd and Mid-Term Break, starting October 19th this year, is pretty exhausting and they tend to be happy for a change in scenery over service trips or simply spending time with family and friends.

PPS: It would be different if he becomes a member of the ND band, in which case he might be required to remain on campus and would have social connections over the week with his band friends. Hence, I would probably wait with taking a decision on the matter until after band try-outs.

FYI - The game at the end of that week is @ Michigan. Band is probably going. My DS is in the Band of the Fighting Irish.

Thanks for the info. He got an email about band auditions today and it said they should return from Fall Break on that Thursday and are going to the Michigan game. Ironically he has 3 good friends who will be freshmen at Michigan this Fall and my other thought was that he could go visit them for a couple of days.

My other two S’s colleges are 10 minutes and 45 minutes from home so this is a different situation for us and apparently one I just started really thinking about because now I’m realizing I need to plan Thanksgiving and Winter breaks transportation also.

I don’t mean to laugh, but I did almost the same thing when my daughter was a freshman. In my case it wasn’t Fall Break but her dorm had a Mom and Me weekend the first weekend in October and my fellow empty nester friend and I had planned a girls trip to Florida. Luckily, my sister stepped in.

As others said the campus is pretty empty the week of Fall Break but that can be a nice break from the chaos of school. I have a daughter currently in the band and one who was in the band and graduated. If he makes band and doesn’t want to stay on campus there is a service trip run by the band during Fall Break which both my girls did. It’s usually within 3 to 4 hours away and they are back on Wednesday. My oldest went to Detroit/Flint/Ann Arbor and my youngest went to Indianapolis. The cost was $25 as they usually stay at houses of the Alumni. Both my girls had a blast and made many new band friends - -I think they take about 60 on the trip (one bus) and when it’s offered they need to sign up right away. If you look at the band’s Facebook page in October you’ll see what they do.

Good luck to him during try outs – he should have a band ambassador who has reached out to him with advice. The odds of getting in vary with the instrument he plays. During band tryouts they do a march out to the band practice field in the morning - rather fun to watch as a parent. Other than the that the parents stay away from the practice field. There will also be a band parent meeting during Orientation weekend that was chock full of info. ’

Good luck to you and your family!

It’s very possible once acclimated and making new friends he will find somewhere to go for fall break…I’ve hosted many friends and roommates over fall break, Thanksgiving, part of winter break, and spring break because I live a couple hours from campus and the friends or roommates lived to far to go home…you will find that ND is family…someone will always step up.

Thanks @girlsmom14and16 and @gpnnynd89 ! I’ve actually made a backup plan for a different week but we’re still discussing Fall Break - stay at ND/go home/other. I’m sure he’ll have new friends by then because he’s outgoing and social. It’s just hard for him to project to that now as he hangs out with his close friends from hs for the last summer. And for me to project to how much will I want to see him by mid-October. But we’re all looking forward to the ND experience. We’ve only heard good things about the family atmosphere. He has heard from a band ambassador. He plays trombone and has lots of marching band experience so we’re hoping the try outs will go well.