<p>Notwithstanding that a student may leave early for Thanksgiving, most professors expect students to be in class on the day before Thanksgiving unless it is cancelled. While they won’t take attendance, they will hold students responsible for what is missed in class. They figure the student is an adult and will deal with any consequences of their decision.</p>
<p>In our son’s first year, we all met in Chicago. Last year he stayed in Grinnell. As much as we missed having him home, it was one of the smartest things he has done. He relaxed and got a lot of work done which eased things up for finals. This year he wouldn’t even consider coming home. There are a couple of hundred kids on campus over the break. He stayed at school and, along with some other students, went to a friends house for the holiday. Again, he relaxed, got work done, and eased things for finals.</p>
<p>Since we live in San Diego, he feels it isn’t worth the stress, exhaustion, cost, and dealing with flight connections and/or possible weather problems for such a short trip. You can bet he won’t be coming home next Thanksgiving either.</p>
<p>While I understand the desire to come home for Thanksgiving, your son may want to think carefully before making his decision.</p>
<p>I appreciate all this input. We are now considering having our Thanksgiving celebration over Fall Break! I am thinking that some others in the family may even prefer to do it then because of their own travel issues and conflicts over in-law celebrations. It makes perfect sense to me to do it this way, but I’ll have to see how this plays out. I"m glad I thought of this early enough (really early!) and got this kind of feedback. I may end up hosting Thanksgiving twice, because we’d still probably want to do something on the real day, but I wouldn’t care.</p>
<p>I just want to say how wonderful it is having everyone chime in on this thread. It’s comforting if nothing else, that we are all going through this together. </p>
<p>Thanks to those that will be hosting kids who can’t come home for Thanksgiving. You are are wonderful people to do this. </p>
<p>I hope I can reciprocate if kids ever want to come to sunny California. :)</p>
<p>SDonCC, let us now how it works out. This may be a great new tradition for your family. How wonderful would that be!</p>
<p>SDonCC–great idea! Travel in October would be easier and less expensive for everyone in your family, with way lower probability of flight delays or cancellations. Because my family members are so far flung, we have developed the ability to celebrate Thanksgiving whenever we are together. The turkey tastes just as good on any other day.</p>
<p>I am resurrecting this old thread, which I found by googling “Thanksgiving” and “Grinnell” and a few other terms. My D is currently a freshman at Grinnell and is very concerned about staying on campus over the upcoming Thanksgiving break. All her friends are leaving campus. She just found out that the last holdout now has plans to leave. She is struggling to find a way to get someplace (not clear to me what she has in mind).</p>
<p>She came home for Fall break. It’s nearly a 12 hour trip to or from Grinnell with the changing of planes. She was exhausted when she returned, which made for a difficult week getting her sleep cycle readjusted. I think she would be best not traveling over the holiday. I also don’t think she should miss Wednesday’s classes.</p>
<p>I would love for her to stay on campus. The semester will end one week after Thanksgiving, and final exams are the following week. She could use the time to study and rest up. I told her I thought lots of sophomores, juniors, and seniors will remain on campus, but she doesn’t know them.</p>
<p>What usually happens on campus over Thanksgiving? Is she likely to be miserable and lonely?</p>
<p>Atalanta: My D is also a first year, but after navigating Thanksgiving travel for sibling the last few years we decided to not have her travel. Last year, one of our kids almost spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas when flights were delayed and then overbooked, so we’re not risking THAT again. Not worth the hassle and expense for four days, if you ask me. But we’ll see how it goes…</p>
<p>My D believes that while many (most?) first year’s go home for Thanksgiving, the majority of upperclassmen/women remain on campus. I’m assuming there will be things for those who don’t travel to do. If/when I hear something I’ll p.m. you. Worse comes to worse, they can figure something out together.</p>
<p>i would not at all recommend a 12 hour trip home for this short time period. We have been grounded often because of fog at the nearby airports in the winter. She could also be grounded at a connecting airport. Lots of kids stay on campus for Thanksgiving. Your D might make some new friends.</p>
<p>Thanks to evrgrn, bethievt, and SDonCC for their replies. SDonCC, I cannot send you a private message, but I will contact the school and try to get onto the listserv.</p>
<p>It sounds as though the campus won’t be as deserted as I’d feared.</p>
<p>Over the course of the last few days, my daughter has become resigned to remaining on campus. She sees that if she makes use of her time over the holiday, she will be in much better shape for final exams.</p>
<p>I am hoping the limited hours in the dining hall for the holiday means that she’ll be able to find people she knows, as everyone on campus will be eating at the same time. Maybe the situation will sort itself out on Wednesday night, as she will have a chance to look around and see who has remained on campus.</p>
<p>evrgrn, I’d love to put my D in touch with your D, but I know mine would not appreciate my interference!</p>
<p>I’m a current first-year, and I will be staying on campus, as will many of my friends. Those that live far but don’t want to stay here will be going home for Thanksgiving with Iowan/Chicagoan friends, but I’d rather stay and get some work done.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated last May but she never came home for Thanksgiving. We are from Los Angeles and she was a swimmer so it never made sense financially, academically or athletically to come home. The first year she went home with a good friend from Chicago but after that remained on campus. If you ask her, she would say she loved staying on campus for a number of reasons. Traveling back and forth even to Chicago was a hassle for four days and she had too much work to do because of finals right around the corner. She actually enjoyed the four days on campus and had lots of friends to eat with and NEVER felt lonely. I too worried that she would get lonely or homesick but she was more than fine. She is now back home and I can not believe I will finally have her around for family holidays again. Don’t worry about your son or daughter being on campus for Thanksgiving. The college does a great job of taking care of them and the students do a beautiful job of taking care of one another , believe me.</p>
<p>We planned on having my son (also a freshman) fly home, he thought he would want to come home. But after being there for about a month he told us he wants to stay. He says a number of his friends are staying, and that the dining hall does a nice Thanksgiving dinner.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info about Thanksgiving, all. Very reassuring! And Atalanta, my D would feel similarly if I interfered, LOL. It sounds like it’s going to be a lovely long weekend.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for all the reassurance. My daughter stayed on campus for the holiday and seems to have found that some of her friends who had planned to leave campus also stayed. She tells me that she is getting a lot of work. You all gave me the encouragement I needed to tell her it would be fine, and it worked out. Thanks again!</p>
I thought I’d bump this thread up, because–just prior to D leaving for Grinnell for her freshman year–we’re having the same discussion. There are no direct flights to our city from Des Moines. We’ve thought about flying her to Boston, where her brother now lives (still no direct flight) and maybe to Atlanta, where we could meet her (only if my brother agrees to do Thanksgiving at his house!). Despite her being our second (and last) kid to leave the nest, this is the first time we’ve faced Thanksgiving without our kid attending college. Our son went to Carleton, and their trimester system lets kids out the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving and they don’t come back until Jan. 2 or so. We’re definitely flying her home for the October break.
I can tell she wants to come home for Thanksgiving, but she’s not enthusiastic about all that travel for 2 or 3 days at home (or Atlanta). I’m relieved to read that Grinnell does a dinner and that Iowa residents take in the T-day refugees, but this thread is 5 years old. Anyone have more recent experiences to share? Thanks!
I can share that my son, who will be a junior this coming fall, has stayed on campus for both Thanksgiving breaks and will do so again this year. It is simply too short a time period to go back and forth. He has had plenty of friends around, and the school does a dinner, and he does get some work done. He is our first, but our second will be starting college this year much closer to home and they have a longer break time too. Grinnell is not exactly a convenient travel location.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, @madamecrabster. I’m relieved that she’ll have company if we don’t fly her home for Thanksgiving (yikes, I get teary just typing it). It would definitely be a lot of money for very little time–and perhaps even less time if we have another winter like last year.
Also, depending on the friends she makes, I know many kids tag along to closer homes. They have such a short time, classes often are held on Wednesday, that it doesn’t make sense in many cases.
Any more thoughts? Our first year also hails from San Diego and it just seems like a hassle, but I’d hate to have her be alone there. Is the general trend still for people to stick around? Thanks!
@Dawnpaige I hope so, because we’ve pretty much decided not to fly our first year Grinnellian home. I’ve already invited family foe an October Thanksgiving during Grinnell’s fall break.