<p>We’ve started to research flights home for Christmas. Unfortunately, everytime I check on something the price keeps increasing. Due to the rising costs, we need to book something ASAP. I know classes end on the 12th and that there are juries and exams the following week. To be safe, I suppose I should just book his flight sometime on Friday the 19th. Is this the best thing to do or will he be done sooner than that? Do any of you with experience with this have any advice or thoughts on this? </p>
<p>All of you, students and parents, have been so helpful. I am so grateful for all the information and knowledge you so graciously share. THANK YOU!!!</p>
<p>I would book the flight for the 19th. It's tough to know exactly when he will be done since he will not know his exact schedule of finals and juries until the time approaches. My daughter's experience last year was that in general the MT students usually don't wrap everything up until after most other students because of the number of classes they have and the jury requirements.</p>
<p>Michael what about Thanksgiving? Are their last classes Tuesday or Wednesday? I'm trying to work out flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas break.
Thanks!</p>
<p>It appears from the academic calender that the last day of classes before Thanksgiving is on Wednesday. Whether all classes are held on Wednesday may vary depending on the class and the professor but I would not count on being able to leave before Wednesday night. Keep in mind that it is really only a 2 day holiday and that the dorms stay open over Thanksgiving so that traveling home is less of a priority in some respects. Many students do not go home.</p>
<p>That's correct I've booked my D's Thanksgiving flights from Wednesday p.m. to Sunday. Last year, I made the mistake of booking early afternoon flights where she literally had to bring her suitcase to class.
This year Thanksgiving prices have doubled from her August, Winter and Spring break trips back home.</p>
<p>No kidding!! Flights on Midwest have MORE than doubled from our April trip. When I started checking last week, the prices were under $400 for flights leaving on the 19th (on the 20th, flights were over $700). When I started the process yesterday, the same flights were now well over $400. With those prices, we had to forgo the Nonstop option and go with a connection in Detroit. This is also with a different airline; one that has a history of flight delays and leaving people stranded on runways. We will just have to pray for decent weather over the holidays and hope they have learned lessons from past mistakes. When I asked my son, if he minded a (hopefully) short layover in Detroit, his response to me was, "I'll have my laptop and movies with me, I'll be fine!" </p>
<p>Book flights soon!!!!</p>
<p>Also, my son will be staying over Thanksgiving. But for my birthday last week, my husband handed my present to me saying, "This may need some explaining." It needed no explanation; I burst into tears when I saw a webcam and cried, "Now we can kind of spend Thanksgiving together!!" Somehow, my son didn't seem as thrilled with it as I was. I promised him I would not bother him too much.</p>
<p>AZKMom,
Wait until your S is in shows, and so there's more flights to plan...lol, but that's a good thing. ;-)</p>
<p>As for the webcam, my D talked me into purchasing a MAC so that we could IChat (once in a while). We get to see eachother, and maybe get to hear/see her sing. My other D (who recently graduated & moved to CA) upgraded her old MAC to get the IChat so we could see eachother (once in a while) as well. I know what you mean, I still get teary eyed.
P.S. Your S will LOVE it all - that should give you some happy tears.</p>
<p>My husband called the registrar and she told him that my D's last classes were on the 12th and that he could book her a flight home after that. She did not mention the juries, etc. Is this for freshman? What about for MT students? Should I contact expedia and change the flight to the 19th? Help!!!</p>
<p>Wow! When I was planning I looked at the academic calendar and saw that, yes, the last day of classes is on the 12th and the following week was exams/juries with the dorms open until the 19th. I just assumed that he would have required exams and/or juries. I figured he may be done earlier than the 19th (17th or 18th) but to be safe just booked his flight for the afternoon of the 19th. I sure hope he's not done on the 12th and just hanging out for a week.</p>
<p>Got some clarification from my daughter. Freshman MT students should count on spending most of the week after the end of classes on campus because of vocal juries, dance "final performances". Freshman Acting students generally are done when classes end (but I would not treat this as an absolute - you may want to give yourself a couple of days leeway even though acting students are finshed well in advance of the MT students).</p>
<p>Fall juries take place at the beginning of finals/exam week, and can be pretty much guaranteed to be on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. In this semester, juries for freshmen-seniors are scheduled to organize around your exam schedule, so when the student is done with classes, the juries should already be over.</p>
<p>Spring juries are different. They have their own separate week where the freshmen-juniors are scheduled on Monday and Tuesday after their exams are probably completed. Sometimes a student may still have some kind of final due after these, but there aren't supposed to be any conflicting schedules for spring juries.</p>
<p>As of right now, this applies to MT majors, but a jury system for acting majors is supposed to be starting sometime soon. With major changes going on in the program, though, I can't attest that it will come to fruition.</p>
<p>At the end of the semester in May...our last day of classes was either friday or thursday ( honestly I cant remember). The day classes ended, acting students booked it out of there...it was rather depressing. Some students were done prior to the last day so they left even earlier. It totally depends on what their schedule permits. MT's, I am sorry to say, but the last day of classes is not your last day. We had juries the monday after the last day of class and our ballet performance final that wednesday. </p>
<p>As for first semester, it was pretty much the same deal. Our juries happened the week after our finals were over. They never have juries during the last week of classes. They are always after finals week.</p>
<p>Afterwards, people went home. I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Also, to thanksgiving, definitely book asap. I remember when a certain someone had to bring her luggage to music skills ; )</p>