Hi everyone,
I was looking at the Cornell calendar and saw that we get time off in the middle of October. I live on the West Coast so it’s not really practical for me to go home for just a couple of days—especially since I plan on going back for Thanksgiving—and was wondering what people usually did if they stayed on campus.
Is it a bad idea to go backpacking or head into the city for a day or two if Fall Break falls right before prelims? I mean, it’s only a four-day weekend so it’s not too big of a deal if I end up doing nothing significant haha.
Thanks in advance!
MANY students stay in Ithaca for fall break. Others go to NYC or stay with roommates/friends in the Metro area. Even if you stay on campus and catch up on work you will not be alone. S1 never came home for fall break (we will in NJ) he used the time to do work and was coming home for thanksgiving a few weeks later.
It is also a very nice time of the year up in Ithaca. Definitely take some time to explore the area. Cornell has students around the world, I imagine most of them wouldn’t be going home. There are a lot of good restaurants in Ithaca to try out too.
OP:
We are from the West coast as well and my daughter didn’t come home during Fall/Thanksgiving/Spring break. Thanksgiving, she stayed with her best friend’s home in Long Island. Fall and Spring, a bunch of them went to their friends’ house and spent exploring the Boston area (Spring) and Buffalo (Fall) area. But my D also mentioned that there are kids who stayed at Cornell. Her roommate is international and she went with her friends in NYC (Fall) and Alaska (Spring).
We are also from the west. My D said, in her experience, almost everyone in Freshman dorms is gone all breaks except maybe the February one (weather was treacherous for travel) although she went to Boston or NYC during breaks to visit friends. The dining halls close during all the breaks and the dorms are basically empty so it’s nice to have a place to go.
Although it is towards the end of the beautiful color tree season, it is still Autumn and great to hike in the many areas around Ithaca. There are so many waterfalls and gorges.
A trip to NYC or Boston would an option. Washington DC would be a bit longer.
Once, and if, your kid is 21, trips to wineries are always fun.
Thanks for all the input! I’m probably going to stay on campus during Fall Break to study and explore the surrounding scenic areas, but if it turns out that most people aren’t, then I might make a trip to Boston to visit some friends.