<p>My daughter is going to be a freshman at Wellesley this fall. We live in California so traveling back home for the short Thanksgiving holiday borders on the impractical. With a layover one can spend 10 hours or more traveling each way.</p>
<p>I'm wondering what students typically do for the Thanksgiving holiday. On one hand it would be great if my daughter could return home on Saturday the 18th and return on Sunday the 26th, avoiding one of the busy holiday travel days and she would also have more time at home to make the trip worthwhile. On the other hand she would have to skip three days of school. I'd hate to interfere with her semester by having her miss several days if her professors are going to insist on attendence at that time (i.e. by scheduling a test or project.) We must buy airplane tickets long before we will know the requirements and schedule of each class.</p>
<p>What do students who live far from Wellesley typically do if traveling home for Thanksgiving?</p>
<p>I don't travel home but rather meet friends & family in a nearby city for Thanksgiving. It is fun, a change of setting for me and thus far all trips have been wonderful. NYC is one example but you could pick Boston. Lobster is mighty fine in Boston........</p>
<p>Hi Questioner,
I'm another West Coast mom and coming home for a few days just seems silly to us. Our D has two close friends also going to Boston (Harvard and MIT) and they both have relatives in the Boston area. We've been informed that they plan to "share" her over the break.
I DO like hazmat's idea of us flying there for the holidays, but at this point we would rather let her spread her wings on her own.</p>
<p>and so on Fall Break or other time you are gonna host with your good weather right? That works out well doesn't it?</p>
<p>Do tell...what is Fall Break???
Actually, we live across the bridge from San Francisco and have given all five of D's best friends an open invitation to stay with us, even if the ones who are staying local need a break from the UC dorms. We expect we'll see quite a few visitors from the East Coast over D's college years, and they are all more than welcome in our home, even if we don't have the sunny weather SoCal is so well-known for.</p>
<p>When my husband asked the same question, he was told that first year students feel too nervous to cut classes and go home. By the second year, however, students feel much bolder.</p>
<p>Fall break just means getting Monday off for Columbus day. And the following Tuesday to be fair, since Wellesley's classes are Monday/Thursday, Tuesday/Friday with Wednesdays peppered in depending on the department. But that doesn't always happen with Monday holidays (Labor Day, MLK Day (during Wintersession), President's Day and Patriot's Day come to mind). It's not really a break. You might make a day trip out of it.</p>
<p>Next year, Wellesley students only have class the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. Some students go home and cut class. Others go home with their roommates, and still others make a meal together in the dorms. </p>
<p>With breaks, Wellesley will sometimes offer direct shuttles to Logan airport and South Station. You can also get to both on any day via a combo of Wellesley's shuttle bus and regular public transportation (or just regular transit) for a long, but disgustingly cheap ride (as in less than $5). There's "The Airporter", which costs about $50, and students will charge roughly $30 and sell rides to Logan in their cars. There are also airports in RI and NH that are within an hour or so of Wellesley and less busy- however, Logan is actually big enough to run direct flights to CA.</p>
<p>hi everyone I am going to be a first year next year and also live quite far away (south florida). The only problem is that I really hate to give up Thanksgiving because it is my family and extended family's annual reunion time. We also don't do much for Christmas so for me that time although it will probably be at home is less important. Is it worth it to try and fly down for just a weekend or should I postpone until winter break and then try to drive around to visit relatives instate?</p>
<p>If Thanksgiving is your big holiday, I would most definately fly down. It's clearly important to you. You'll spend less time traveling than my roommate, whose parents drive 6 hours each way in good traffic, and so much longer at Thanksgiving.
On the other hand, if you don't go back for Wintersession, you have six weeks to visit everyone AND enjoy the lack of crowds at Disney World in late January.</p>
<p>I'm fairly local, so I don't have great answers to the original question, but I just thought I'd mention that it's also not unheard of for professors to extend invitations for Thanksgiving Dinner to any students who aren't going home.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your informative replies!</p>