<p>ok so it may seem a bit strange to be talking about when i get to leave mcgill before i've even gotten there but since i'm an international student it's quite important as it infers how often i get to see my family and friends. is it just an illusion that mcgill seems quite stingy with vacation times? i know it's something that varies according to class/exam schedules but about how much time off do you current students feel like you get? and i'm rather confused when i start to try and decode the long list of calendar dates on the mcgill website, is it true that you guys get only a week off for christmas break?</p>
<p>you get about two weeks off for christmas- depending on when your last exam is.
you get one week off in february.
you end classes end of march. and depending on your finals you get out somewhere in the middle/end of april!</p>
<p>Pretty much what rideltrain said. Officially, unless you're taking summer courses, you'll be on vacation from May 1st until August 31st at least (orientation for new students is the last week of August). Classes usually begin after Labour Day (1st Monday of September), but this is not guaranteed. The Christmas break is from December 24th to January 2nd inclusive, but depending your exam schedule (and whether or those dates are during or around weekends), your vacation might begin (much) earlier or end later. The only other breaks are Thankgiving (second Monday of October), Reading week (last week of February) and Easter (Good Friday + Easter Monday). There are no such things as snow days (exception: the Ice Storm of 98, lost 6 school days, 3 of which were regained by sacrificing Easter Monday holiday and pushing the end of classes right before exams). In the event of severe weather during exam period, time accomodations will be made (such as accepting students up to two hours late and giving 3 hours from each student's arrival).</p>
<p>hi there, is there a study break in the Fall term? Or will the exams be like, the week following the last week of classes?</p>
<p>I think there's one day not including week-ends between the end of class and the first day of exams.</p>