Students home time schedule eg when can I book holidays!

[AlpineadventuresandCowbells]

DD should be starting uni this sept and I'm wondering whether they have half terms I assume they have no time for half term ? So Xmas ,Easter and main summer ? Is that correct ? I have tried to look at some of the unis she's looking at but I also thought I'd check here thank you

Really? You took the time to post expressing your utter bafflement at the idea OP wanted to know when a student might be available for the period of a holiday booking?

I quite agree with posters who have noted the student may not want to go, and I endorse the idea that OP can check for herself - but your “gracious me how on earth could this information be of any relevance” was itself rude

Dd has just finished first year at uni and still came on holiday with us this summer - plus doing stuff with her friends and travelling round South America for a month. Most of her friends are going on family holidays too - I don’t think it’s at all unusual (free holiday with mum and dad not to be sniffed at!) - OP just look on the websites, it’s all there. Some of our kids are quite happy to still spend time with us despite uni independence.

DD always had a lot of work over the Christmas and Easter breaks - lab notes to write up, lecture notes to consolidate, assignments to complete and, more importantly, exams to revise for. Her exams were always straight after the Christmas and Easter breaks.

She didn't get a reading week until her third year and had several assignments to complete. Reading week is not a holiday.

Christmas and Easter are breaks and not really holidays.

The safest time to book a holiday is during the summer months, but make sure you keep the resit weeks free just in case.

It's not unusual at all. However would she have opted for the family holiday or the month in South America if they had clashed? Would she have felt duty bound to go on the pre booked family holiday and miss the fantastic South America opportunity? That's the reason I advised OP to just cool her jets and book something nearer the time not because I think once they go to Uni they never want to come away with you but because I would hate to limit my young persons opportunities because they felt they had to come with me instead.

Cooler countries are available.

Do also ask if they want to come. Hopefully they will - ours do. But they're adults now so it's good to check.

Also bear in mind she may have exams straight after the Xmas and Easter holidays.

Ours had submission deadlines in April.

The dates will be on websites. If it’s a 2 semester system like Bristol then it’s semester 1 exams before Christmas. Easter is usually just before semester 2 exams.

This varies between unis. Both mine were at unis who operated 2 semesters, and both had exams after the Christmas break.

My son has just graduated. Most unis don’t do half terms, but some will have reading weeks, some will have 2 semesters rather than 3 terms so they’ll have an odd break In February. My son’s uni had a 5 week Easter break as they ran Easter courses so all the normal students had to move out (including some halls) for the 5 weeks.
what I will say though is it’s not just about when they have breaks, it’s also about workload. While they may get a break at Easter, they may have assessments or essays that are due straight after the break or need to revise for exams so things like that are hard to plan for.
We managed one big holiday in the Easter of his first year but stuck to summer for the second and third years as it was impossible to predict his workload.

I will also add that while he was amenable to coming on holiday with us as a family still (and still is as long as we are paying! 😂) He got very stressed at certain points of his course about having to take time away. He had a very essay heavy course and could sometimes have 3 or 4 essays due within a short time span and the idea of going away during that period would horrify him.

Have you looked to see if the unis you’re thinking of have a parents facebook group! Our uni has a brilliant one and there was always a parent on the group whose child was doing the same course and may be a year or two ahead. It’s been absolutely invaluable to us.

My Dd has just finished her second year at Bath. There is an inter semester break after the January exams which is good opportunity to go away.

Yes agree definitely needs to check.

Bristol have gone to a proper semester system. The website is really nice and clear.
www.bristol.ac.uk/university/dates/#academic

Mine is definitely the never say no to a free holiday variety. She sends me tik toks about how it’s always all inclusive when you go with mum and dad.
Joking aside I’d study uni calendar carefully and speak with her.
Mine went on a short study abroad taster trip Easter yr1 (they visited 3 universities and spent time with program coordinator). It was only arranged a few months before (and fully paid for by uni) It then helped her secure a very competitive yr abroad placement yr3 as she got points for having been on trip ie strong interest in yr abroad from get go. If she had not applied as mum had already booked a mini break it would have impacted her.

Actually, I remember DD having a break after the January exams. She was at Newcastle and did day trips to Edinburgh and York and various other stuff in between. This was just weeks before lockdown, then she was sent home in the March for several months.

DD came on holiday with us in the summer of 2021 and then has done her own thing with friends since then.

All students I know stayed at uni and studied over Easter or at most only took a couple of days visiting home. They were freer over Christmas as most exams were just before Christmas. Summers are difficult to plan as they have various ideas that may or may not come to fruition - including getting summer jobs which can be incredibly difficult to find in some areas. We put off planning a holiday until last minute for this reason and even then ended up with one DC dropping out after getting a job.

Assume nothung re them wanting to come. Dd at lancaster had exams just after easter and submissions over the holiday period. She also had exams post christmas so wouldnt have wanted to go away then . Many student jobs and internships expect availability over all of the summer too. We no just book somthing sge can join last minute if she wants to, somtimes she does somtimes she dosent.

My three all had loads of essays to do over the Christmas holidays- we barely saw them even though they were home for a month!

They do have "Reading Weeks" that happen to coincide with the school half term in October

I work in a uni and there are no half terms but very long summer and a bit longer for Xmas and Easter. Also a reading week may apply. The term dates are usually on the website and you could
alwaya drop them an email.

Actually doesn’t always and for parents who work in uni it’s a pain!

Reading week dates may vary depending on the specific course, even at the same university. Some courses don’t have reading weeks at all.

I have never known a university have a term holiday.

It's all going to be a big change and we have a younger teen who won't want to go away withour her sister

Yes, it's a big change OP - I have one at uni, one starting this September and one still at school. This year we went away without my eldest for the first time

Mine has hardly been home in two years. She has short Christmas and Easter breaks and has opted to stay in her uni town for summers as it's a more touristy place and easier to find work - plus most her friends are doing the same.
In term time, the pace of work is such that it's not really possible to take time out.
All kids are different, but when she does come home, it's for a week or two at Xmas and her priority is to catch up with school friends.

Go to the uni website and search for their academic calendar, it will tell you closure dates and exam periods