JennW in SoCal Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 My ds attends an LAC in Ohio -- we live in California. Getting him to and from there is a major expense and a logistical nightmare thanks to the minimal airport shuttle service provided by the school. But what really stuns me is that they are charging him $15 to spend the night in his own dorm room tomorrow night because the dorms are all shutting down for spring break! Is this normal? Granted spring break is 2 weeks long, long enough to make going home worthwhile. (The long break is in order for the seniors to put the final touches on their large capstone projects that are due the Monday classes resume. I don't know if they have to leave as well.) But why do I have to pay for my son to stay in his own dorm room Friday night when they are providing shuttle service to the airport Saturday morning? Why do I have to pay when the Friday shuttle gets him to the airport too late for any normal priced flights to California? And what about the poor international students? Jane in NC and I have groused about some of these issues before as her son is also a student there. I just wanted to hear what others experience at other LACs. Do dorms shut down for spring break? Does it feel at other small LACs like they assume everyone lives within a 100 mile radius and mommy and daddy drive junior to and from campus? Apparently the poor international students that were stuck on campus over Thanksgiving were stuck without any food -- the dining halls weren't open. My ds fortunately got to spend the 4 days at a friend's house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 When I was in college, they shut down most of the dorms, but there was always at least one that remained open for students who were staying on campus. So you couldn't necessarily stay in your own dorm room (unless you got lucky and they chose your dorm) but you could stay on campus. It did cost a fee. I did it many times, as I stayed on campus most breaks. I can't remember if there was meal service or not -- I think not. Another option that I used was to find students who lived off-campus and were going home for vacation. Often it was easy to find someone who wanted a subletter for vacation to help pay the rent or to feed a cat or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 My ds was in a LAC that did shut down. We were overseas at the time. We got him home for Christmas and at the end of the year- military paid for one round trip and we paid for the other. We told him to make friends and go to someone's house for Thanksgiving. For Spring break, he went on a trip with the honors program to Philadelphia and we paid for that. It was certainly less than a round trip ticket to Belgium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 They did this when I was in college a million years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Odd that they don't leave at least one open with cheap rent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 I appreciate hearing that this isn't unusual. I went to a big state university, and I recall the dorms staying open. Then again, my parents lived in the same town, so it wasn't any big deal. My other ds lives in a big metropolitan area, has his own car and apartment, so getting flights home isn't such a hassle -- he just gets himself to the airport when he needs to be there. Drives his friends, too. And the airfare is much cheaper, too! For the LAC kid, though, trying to book flights around the school's shuttle schedule is a bigger headache than I had anticipated. I just assumed if there was a shuttle Saturday morning, the dorms would be open Friday night! The cost of the one night isn't an issue -- shoot it is only $15. I'm just surprised by the assumption that everyone will have cleared out, even if they had Friday afternoon classes. It is a residential LAC, too -- you live on campus all 4 years, so it isn't like there are friends with apartments just off campus where you can crash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Dining halls always close in our experience (except, perhaps, at really large schools). Sometimes kids can stay in dorms and sometimes they can't. It is odd that they charge $15 for the Friday night though. I haven't heard of that one happening before. We're heading to get middle son and a friend tomorrow. The friend lives in a far away state and can't afford to fly home for the week. We're looking forward to meeting him! Over Thanksgiving this guy stayed with friends from church that were in the area. If we'd have known about it early enough he could have come with us then too, but we only found out right as we were leaving and we were heading to a relative's house, so didn't feel comfortable bringing a last minute guest. At these schools not everyone can go home on every break. I didn't go home on every break either back in the stone ages. I went home with a couple of friends and did one spring break trip... But no, I've never heard of charging $15 for the night that classes end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 They did this when I was in college a million years ago. Me too. They also required that all refrigerators and aquariums be unplugged before the hall closed for the break - they went through the rooms one by one to enforce that and wrote citations to anyone who hadn't complied. People had to etiher flush their fish or try to transport them somewhere for the break. If they left them plugged in, they came back to dead fish. They left one floor of one small hall open for international students and others who couldn't travel for the week, and they could pay a fee to have a bed in that hall for the week. There was no food service available. They could use hot pots and mini fridges in that hall, but no kitchen. I remember there was also a cheap local hotel that offered a special weekly rate over the breaks for displaced hall residents, Their rate was competetive with the hall rate and there they could have a private room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 When I was in college, they shut down most of the dorms, but there was always at least one that remained open for students who were staying on campus. So you couldn't necessarily stay in your own dorm room (unless you got lucky and they chose your dorm) but you could stay on campus. It did cost a fee. I did it many times, as I stayed on campus most breaks. I can't remember if there was meal service or not -- I think not. Another option that I used was to find students who lived off-campus and were going home for vacation. Often it was easy to find someone who wanted a subletter for vacation to help pay the rent or to feed a cat or something. This is similar to how it was at my college for spring break. One dorm stayed open. Rooms were available IF they got enough people to agree to let their room be used by someone else (they did not make you do this). And they charged. Most people went home with someone who lived closer or went on a trip with a group of friends. At Christmas break, all dorms closed and everyone had to vacate the campus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 At my kids' LAC, the hall RA's needed to stay on campus until the last student in his/her hall had left and arrive back before any of their charges. (This was the much groused about condition of being an RA.) In order for the RA's to have any break, the dorms needed to shut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in OH Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Three separate schools, and they all close the dorms right away for breaks. The more remote the school, the more difficult it is for the students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Weird. I was in off campus housing, but still housing that was connected to the university (UCSB). Dorms closed over Christmas break, but not over spring break (one week between quarters). I wouldn't have even thought of it as a concern! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 As I have told Jenn, my only complaint with the college concerns the airport shuttles which are limited. If only public transportation were available! One thing that I do want to point out though is that our sons' school does offer inexpensive summer storage. Apparently not all colleges have storage available. Some of the students at the school will contract with off site storage companies. I am not sure why--maybe lots of extra furniture in a suite? Those who are sending their students far afield might want to keep this in mind as well. As Jenn pointed out, the dorms close during the two week spring break but they do remain open over the two day fall break and longer Thanksgiving breaks. I know that one of my son's friends who had attended another Midwestern LAC had to leave campus for his one week spring break. I suspect that all of the schools make accommodations for international students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 At Oxford and Cambridge, students have to actually move out of their rooms in every break, because the rooms are used for conferences, hotel accommodation, etc. The terms are only 8 weeks long, then it's out again. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Yup - it it normal. Some schools only let kids who's folks live over a certain distance away stay (for a fee), too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Imagine my surprise when I learned that two of the unis my ds was considering closed for Thanksgiving. Everyone had to leave. For a 4 day break. I was like this ---> :confused1: when I heard that. Mine closed Thanksgiving weekend... almost 30 years ago. Two wings (one girls, one guys) in one dorm was available IF the residents that normally lived in those rooms were WILLING to have others stay in their room for the weekend AND they got RA's to volunteer to stay. Sometimes there was enough space for everyone who wanted it, sometimes there wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ours closed for anything longer than a 3 day weekend. There was an arrangement for international students for both Thanksgiving and Spring Break but everyone else had to leave. I don't think this is abnormal. My RA niece has to clear her floor before she can go on break so that may be part of the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 And here I thought I had obsessively and compulsively researched every minute detail of college life before sending ds off last fall! Clearly I missed a thing or two :laugh: Thank you to all the replies! In the greater of scheme of things it isn't a big issue, and the school is proving to be quite fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Normal. I applied for a resident job in the dorm but even I had to vacate for breaks so I said no(!) and got an apt instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 My ds attends an LAC in Ohio -- we live in California. Getting him to and from there is a major expense and a logistical nightmare thanks to the minimal airport shuttle service provided by the school. But what really stuns me is that they are charging him $15 to spend the night in his own dorm room tomorrow night because the dorms are all shutting down for spring break! Is this normal? Granted spring break is 2 weeks long, long enough to make going home worthwhile. (The long break is in order for the seniors to put the final touches on their large capstone projects that are due the Monday classes resume. I don't know if they have to leave as well.) But why do I have to pay for my son to stay in his own dorm room Friday night when they are providing shuttle service to the airport Saturday morning? Why do I have to pay when the Friday shuttle gets him to the airport too late for any normal priced flights to California? And what about the poor international students? Jane in NC and I have groused about some of these issues before as her son is also a student there. I just wanted to hear what others experience at other LACs. Do dorms shut down for spring break? Does it feel at other small LACs like they assume everyone lives within a 100 mile radius and mommy and daddy drive junior to and from campus? Apparently the poor international students that were stuck on campus over Thanksgiving were stuck without any food -- the dining halls weren't open. My ds fortunately got to spend the 4 days at a friend's house. Ours did even way back in the 80's! We resented it. The room and board bill was WAY over the top of what it cost to rent an apartment and pay one's own support. However, the requirement was you had to live on campus until age 21. Lovely. Dd's friends are paying $20.00 a day to stay in dorms that they paid $10,000.00 dollars to live in this year for just two semesters...what is that 6.5 maybe 7 months???? Rip off! But, it's meant to be this way. Dorms are money makers for most colleges. If we couldn't go home, we always tried to find a friend in the area or a family from church to bunk in with if we could. I can't remember what they charged to stay when we were in school, but it was outrageous by that day's prices as well and only one meal per day was provided so you had to walk the mile and half to the grocery store, get some food, and walk back on a very busy highway with almost no shoulder between you and the big drainage ditch. It was somewhat dangerous and nearly always raining buckets the week of spring break or dumping blizzards during Christmas break. Crazy! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Weird. I was in off campus housing, but still housing that was connected to the university (UCSB). Dorms closed over Christmas break, but not over spring break (one week between quarters). I wouldn't have even thought of it as a concern! It is exactly the same at UCSC now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Wow, I honestly had no idea this was the case. I stayed at the Naval Academy over several leave/break periods. One year because I didn't feel like we could afford the plane ticket home for spring break. Other years because the crew team did training camp during spring break (no Florida for us, and it was almost assured that it would snow part of the week). I think the baseball team was also in spring training and maybe a couple other groups/teams. I was able to stay in my room if I stayed for break. (There was one year when I had to pack up everything in my room so that Military Performance Winter School could use the rooms in our hallway. It was a pain, but boy was that room clean when we came back. MPWS and the corresponding summer school is for mids who were in danger of being kicked out for performance reasons. It was one last chance to get themselves squared away and demonstrate skills necessary for staying at USNA.) Of course it's also a very different world. There were people on restriction who did not have the option of leaving. And we also had watch responsibilities that had to be filled. Usually the restrictees would stand the watches, often in return for payment from non-restricted mids who had been assigned the watches (having not taken enough watch during the regular semester) but who had other plans. Meals were served over leave/break. The reason most people tried to find a friend or sponsor to stay with was because if you stayed, you often had to be in uniform (or at least regulation PE gear) any time you were on campus. (Uniform requirements vary wildly from year to year and as the leadership at the top changes. I'm not sure what the policy is as the moment.) Yeah, it's a different world there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 My daughter attends a liberal arts college. The college keeps all dorms open over the fall and spring breaks (one week each) as well as over the Thanksgiving holiday. One dorm stays open over the long winter break; that dorm is available for students with an acceptable reason -- for example, international students, students working on their senior thesis, as well as students taking classes at different colleges (within the consortium) that may have different academic calendars. There is no additional fee. There is no food service provided during any of these breaks; however, during the long winter break the college provides at least two bus trips to a nearby grocery store. Also, there are a number of events on campus that provide dinner such as a Christmas Eve dinner provided by the International Students Association that is open to all. The Pschology department was also offering free pizza to students willing to participate in a study. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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