pensnest | i've been up and down and over and out and i know one thing

The tour of the underground street proved to be visually very dull, but nonetheless quite fascinating. Our tour guide, Max, was full of all kinds of interesting facts about the history of the city and how there came to be a street that was effectively underground (it turns out that shopping malls have a much longer history than I ever imagined). There was a lot of standing around in small rooms with varying amounts of original features, but we all three found it well worth doing. Should you find yourself in Norwich, get to the Shoebox Project and book the tour!

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On a very unrelated note, I find I don't know how American universities work, in terms of (perhaps I should say, in semesters of) when the students are expected to be there, when the vacations are, that kind of thing. I was mentally putting a character at an American uni and assuming a long June-September summer break, but perhaps that's not how it works? If anyone could enlighten me, I'd be grateful. If it matters *which* university it is, I'd like to know that, too.

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I got an Award from my chorus last night, which I don't quite feel I'm entitled to because it's not what I interpreted the award to be, but lots of them said I deserved it, and it is very heart-warming and lovely. Yay me!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

conuly

Presumably every place is different, but CUNY and SUNY schools finish their spring term around Memorial Day (end of May) and start their fall term around American Labor Day (beginning of September). You can attend classes during the summer intersession, they run every day of the week (instead of only two or three days) and for more time per class session. But it's not expected. I think at least some CUNY schools also run classes during the winter intersession.

https://www.cuny.edu/academics/academic-calendars/

Edit: And, of course, don't forget students will absolutely get Thanksgiving weekend off no matter what. That's a bare minimum of all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but often universities will close on Wednesday as well or even take the entire week leading up to T-Day if they don't expect their students to bother attending classes anyway.

Edited Date: 2023-03-24 05:55 pm (UTC)

From:

pensnest

Many thanks! Is there a Christmas break as well? I'd assumed one.

From:

conuly

NYC schools, including the universities, do not have a Christmas break. We have a winter recess. It is a Christmas break, of course, we just don't call it that, no more than we call spring break "Passover and Good Friday".

From:

yarnofariadne

When I was in American uni (2008 - 2012) we broke in mid-May and returned late August.

Congrats on the chorus award!

From:

pensnest

Thank you!

From:

corvidology

It varies slightly of course but most US universities break towards the end of May and go back late August/early September apart from those who elect to take summer classes, often to finish their degree earlier (it's 4 years here not 3).

There are usually two separate summer sessions and they're very intensive because they're supposed to teach everything that would be taught in the usual 15 week-ish fall and spring semesters.

That's pretty standard for universities and colleges here... it's extremely unusual for US universities to have three terms.

Given I'm English and went to uni there and currently work for an American university I could probably answer any 'comparison' type questions you have.

Edited Date: 2023-03-24 06:19 pm (UTC)

From:

pensnest

That's cool, thanks for the info. I don't need much in the way of detail, I just didn't want to send someone to Europe when he was supposed to be attending classes!

From:

sixbeforelunch

This isn't the norm, but I went to a university that had 10-week terms instead of 15-week semesters. We had three terms: fall, winter, and spring, and a summer term that you could take as well if you wanted to. I went to school every summer except my first. (This school also had built-in two term internships when you worked instead of going to school so you could get real-world job experience.) Just tossing that out there so you know that you can break from the norm if you want to, although many American readers would be confused because it's not a common school schedule.

From:

author_by_night

I was just going to say, there are schools like that, although I always thought that must be a bit annoying for both faculty and students since you don't really get a break. Did you ever mind that? I guess you know what you're signing up for.

This school also had built-in two term internships when you worked instead of going to school so you could get real-world job experience.

And that is no small thing.

From:

sixbeforelunch

Did you ever mind that?

Not really. But if I hadn't been in school or at an internship, I would have been working somewhere else, so it wasn't like I was missing out on three months of vacation or anything.

And that is no small thing.

Yeah I do think more schools should emphasize work experience as part of college. It was really helpful to have office experience on my resume when I got out, and not just the odd jobs I had growing up.

From:

pensnest

That sounds more like my (English) University, though we had to cram everything into eight-week terms. Still had a long vac, though. Thanks for the info!

From:

jacieleigh

My brother is a college professor. Here is his 2023 calendar. Summer sessions are always optional.
Spring classes: Jan 17 - May 6 (spring break Mar 20-24)
Maymester: May 30 - June 11 (limited 3 credit courses available)
Summer Session: June 12 - Aug 6
Fall classes: Aug 21 - Dec 16 (fall break Nov 20-24)

Congrats on your chorus award!

From:

pensnest

The summer sessions sound like a nuisance to someone who wants to earn a bit of money during the vacation, but I assume they are optional. Does the academic year start in the Spring or the Fall?

From:

jacieleigh

The regular season does begin in the fall, so fall and spring would be considered the normal 'year'. And yes, the Maymester and summer sessions are optional. Some people must take advantage, or I suspect they would not be available. My brother used to teach a summer course, but I don't think he does anymore. He's winding down and preparing to retire. *G*

I never heard of the Maymester before, but just saw it this time. I did see it's only a few 3-credit classes. My guess is, it's for people who want to graduate, but are short that one class for whatever reason. I didn't see how long each class is, but it looks like you have to attend M-F. I believe the regular summer session has classes that meet either M-W or T-Th. Not sure about the length of those either.

I also believe that since COVID (where they were fully online or very close to it), they do continue to offer some courses as fully online. They still meet up, but it's via Zoom (or similar) calls instead of meeting on campus.

From:

author_by_night

Congrats on the award!

From:

pensnest

Thank you - it is very gratifying.

From:

brandywine28

No, you're on the right track! Summer break feels even longer than it sounds; sometimes it starts as early as mid-May. Winter break, too -- you're not just off the week between Christmas and New Year's. It extends well into January. And a week off for Spring Break in March! Honestly, the schedule provided by jacieleigh is pretty accurate to my experience.

I've never even heard you sing and I'm 110% sure you deserve it! Yay you!

From:

pensnest

That sounds like what I would expect, though the details are not quite the same as I experienced.

Award wasn't for singing, but for 'heart', which, hmm. Well, they seem to think I deserve it, which is lovely.