Dear Universities Who Do Not Give Students a Fall Break,

First off, how dare you?

When I look at my academic calendar and see two student holidays for the whole semester I'm already drained... and it's only July. Giving us Labor Day off and then not offering another break until Thanksgiving (literally, Thanksgiving Day is the first day off) is emotionally and physically draining.

We're all doing a lot of work, no matter the major, and we all get burnt out eventually. I have attended a university that offers a Fall Break in the middle of October, and it's refreshing. That break started on a Wednesday and classes started back Monday, but those four days off to relax and take my mind off school completely for a few days is much needed over the course of a long semester.

I don't believe I'm sounding whiny, but I also want to get the most out of my education, and two and a half months of continuous lessons, homework, and tests is not my idea of optimizing my mind.

We all want to succeed and do well in our classes, it's why we're in college in the first place. Universities like you have its students to go 11+ weeks straight with our only chance of going home is a weekend when they may still have homework or essays to work on, so there's not always a guarantee of relaxation.

College is stressful, but that long, grueling period makes it that much worse. I would rather start a week earlier and get a break, than get out at the same time as everyone else with no rest in the middle.

Maybe I'm just a big baby and this sounds whiny, but having been on both ends of the Fall Break spectrum, I would pick getting that break every time.

Sincerely,

A Preemptively Stressed College Student