I think the uni year is constructed bizarrely and term 3 (summer) is especially odd!

It's pretty random how there's 12 weeks before Christmas and exams plus 8 weeks afterwards before Easter, which is fair enough... and then the summer is so short and before you know it, you're back home twiddling your thumbs for summer amongst perhaps a bit of travelling and a bit of work.

Also the best part of the year is the summer. I think i would be amazing to be at uni in June and even July instead of all those cold, dark, wet wintery early nights. An 8 week summer holiday with suffice, but as it happens, we get a 4 week Christmas, 4 week Easter and nearly 4 month summer! That's half the year away from university... so much for studying!

A degree could easily be done in 2 years. Chop off 2 weeks in Christmas/Easter and 4 in summer, then you still have 15 weeks off + freshers week in a year. Much of uni is a doss and a bit of a holiday anyway; all apart from, say, until a couple of weeks before mid-semester and end of semester deadlines/exams.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

driftawaay

are you for real, why would you want to be sitting in a lecture in the summer when you can have Ibiza, sex and Fanta :colondollar:

Reply 2

chelseafan

Its pretty perfect. One month off for Christmas. 3 months off for summer.

Reply 3

olitheoblong

I think it could be made longer. Perhaps 2 weeks for Christmas and easter then 4 weeks for summer. This would reduce the time required at uni. I think if people did more hours and had less holiday uni could be done in 2 years (bachelor's).

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Reply 4

William Pitt

I find the British system odd as well to be fair

Reply 5

Shelly8hulahoops

Lol - trust me, after working 20 years & having maybe 5 or 6 weeks off a year, it's fantastic! (Mature student) Seriously, make the most of it, but i agree it is quite bizarre!

Reply 6

theOldBean

The seriously weird thing about the uni calendar is that you apply to university before finishing A-levels. This has the consequence that, rather than being able to make a judgement on the suitability of the candidate based on A-level results, they have to rely on GCSE and guesswork. Given that AS-levels are being phased out, this is a bit worrying.

Reply 7

driftawaay

Original post by olitheoblong

Omg I have never thought about this, this is a great idea. Bachers degrees should be two years long. UK still has it better than the US where BA degrees are four years and masters degrees two. Like what the ****.

Reply 8

ZolaCFC25

Original post by Shelly8hulahoops

Lol - trust me, after working 20 years & having maybe 5 or 6 weeks off a year, it's fantastic! (Mature student) Seriously, make the most of it, but i agree it is quite bizarre!

I fully understand that but a few years messing around at uni doesn't make up for the endless hustle that will ensue when you leave! If anything, it doesn't set you up for it very well and it is a brutal shock to the system that could probably trigger some burnout/mental health problems. Going from school to uni is like being completely let of the leash, with the sudden freedom and free time going from a full on schedule at school, especially if you do things out of school like competitive sport, pretty much year round but for summer holidays, to potentially having 6 hours a week!

Reply 9

Roving Fish

Here's the structure at my uni, it's weirder than most mentioned:

Start: Late September
Part 1 of Semester 1: Sept - December with 1 week off in between
Xmas Break: 2 weeks
Part 2 of Semester 1: 3 weeks in January
Semester Break: 2 weeks
Part 1 of Semester 2: Feb - Easter
Easter Break: 2 weeks
Part 2 of Semester 2: Easter - Mid May
Summer Vacation: May - September

:colone:

Reply 10

aliman65

My timetable:

- 11 weeks work
- 3 weeks christmas holiday
- 3 weeks exam time
- 1 week inter-semester break
- 8 weeks work
- 2 weeks easter holiday
- 3 weeks work
- 1 revision week
- 3 weeks exam
- holiday between start of june and beginning of october.

The only thing I wish is that a few weeks could be taken from summer and added to christmas and easter holidays for more revision time.

Reply 11

meaow1990

I agree, I sometimes think it's to save money on seminars, tutorials, lectures. I suppose it's also for the lecturers so they have time to mark essays. They don't get paid for marking essays, do they?

Reply 12

olitheoblong

Original post by meaow1990

I'd imagine they do

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Reply 13

Octohedral

You aren't supposed to be twiddling your thumbs over the summer - you are supposed to be doing internships, earning money or broadening your horizons.

Reply 14

Anonymous #2

My uni is so different to all yours! Start halfway through September, off for Christmas for 2 weeks, off for another 2 at Easter and then 3 months summer. None of these reading weeks or anything.

Reply 15

olitheoblong

Original post by Anonymous #2

My uni is so different to all yours! Start halfway through September, off for Christmas for 2 weeks, off for another 2 at Easter and then 3 months summer. None of these reading weeks or anything.

Mines similar to yours. 10 weeks before Christmas, 4 weeks off for Christmas. 10 weeks after Christmas, 4 weeks for easter. 10 weeks after easter, 14 weeks for summer.

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Reply 16

Anonymous #2

Original post by olitheoblong

Mines similar to yours. 10 weeks before Christmas, 4 weeks off for Christmas. 10 weeks after Christmas, 4 weeks for easter. 10 weeks after easter, 14 weeks for summer.

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I don't think I could cope having 4 weeks off at both Christmas and Easter. Suppose it's good revision time though.

Reply 17

Conzy210

If you have too much time over summer you're not utilising your holiday time well enough in my opinion.

Spend your time in the summer break working to save money for the following year, gaining relevant internships and summer work placements at companies you'd wish to work for once you've graduated. Also just enjoy the time off, it won't be that way once you've graduated.

If you use your time off efficiently you can make the time you're at university much easier. Also, in the summer after second year you can make a really good start on your dissertation.

I agree that we could spend more time at university, but lets be honest, why would you want to? Once you've only got 28 days holiday per year you'll be wishing for a huge summer break.