Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Since I'm in engineering, I know I probably will have an exam on the 22nd :(

Ditto.

Funny, I feel like Mac hates its students...but it has nothing to do with Christmas Break.

I filled out a 'graduate application survey' for a chance to win an iPod or something (I was bored :p) and I just found myself badmouthing Mac everywhere...but it was pretty much a series of yes or no questions! I wasn't exaggerating a bit.

Things like:

"Has the graduate department contacted you since you accepted your offer?"
"No."
"Has the graduate department made you feel welcome since you accepted your offer?"
"No."

I had so much more ass-kissing from UofT than Mac...which is ironic because they have so many more grad students. Haha.

Which leads me to believe: Mac hates me (at the very least). But since I'm sure I'm no exception, Mac hates eeeeverybody.

(Note that I'm not complaining about Mac's facilities, etc.)



In regards to the Summer / Christmas Recess....Personally, I'd rather go to school year-round like they do in other parts of the world. Then I don't need to spend half my summer reviewing some old material I've forgotten. A week or two here and there like Reading Week (to catch up on studies) is awesome...but I'd probably rather not have more than a week for Christmas, and a week for summer.

it is kind of annoying having exams end that close to christmas because if you have a family who likes to get together before christmas and they are coming from out of town there isnt enough time right before to do this and if you have 5 exams spread out over the entire month and end on the last day then your whole month is shot

Originally Posted by Mowicz

I had so much more ass-kissing from UofT than Mac...which is ironic because they have so many more grad students. Haha.

Well you see, grad students are like Pokémon to UofT. They've gotta catch'um all!

Originally Posted by Mowicz

...but I'd probably rather not have more than a week for Christmas, and a week for summer.

I think that summarizes my reaction to your suggestion....

Originally Posted by Geek

I think that summarizes my reaction to your suggestion....

It's not a suggestion, it's what happens in various other places around the world. They get a week off every month, and attend school year-round.

Since being in university is about academics, and not about how long our summer break is, it seems silly that we forget what we've learned over the summer and have to spend like a week or two reviewing at the start of each course.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Well you see, grad students are like Pokémon to UofT. They've gotta catch'um all!

Haha, oh boy.

I don't know what to feel about McMaster. I mean, I love the campus and the community feel of it, but it seems like a relatively normal institution. Mac has never done me wrong though, so I guess I luffs it based on that, and the cool program I'm shadowing. :]

Originally Posted by Mowicz

It's not a suggestion, it's what happens in various other places around the world. They get a week off every month, and attend school year-round.

Since being in university is about academics, and not about how long our summer break is, it seems silly that we forget what we've learned over the summer and have to spend like a week or two reviewing at the start of each course.

That would be alright. Have about a week off each month, and then maybe a month off in the summer :p... I dunno if there are enough weeks for that though :s

Originally Posted by Mowicz

It's not a suggestion, it's what happens in various other places around the world. They get a week off every month, and attend school year-round.

They tested that out in a highschool in Ontario, I don't remember which one. I don't know how successful it was though :\

If you try it at an isolated school I guarantee it won't do well and it's an inaccurate indication of its success.

Why? Because every single kid in that one school is bitter because the other kids get a summer break. At the university level, I'd like to think at least, kids are more mature and can appreciate it...so a better indication would be if a university tried it out, or if all or most of the schools in a given region (say, Hamilton-Wentworth) tried it out at the same time.

You can't please everybody, but even in principle (academically at least) it'd be a good idea since let's face it, no one thinks about school during the summer and that's why everyone's bent out of shape at the whole idea of changing their summer.

Personally, I wind up reviewing my courses throughout a good chunk of August...call me a nerd (it's true (8 ), but in Math that's what separates me from a lot of my peers. It's ideal to have the material fresh in your head when you walk through the door in September.


Sure there's the whole 'life is a juggling act' analogy...work/education is a 'rubber ball' so if you drop it you can 'bounce back' and choose a new direction...while relationships, health and wellness, leisure, etc. are balls made of glass, and if you drop those they may be irreparable.

But we're not in university to have fun, unfortunately. We're here to learn how to be successful, and it's our responsibility to balance our lives out throughout the year...we shouldn't depend on the summer months to enjoy ourselves, we should do it year-round.

Originally Posted by Mowicz

If you try it at an isolated school I guarantee it won't do well and it's an inaccurate indication of its success.

Why? Because every single kid in that one school is bitter because the other kids get a summer break. At the university level, I'd like to think at least, kids are more mature and can appreciate it...so a better indication would be if a university tried it out, or if all or most of the schools in a given region (say, Hamilton-Wentworth) tried it out at the same time.

You can't please everybody, but even in principle (academically at least) it'd be a good idea since let's face it, no one thinks about school during the summer and that's why everyone's bent out of shape at the whole idea of changing their summer.

Personally, I wind up reviewing my courses throughout a good chunk of August...call me a nerd (it's true (8 ), but in Math that's what separates me from a lot of my peers. It's ideal to have the material fresh in your head when you walk through the door in September.


Sure there's the whole 'life is a juggling act' analogy...work/education is a 'rubber ball' so if you drop it you can 'bounce back' and choose a new direction...while relationships, health and wellness, leisure, etc. are balls made of glass, and if you drop those they may be irreparable.

But we're not in university to have fun, unfortunately. We're here to learn how to be successful, and it's our responsibility to balance our lives out throughout the year...we shouldn't depend on the summer months to enjoy ourselves, we should do it year-round.

Very well said. I watched a news documentary on why students in Asia perform so much better than those in North America, and one of the main reasons is because they don't have a months-long summer break. I wouldn't mind seeing the summer break disappear and have more smaller holidays throughout the year instead (which actually reflects real working conditions better anyways).

Originally Posted by tauntobr

Very well said. I watched a news documentary on why students in Asia perform so much better than those in North America, and one of the main reasons is because they don't have a months-long summer break. I wouldn't mind seeing the summer break disappear and have more smaller holidays throughout the year instead (which actually reflects real working conditions better anyways).

I don't think the teachers unions will allow for that. The teachers like not having to do anything for two months .

I agree, I never particularly liked summer break. I find it WAY too long and by the time I get back to school I have forgotten a lot. Plus, do you really do something 5 days a week for all 4 months of summer (other than if you have a job)? I find most of my summer goes to waste .

I would love to see small breaks here and there during school and having school all year round. Or even 1 month of summer and the rest be converted into breaks during the year. Think of it, 3 months is 12 weeks, that's more than 1 week per month.

I agree. I think I'd like summer more if I had the money to afford vacations, but I don't. If you're not working, it's also a waste. I recently went back to Hamtown and got my textbooks so I could review them - at least it's doing something, and I won't feel like a dumbshit when I go back to school. Otherwise, the four months of summer is... really... dragging on. Really shoulda went to summer school. >.>

I think one important thing that all of you seem to be forgetting is..
1. you would have to pay more money. Why? well you'd be living either in res or off campus for 4 extra months
2. you would earn less money. why? you can't work a full-time job if its divided that way
3. if you earn less money and need to pay more money you will likely be less likely to afford university or will have a greater financial debt in the end. yes osap helps. however, osap isn't always enough. despite getting a lot of money from osap i still need to pay mcmaster 8 grand and even with a summer job i can't pay for it