For most college students, fall break is a much-needed week off. If the semester can be comparable to a storm, consider fall break to be the eye of it. There is chaos before, and plenty of chaos after, and fall break is a necessary quiet among the seemingly never-ending mayhem.
The time off can be confusing in of itself. If you’ve ever tried making plans with people who attend different colleges, especially if their semester start dates are different, what are the odds that your fall breaks are at the same time? TBH, it’s not likely. Not to mention, it can be even more stressful when your university decides to change the week of fall break (wild, but it happens more than you think) from year to year.
Fortunately, on the flip side, fall break can often feel like a trove of opportunity. With no lectures or labs, there is so much time to be productive and get things done — or, you could travel, spend time with friends and loved ones, or even just veg out. It can feel like walking along a fine line between being studious and indulging in well-deserved self care, and heaven forbid there’s a midterm waiting for you at the end of the break.
So, with so much yet so little time to work with, how do you know the “right” way to spend fall break? You don’t, because there isn’t one! But if you need some inspo for what to do with your days off, here’s what college students across the U.S. (and Canada!) are doing for fall break 2025.
Living it up and celebrating
Emma, a senior at James Madison University, is spending her fall break time on herself. Her fall break just so happens to line up with her birthday this year, so she’s taking the opportunity to celebrate in Las Vegas.
Makalah, a senior at University of West Georgia, is in a similar boat. Her birthday is a couple of weeks after her fall break, so she’s utilizing the time to go home for a pre-birthday glow up. Additionally, she plans on attending a media night hosted by her college, participating in some retail therapy, and, to round it off, studying!
Becca, a freshman at University of Manitoba, will also be living it up during her week off. “In Manitoba, the drinking age is only 18,” she explains. “I’m the youngest of my friends, and my birthday is right before reading week (Canadian fall break) so we all plan to go out for the first time as a group.”
Kaitlin is a junior at the University of British Columbia and is spending (Canadian) Thanksgiving with her friends. “My fall semester break isn’t until November, and it isn’t enough time for me to fly out east and spend time with family,” she says. “Last year, me and some friends got together for a Friendsgiving and it went so well that we hope to do it again.”
Spending time with friends and family
Jane, a sophomore at Cornell, has made plans to visit her high school friends at their university, where she plans to attend their tailgate and football game. “I feel that it’s so important to nurture the friendships I made in high school,” Jane says. “Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of going home for breaks (it makes me feel slightly lazy since I usually take time away from course work), so having a trip planned feels productive in a way.”
Shelby, a sophomore at Western University, is planning on making the trip back home to visit family. This year, her fall break week has been pushed back by a month. A week that was once pivotal to study for midterms will now instead be used to slow down and spend the free time with her family.
Braelyn is a freshman at Youngstown State University. She hopes to spend as much time as possible with her family and twin sister. “Making the decision to go out of state for school was really difficult because I’m so close with my sister,” she says. “I’m thankful my family is coming to get me so I can spend my break with them, I haven’t seen them since August and I’ve never been away from them for so long.”
Dana, a senior at the University at Albany, is also looking to be with her family during her fall break. “I don’t have a large extended family, but we’re all really close,” she says. “My cousins were like my siblings [growing up], so we’ll end up planning some adventures together.”
Studying, of course
Alyssa is a master’s student at the University of Windsor. For her break, she’s embarking on a road trip and beginning on field work research. These plans came at the last minute, but will be helpful in giving her a head start in experience for future field work and research.
Madison, a junior at Middle Tennessee State University, is attempting to get as much done during her fall break. “I only have a few days off and I’m taking the opportunity to finish as much as possible,” she says. “I plan on locking myself in the library and not leaving until I’m caught up on everything and more.”
Michigan State University sophomore Peyton’s fall break plans are “studying, studying, and more studying.” With such a heavy course load for fall semester, she’s planning on being in the library finishing up lab reports and writing a paper.
Laura, a junior at Queen’s University, is spending as much time as possible studying for the LSATs. “I’m taking the test for the first time in November, so I’ll need every minute I can get studying,” she says. “I’m hopeful that I’ll only need to take it once, but you never know. That’s why I’m taking it now and not next summer, just in case.”
Plans? What plans?
Jill, a freshman at Indiana University, doesn’t have much booked on the calendar. With the exception of work shifts and a meetup for a group project, she hopes to spend her fall break at home resting. “I plan to fully utilize my break to actually break,” she says. “School has been a lot, so the less schoolwork I do, the better.”
Anna is a junior at University of Texas at Dallas, and she’s hoping to spend more time on herself than on her studies. “I only get a few days off for fall break so I don’t want to have to worry about projects and assignments,” she says. “I’d like to attempt an all day read-a-thon, but we’ll see how busy I get when November comes around.”