Whether you're staying at uni for financial reasons, because you're a foreign student and it's tricky to get home or you just need some quiet and the uni facilities to get your work done, remaining in halls or your student house after the majority of people have gone home can be a bummer.
However, there are some advantages to 'doing a Harry Potter'...
The advantages of staying at uni over the holidays
Live like a local(01 of10)
It's easy to forget that your student town has actual real people living in it too. If you stay over the holidays you'll have the opportunity to really explore the town and see what it's like without the thousands of chanting freshers queuing outside nightclubs and chundering on pavements. (credit:Carolyn Eaton via Getty Images)
Get closer with the other people staying at uni over the holidays(02 of10)
When fewer people are around it's actually easier to meet others. (credit:Digital Vision. via Getty Images)
Avoid the inevitable family arguments that occur around Christmas(03 of10)
Mulled wine and a complicated meal to cook = tension in the air. (credit:BananaStock via Getty Images)
You don't have to worry about transporting all your stuff(04 of10)
Taking a Megabus with 100 bags stuffed under the seat is not fun. Trust me. (credit:Susan Barr via Getty Images)
You can use all your uni facilities without having to queue(05 of10)
Empty gym, available library books. Don't mind if I do. (credit:Gary Burchell via Getty Images)
You're paying for your halls or student house over the holidays anyway - so make the most of it!(06 of10)
You'll definitely save money by staying at uni - a return train alone can easily be over £50 if you live on the other side of the country. (credit:Robert Daly via Getty Images)
It's easier to work than at home(07 of10)
At home you'll have your family and home friends to contend with. If you've got a load of work it may be sensible to stay put at uni - fewer people around means fewer distractions, and it will be much easier to concentrate. (credit:shironosov via Getty Images)
If you live in the countryside AKA the middle of nowhere, there might be more going on in your uni town(08 of10)
Going to the same village pub every night can get a little boring. (credit:Laura Ciapponi / Design Pics via Getty Images)
Lots of universities organise events for its students over the holidays(09 of10)
According to the Guardian, De Montfort University's chaplaincy organises a free dinner on Christmas day and day trips during the holidays. The University of Worcester arranges for its students to have a meal with a local family at Christmas, and go to church (if they want). And Durham offers 200 international students the chance to eat Christmas dinner in the Great Hall at Durham Castle. Definitely tempting! (credit:Bethany Clarke via Getty Images)
And if after all these reasons you're still feeling bummed out about staying, remember that Harry Potter stays at Hogwarts over the holidays(10 of10)
And that's when Hogwarts really gets interesting. (credit:Movie Pilot)