When I was in college I booked *year trips*. These were purchased at the normal 3-week discount rate for the market in June or July. Travel outbound in August and return in May. Schedules were available over a year in advance for final exam dates.

Then whenever there was a break -- Winter, Thanksgiving, etc. -- it was always an easy matter of booking just one ticket.

Think about it: Let's say that you don't do it this way, and book Thanksgiving now (when the prices are about as low as they'll get). You do August-Nov, and Nov-Dec. What if the dates change for Thanksgiving? Now you have to change two tickets!

But if you book one ticket as a boundary, then build in separate trips with their own tickets, it saves a TON of money, both in that if a change occurs, you only get hit once per ticket with a change fee, and it allows for awesome flexibility in case a nice weekend fare becomes available.