<p>Okay, so my son just broke the news that he and a friend will be driving down for PittStart and I "cant" go (be still my heart). I pretended to be seriously wounded although skipping a 10 hr round trip drive and hanging around Oakland/Pittsburgh for 2 days isn't exactly a hardship. I will, bravely, try to find something to occupy my time.</p>
<p>I did tell him that we were driving him down on move-in day, no getting out of that for him! It is an important ritual to have your parents cry and generally embarrass you. </p>
<p>Anyone notice how the kid you were so close to, love and adore (and are already starting to miss) is completely planning his escape with glee. How insulting! : )</p>
<p>This application process has really brought home how grown up and capable he has become.</p>
<p>Jamiecakes - I am a Pitt2012 parent - so I hope you don’t mind my responding to your thread. My D is just finishing her freshman year and has just LOVED Pitt. And while we thought we dropped off a mature responsible young adult - we clearly see that she is just that - and it is truly rewarding and heartwarming. I truly found the period of my dwelling on how much I’ll miss her, etc. before she left for school to be more heartbreaking than actually dropping her off and saying goodbye and then not seeing her for two months. Pitt does have an orientation program for parents at freshman drop off - my husband and I did not attend all the events but we did find the events we attended VERY informative and one speaker was very amusing. I think you will be able to get pretty much the same information at the orientation that you will get at Pitt Start. Due to a hotel booking mix up on my end we ended up with 2 or three day stay in Pittsburgh - we decided to make it a mini vacation and checked out the Carnegie Museums, did a boat ride on the river and had a very romantic dinner overlooking the city of Pittsburgh (near the incline plane). I think having spent time doing things with my husband really made that transition much easier for both of us. So if you can stay a couple of days at drop off - I would recommend it - take advantage of seeing some things in Pittsburgh that you may not get a chance to on future visits. It was also nice that we were able to get some last minute things our daughter needed and drop them off before we left town and see that she was settling in and making friends and enjoying herself. Anyway, here’s the link to the parent programs at freshman orientation - the art of college parenting was very entertaining as well as informative. [Parent’s</a> Schedule - University of Pittsburgh - University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.orientation.pitt.edu/schedule/parents.php]Parent’s”>http://www.orientation.pitt.edu/schedule/parents.php)
Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions.</p>