Advice needed for graduation preparations!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>I can't believe that I'm just a year away from my D's graduation, and I need some advice from students and parents who have been through it.</p>

<p>I took a look at the events, and it seems to me that, for parents and guests, all major activities occur on Saturday and Sunday. Is that correct? Or is Friday important, too?</p>

<p>This year's schedule says that commencement begins at 10 am on Sunday. How long does it last? If we make brunch arrangements for afterward, what time is reasonable? Also, where do you recommend eating afterward? (We will have two sets of grandparents in tow, and possibly my sister and family.)</p>

<p>Last, where did you stay? We are toying with the idea of splurging (big time!) to stay at the Hotel Northampton since all the area hotels are jacking up their prices. Still . . . If we go out of town, I'm worried about parking. It's tough anytime of the year. What was your experience?</p>

<p>Any comments and advice will be MOST welcome.</p>

2

<p>We arrived Friday morning. I think that Friday late afternoon was the Baccalaureate (not a critical or even important event.) We stayed with friends, but grandparents had reservations at Hotel Northampton (later cancelled) - we reserved the previous September, and got a full refund.</p>

<p>We had a wonderful, wonderful meal at the The Night Kitchen in Montague.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, Mini, for the restaurant recommendation. I’ll look into it.</p>

<p>So, how was parking during the weekend? Did the college provide an area for visitors?</p>

<p>The Baccalaureate seems to be on Thursday night this year, so I’m assuming the same will happen next year.</p>

4

<p>I don’t recommend trying to park on campus. Imagine all the usual traffic PLUS the out-of-town people PLUS the various shuttle vans/buses the alumnae association runs for reunion.</p>

<p>You could, however, park in the garage downtown. It would get expensive, but depending on how much you’re saving in terms of hotel rooms, it may be worth it.</p>

5

<p>Are there shuttles from the hotels? For grad visitors as well as alumnae?</p>

6

<p>Oddly enough, we had absolutely no problem finding parking right on the street all through the four days we were there. Maybe just luck, I guess, often right near Hopkins (where d. lived).</p>

7

<p>The shuttles are just for alumnae, and while they only run to/from Bradley Int’l, they park on a good-sized chunk of Elm Street reserved for them.</p>

<p>Mini, you’re right (I did see spaces occasionally), but I don’t know if I would recommend relying on that option. There are Noho residential streets that are available, but you’d be relying on luck to find places that aren’t taken/reserved/blocked off because people know what’s happening.</p>

8

<p>MWFN, this is from way back in '06, but as I recall, my D’s department had a reception for its grads following the commencement ceremony. It was very nice, held on a patio, and refreshments were served, and we had a chance to chat with some of her profs/mentors. So you may not want to make brunch plans. </p>

<p>We made early dinner reservations instead (at Green Steet Cafe). We wanted to be able to walk everywhere and be “car free.” We stayed at the Autumn Inn, which was very convenient for us. It was pricey since they demanded that we take a contract for three nights, but it did function very well for us. My brother and his family just came for the Sunday events, and they stayed at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge the night before and just drove over from there for commencement day events. </p>

<p>My favorite parts of the weekend were Illuminations and the Alumnae Parade. Good weather makes a big difference. Lots of fun! Enjoy – it is still a very fond memory for us.</p>

<p>Re Friday, there were some events scheduled that were related to some students’ activities, but they were low key in nature. (For example, the synchronized swim club gave a show, and we went because a friend of my D’s was in it.)</p>

<p>A week ago my D was back at Smith visiting one of her profs, who had done a grad school rec for her. They had dinner at Green Street Cafe. :)</p>

9

<p>my parents stayed at the Autumn Inn and walked to campus. My grandparents (who couldn’t walk as far) stayed in a nearby town and parked at the stables–there were shuttles from there.</p>

<p>my department had a reception Friday afternoon and Hillel had a Shabbat service–I would’ve liked my family to attend these but they came late in the evening (they didn’t leave home til my brother got home from school, which I totally understand). The big stuff is Saturday and Sunday.</p>

<p>We also ate at the Night Kitchen and loved it. Be sure to leave time to browse around the Book Mill and surroundings (and to get lost on the way…write down directions before you go!)</p>

<p>One final thing–make sure your D starts packing ahead of time, so she has time to really enjoy the campus and see friends before they leave. I didn’t mind not getting a proper goodbye from some people (like my best friend) because I KNEW we’d keep in touch, but I wish I’d had more time to just walk around and soak up Smith while my family spent an hour or two at the museum or something.</p>

10

<p>MWFN, congratulations on your impending (year away) D’s graduation.</p>

<p>First, wherever…make your lodging reservation about…NOW. If they accept it; if not, then as soon as they will. I forget whether they accepted reservations 12 or 13 months in advance. Know that you will have a 3-day minimum (we chose 4) and that they bill at the high end of their rates.</p>

<p>There may be more events than you can do. D, for instance, choreographed us through not one, not two, but three departmental receptions. Religious service if applicable. Awards ceremonies possibly (as many as two). And amen amen, I say unto you, take Stacy’s advice about having your D pack early so that she can spend as much time connecting with people as possible. Monday morning was <em>far</em> more frantic than it had to be…well, D had a call time for the orchestra rendezvous for the trip to Sicily where she and Mini’s D finally bonded after four years, so that may have been some of it but there will probably be <em>something</em> that none of you can now count upon.</p>

<p>Ivy Day, the day before graduation, might possibly be more moving than graduation itself. It sure is a one-two punch.
Prepare to walk your buns off. Get as much of a schedule from your D beforehand. Plan your meal breaks as much as possible <em>and get reservations.</em> Even places that ordinarily don’t take them, like Spoletto’s and Viva Fresh Pasta, did. (We avoided the on-campus box lunches which, we got the sense, was a good move…better food to go along with our nostalgia.)</p>

<p>For <em>us</em>, the Autumn Inn hit the sweet spot. The Hotel Northampton is a lot pricier, the Autumn Inn is more conveniently located and had a guaranteed parking spot for us, and we happily spent the difference in price on better meals, wine, etc. </p>

<p>Regarding post-graduation meal, check with your D to see if she wants to have the Smith-provided brunch in her House; mine and several of her friends did and it’s an opportunity to meet other parents, your D’s classmates that you’ve heard about for years, etc. The brunch tix will be made available by Smith for a nominal charge ($10 each?) as part of packet you’re mailed as the time draws nigh. There are plenty of times for “last meals” at your D’s favorite NoHo spots, be it Osaka, the Indian place, Spoletto’s, Creekside Grill, Sylvester’s, whatever. (Yeah, we managed to hit them all in Thursday through Sunday. Creekside Grill was more our place than D’s but she graciously made that concession on the Thursday night when we flew in.)</p>

<p>We managed to find parking just fine, though downtown near Spoletto’s took a bit of work and we did use the campus parking structure near the end of Green Street a couple of times when we couldn’t get parking <em>on</em> Green Street.</p>

<p>Jyber, it’s a wonder our D’s didn’t cross paths. Mine was there talking to four profs about grad school plans. (Gulp. Now <em>that</em> is becoming more real.)</p>

11

<p>^ Oh yes, I had forgotten the house brunch after the commencement ceremony. It was very well done IMO – good food, gracious setting depending in part on the particular house but my D’s was lovely, and they had a sheet cake nicely decorated for the grads so I have a picture of that. We did enjoy getting together with housemates of hers and their families at that occasion. </p>

<p>We did do at least one box lunch during our time there and actually found it was good quality and worked well. The one we did was between the Ivy Day parade and the Commencement Concert, which my D was performing in for Glee Club (also a tear-jerker, as the graduating seniors perform their own special song and for the finale the alum Glee Club members come up to the stage and join in). We would not have had time to go off campus for a restaurant meal, and this way we could settle ourselves in a convenient spot between the two events. Our top priority was to keep things simple and eliminate stress. We never moved our car from arrival until it was time to pack up.</p>

<p>You will be sent information on the weekend and invites to such events as departmental receptions, etc. well in advance, but I do recommend planning for convenient access to campus throughout the three days. </p>

<p>Because D was in Glee Club she had stayed on campus each year for the Commencement Concert, etc. so we had experienced Illuminations and Ivy Day several times when we came to pick her up – but of course it is most special when it is “your” year. Re packing up her room, our rule (worked out after the *first *year’s less than positive experience) was that she HAD to have it all organized and ready to be put in the car before we showed up. </p>

<p>TheDad, my D was on campus only for a few hours this time. We actually had an extended family get-together that weekend at the Red Lion for my mom’s 80th birthday, but D headed up early and spent the previous evening at Smith – specifically wanted to get together with this prof to thank him for his support. D was on campus last year for Commencement weekend (was meeting with an '08 grad she was recruiting for her firm) and marched in the Alum Parade for the first time as an alum then.</p>

12

<p>Thank you for all the responses! I’ve already determined that the local hotels don’t take reservations until the day after this year’s graduation, which is why I’m asking now. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of the Autumn Inn – I guess because we’ve always preferred the Hampton Inn for its larger, brighter rooms. But you can’t beat convenience, and the Autumn Inn people are super-friendly.</p>

<p>As for house brunches, I assume that you mean brunches in the houses with dining? My D’s house doesn’t have its own dining room, so I suspect we’ll be at the closest one. It will be fun to see the parents that we met at brunch during the first-year parents weekend.</p>

<p>LOL on the packing. The first year was horrific even though I told her to pack in advance. Last year was still shaky, but MUCH better. This year . . . we’ll see. I hope by the time graduation comes she’ll be all ready to go. I don’t want her to neglect her final papers and exams; however, a parent can only deal with so much. :)</p>

13

<p>MWFN, I’m not sure how far away you live from Smith, but what my parents did was great. Since there was no way to fit all my stuff and all my family (2 parents, 3 kids) in the car to come home, a smaller group of them actually came up the week before and took most of my stuff back then. They were able to get a cheap rate for a night at a hotel a few towns over, so it didn’t cost them much more than it would’ve to drive two cars up for graduation, or rent a minivan or something. It also took a lot of the stress out of packing after graduation, since most things were already gone. The only sad part was that I really loved my room and wanted to show my family how I’d set things up…so I took pictures before I packed.</p>

14

<p>Good advice, Stacy. Although we live a 5 hour drive away, we do plan to get stuff around spring break since that will give us a few weeks between trips.</p>

15

<p>“first year packing” gave “almost done” a new meaning in the lexicon of horror. In D’s case, the room of “almost done” resembled the aftermath of the battle of Marengo.</p>

<p>There was some comfort in exchanging eye rolls in the hallway with other parents whose D’s were in similar, or even worse(!!!) condition.</p>

<p>On two separate occasions, I spent considerable time reorganizing and shifting about the contents of the “trunk room” where stuff is left over the summer. The operant principle for some students seems to have been: walk in to the trunk room, when you can go no further, drop your stuff. No concern for volume, mass, access…fortunately, I have the equivalent of a PhD in Stackology.</p>