<p>Hello:
Do parents attend the Convocation and orientation events?
Did you think that it was important to you or to your parents?
We are going to be at Cornell on August 17-18 and our son does not think that we need to travel back for the orientation activities.
I don't want to miss anything.
Any thoughts? (He leaves on Friday and I want to have this resovled)
Thanks so much.</p>
<p>Are there any events around orientation that would be important for parents to attend? I've heard from friends whose children are attending other colleges that there have been specific events to help parents adjust to their child leaving. I think I'm going to need that!</p>
<p>My parents went to convocation when I started at my old school...but, I was the first born and they wanted to share my "journey" :-) They didn't go to my brother's convocation and don't plan to attend my sister's. </p>
<p>After move-in weekend at Cornell I didn't see too many parents hanging around. I think the most important thing is that you are there to give your child a good send off when you drop him/her off.</p>
<p>I don't think any of the orientation events are very important to parents. I'd say the most important thing is to give your son/daughter as much help AND space as s/he needs.</p>
<p>It might be nice to stick around and see the campus/listen to the things they have set up for parents.</p>
<p>I thought that we all moved in on AUG 22. What is happening on Aug 16 & 17?</p>
<p>He might be doing one of the pre-orientation trips</p>
<p>I'm the parent of a Cornell rising sophomore, so I did this last year.</p>
<p>I made it to exactly one parent orientation event. My main function was to drive the car, help my daughter unpack, and go to various stores to pick up things we had forgotten to bring.</p>
<p>Nothing of any importance will happen if you don't go to the formal parent orientation events.</p>
<p>There really isn't anything of importance for parents. Most parents will either leave the day or the morning after move-in so if there are parents orientation events, they aren't widely attended. Most kids are "free" from their parents pretty soon after moving in, so your son will not be alone.</p>
<p>Convocation was a waste of an hour of my life.</p>
<p>I will never get that hour back, EVER.</p>
<p>Immediately before convocation, parents still on campus join the sons and daughters they dropped off the day before. The kids coming trooping up to the fieldhouse from North Campus, exhausted from the stress of the first day and night. . . I don't think my son heard a word that was said.</p>
<p>It's not a big deal. If your son has a roommate whose parents are attending, he could join that family. Otherwise, a group of new friends.</p>
<p>I remember every single detail of the Convocation ceremony I took part in...it's an important event, so parents should attend if possible. Then again, if you have a kid in college, you might think about giving him/her some freedom, he/she's not in elementary school anymore.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the advice!
Waffle, you made me laugh so hard-thanks.
I still do not know what to do-I just don't want to miss anything that isn't a re-do.</p>
<p>The situation is complicated as he is leaving this Friday to live in a house until the 18th when he is moving into his dorm. My husband and I are going to Ithaca to help him move in so I wasn't sure if it would be neccesary to go back up for the 22-23.
Plus the main problem is that I cannot find a hotel/motel b&b anywhere for the 22nd.
The other complication is that his birthday is the 12th and I would like to spend time with him-but I think that I got to be a strong mom and let that idea go for this year :(</p>
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The other complication is that his birthday is the 12th and I would like to spend time with him-but I think that I got to be a strong mom and let that idea go for this year
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<p>Yeah...that one was hard for my mom. Then again, my birthday falls during finals week so I asked my parents not to come. My parents came to Ithaca for my 21st birthday to take me out for my first legal drink and my mom came back to do a spa day with me for my 22nd birthday since I was already in Ithaca for senior week.</p>
<p>Don't worry....your son's friends will take care of him for his birthday :-) In my group...we always took the birthday person out to a nice dinner. Just send him a nice card and call him. You can make up for it when you come back for weekend trip!</p>