Saw mention somewhere of freshman orientation being “a week before”- but looks like freshman orientation is just a long weekend starting the same day as regular move-in day 8/21?
http://newstudentprograms.cornell.edu/dos/cms/nsp/orientation/august.cfm
Daughter was accepted ED. Trying to plan out my annual work vacation days wisely. Thanks!
Freshmen orientation starts right after move-in day. I can’t remember exactly but it was less than a week long. I believe Cornell has their schedules posted in advance, so orientation is between move-in day and when classes start. If you’re coming from out of town, I suggest getting your hotel as soon as possible. They fill up quickly. Congratulations 
Thanks @Renomamma! Yeah, we were worried about hotel rooms too. Boy, they jack up the prices then too!
Move in day is usually the Friday before the class starts. Cornell want parents to leave the next day around lunch time after the convocation.
We made our hotel reservations the week after the ED acceptance and all the hotels in Ithaca were filled up already. We had to book at room in Elmira, which is like 25 miles away. Big disappointment. I put us on the waiting list at all the Ithaca hotels but I’m not optimistic. 
If you plan to go to parents’ weekend in October, better book your hotel now 
^Already booked that early, too, (at least I thought I did!!!) and yup, everything booked up.
Move-in is on a Friday - if you’re traveling far, like I was, you may want to fly in on Wednesday or Thursday to shop for essentials, as the orientation schedule is pretty busy starting Friday. Parents usually leave Saturday evening or Sunday morning. For more information, here are last year’s orientation guides for students and parents.
We are from Chicago, 10.5-11 hours. We are driving! I didn’t realize parents stayed on a bit.
They usually stay until Saturday afternoon…as you can see, each college has events that parents are invited to, but after Saturday, students have a lot to do themselves. And as a point of reference, I was discussing travel from California, so it was necessary to fly, and most of the shopping had to be done in Ithaca (or ordered in advance and picked up).
Try here, only about 8 miles north of Ithaca: http://www.t-farms.com/
Thanks for all the great tips! Those hotel prices are indeed pretty shocking, double usual. There are some more inexpensive motels downtown that still had rooms. Didn’t think about Oct., better get going on reservations for that too!!!
And thanks so much @bigredengr! I know the schedules may be different, but last year’s guides are still very helpful to get a sense of what to expect. Looks quite busy for the students! We’re driving, but may shift schedules back a day early based on this, looks likely we’re not needed Sun. [all the hotels seem to want 3 night stays anyway though].
@MDSparkle – if you stay after Sat afternoon, you will not see your student. They are kept non-stop busy. We departed after lunch Saturday, but your departure time can be dictated by the college-specific activity for Sat afternoon. Of course, you can always linger, but don’t expect to see your child!
Even the Statler on campus allowed a two-night stay and I know other hotels did the same, so I am surprised to hear of a three-night requirement.