When my kid did orientation the summer before her Freshman year, students slept in dorms for a few days, took placement tests, learned a bunch of rules, and registered for classes. In addition, they had question and answer sessions with upperclassmen about various topics, from academics, or social issues, to safety…etc…etc… Very nice program was put together for them to help them navigate their new lives. They learned how to ride the bus, how to make copies, how to use the apps, do laundry…routine useful stuff.
All of this seemed really normal to me.
But at the same time, the college held a two day long list of events and speakers…for parents.
I found this to be completely weird.
I mean…we’d already been to the “your kid got in, congratulations…meet and greet thing…and had heard speakers talk about the school…it’s wonderful…blah blah blah…” (it actually is a really terrific school)
But seriously…they had two days of speakers and a formal lunch and dinner you could attend to rub elbows with school leadership and stuff.
Do parents actually go to these things? If so…why? Were they helpful to you in any way?
We skipped everything but the opening address. Kissed the kid goodbye and came back for her three days later. We’re three years in, and so far haven’t felt like we’ve missed anything.
Can anyone share a compelling reason why you’d want to go to “parent orientation”? Looked incredibly tedious to us…so we ran. LOL.
Well, I’m with you. However, there are excellent programs for parents. I helped develop and deliver a program for parents is students with disabilities. We did our basics on service delivery in college and differences between special education and disability services. In multiple presentations one or more parents who had students with disabilities start responding to questions and providing really good insight and practical information. Each session was slightly different because of the group, but wonderful. I think parents would do better with targeted or nominated sessions and other info safely put in a folder. Some topics I think might be good include living with a problem roommate or getting a single room, drinking, reading textbooks, letting your cell phone sleep in, navigating academic and disciplinary problems, balancing schedules for content, rigor of component classes and matching class schedules with personal schedules and so on.
I went to both of them for my kids. Really enjoyed it. I learned a lot more about the school & their programs, met other parents (one was someone I met on CC beforehand!), and they had some fun activities for parents & students mixed in. I traveled a long way to drop them off (several states), so it was nice not to “drop and run”.
It paid off for D2 when I remembered that a prof in her major had mentioned that they run a 3 day session at the end of winter break before classes start to give kids a boost in that subject. She was overwhelmed and missed the email invitation that went out. But I asked her about it, and she was able to sign up and attend. It helped her decide for sure on her major and gave her grades a boost.
I think they’re worth evaluating and deciding whether there are topics that would be of interest. We attended the events for parents on the accepted students day, where the kids took placement tests and pre-registered, I set up a joint on-campus credit union account, and listened to some speakers and put names to faces in S’s school of engineering. It did help when I could shoot them an email asking them to please match the merit aid being offered by competitor so we could attend their U. I also attended the brief – hour or so orientation talk by the residence hall. We may have also had a picnic lunch on move in day, but it was all brief and they wanted parents to leave so kids could mingle and do all the activities planned for them. We obligingly left.
When D went to orientation, all of us but middle son (who was a counselor at scout camp that summer) went along. Her college offered programs for parents and siblings age 6 - 16. I didn’t go away to college, so two nights sleeping in the dorm was a brand new experience for me. Ironically, middle son chose to attend the same college. When it was time for his orientation, I sent him up with D, along with the mom and sister of one of his best friends, who was also attending the school. D went up to help share the driving and because she had friends she could visit. She stood in loco parentis but did not attend the parent activities.
This year, I am going to go with Techson17 to his orientation… As I said before, I didn’t have the away at college experience, so a couple of nights in a dorm is vicarious living for me. I found the orientation at D’s school worthwhile. I am looking forward to this one as well.
Both S and D’s schools had one full day of scheduled activities at drop-off, and they had some parent-only events, some student-only events, and some for both parents/students.
Both of my kids schools had this for parents- it lasted for the entire orientation (about 3 days) and included some overlap programs ( parent and student). I enjoyed them. We ate some good meals where we met the other parents, attended bbq’s for parents and administrators, went to programs that were major specific, listened to guest speakers, learned about research, etc.
I am happy we went. With our older D the program was set for us. With our younger one there were many programs available and we chose what we wanted.
Was something to do while the kids were occupied, before leaving.
For those whose kids are relatively far from home, where you would find it difficult to visit periodically,
makes sense to learn about things, spend a bit of time and have a gradual send-off.
If you kid is 30 minutes from home, that’s another story. Depends if you have specific topics of interest, and if you do, you can probably go just to those topics since you live so close, don’t have to make a while 2 days of it.
My daughter’s school offered a parent orientation, and I attended. It was well done and there was a lot of useful information imparted. I knew most of it already because my D’s school at the time had a very active group on CC, but most parents were learning that info for the first time.
Also, my D wanted me to go to orientation with her (and I wanted to go as I’d never seen the campus - DH went with her on her visit), so I was going to be there anyway. I did not go to every presentation, but I enjoyed going to the ones I did, if only to get confirmation of what I already knew and meet administrators and other parents.
I went for both of my children’s respective schools and found them very informative. Especially in regards to payment options. Very different at different schools. Met my child’s roommates parents and enjoyed many other things. Went to all sessions that were combined with child (even though at one they separated parents and students) and went to some of the parent only sessions that we found very useful and skipped some that we did not think would be useful. We loved getting the chance to feel the campus and witness how our children were fitting in to where they would be living the next four years. Helped us feel connected.
For D1 orientation started on move-in day. After moving in there was a 90 minute program for parents and students after which we split up. Parents had an hour with Res life staff and and hour with the advisor for their kid’s Freshman seminar. After these 2 hours, parents and kids met up together briefly for cookies and lemonade and then the parents left.
For D2, orientation was 2 days in June. Parents and kids separated almost right away and there were a series of speakers. For parents for whom this was their 1st kid in college, the program was really good. For others, it was more hit and miss. We didn’t really see our D again until lunchtime on the 2nd day.
We attended our son’s university’s parent orientation, which was held the first two days of freshmen orientation. We decided what we wanted to attend. For us it was worthwhile, especially since our son was going to college 1,800 miles away. I think it also helped eas the “good-bye.”
My D’s school had a few parent presentations on move-in day that my husband and I found useful. It helped us better understand how our money was being used, tbh. They explained more about the career center, plans for the college, etc… At the same time there were student-only events. It was no skin off our noses, so we went to the presentations and left at about 6 pm, after the greeting from the president. We will do the same at our son’s college when the time comes. We like knowing what our money was going towards.
Definitely a good idea. I am an alum of son’s school but the parent session (summer- flagship) was very useful. I also was from the area and had visited the campus most times we were in town (because it is so nice- that Union Terrace on the lake may theoretically be for students and faculty but known to be used by so many others). It answered so many questions one might have and never get an answer from your kid. It was fun to revisit the dorm life for a night (reminded of why we live in houses instead) and experience the dorm food (still excellent at UW). Remembered why college is for the young- those hills seemed steeper…
The parent session was directed at all sorts of things we parents should know and students don’t or won’t tell. Not stuff I knew from having gone there. As a student I was not concerned with the mechanics of tuition, dorm payments et al. Learned what we could/could not do for our kid. Pay bills without his password- yes. Learn his grades-no. This was a decade ago so the details change but I’m sure they still do a good job.
Also a separation of students and parents except for a meal or so. We were NOT involved in their advising and registration- cut the cord parents! Most students seemed to have parents there, including those from way OOS. A family from Boston drove and had car trouble in Chicago, got a rental and enjoyed a family vacation in Madison. There was a dorm your kid will be in visit- separated parents from students so each could ask questions that might embarrass the other. It was a nice way of seeing the campus your kid will be spending time on. Different than any potential student visits you may have had. You can take time to look around on your own as well, having a feel for things.
We went to a one day freshman orientation for the parents when dropping our D off at her LAC. At lot of it was duplicative of information we’d already gotten at Admitted Students Day. But I thought it was also a smart way to pry the parents away from the students so they didn’t stay glued to their student’s side all day “helping”. At the end of the day around 5 pm there was a reception for the parents at the president’s house, then every one watched the freshman class make its ceremonial entry through the gates, and then we parents were clearly and firmly told it was time to LEAVE.
The orientation at D’s school was beneficial because she then decided to attend a weeklong trip that entailed her arriving at school a week early. If we had waited until move in day for the parent meetings, etc. we would have either had to make her miss the trip, which she loved and where she met life long friends, or we would have had to come back again after dropping her off.
My husband accompanied my daughter when she went for her two-day orientation. He attended one or two parent sessions, but also made time for a brewery tour and wandering around the college town.