H and I did not attend the orientation for parents. It was a while ago but D went to college in NYC and many of the events at the time seemed geared to introducing out of town parents to the city. We spend a ton of time in New York and had hung out on the campus in the past so we had a feel for the place. There didn’t seem to be anything that would be covered about our part in her education that was not available online. We helped her move in, had a snack, and hit the road. Her roommate’s parents, who also lived reasonably near, did the same.
We recently attended the Accepted Students program with our daughter and plan to attend Orientation this summer. Two primary reasons:
(1) Learn more about the school, programs, etc. I don’t expect much new info, but we are still climbing the learning curve and it’s helpful to be able to ask questions and have conversations.
(2) Meet administrators, faculty, alumnae, and other parents. We find it interesting and rewarding to meet other people outside our normal circle of acquaintances. The mixers at these events are tailor-made ice breakers, so it’s easy to make new friends and professional contacts.
This was at a top LAC. It would likely have been a different experience at a large university so YMMV.
Going way back I went from graduation rehearsal at high school in which instead of our diploma we got our tickets to meeting my parents outside the high school for a 3.5 hour ride to orientation then 2 days later getting home in time for high school graduation. I stayed in a walk up building no a/c typical dorm room. My parents stayed in a a/c apartment in a building with an elevator (where I lived my senior year).
There was little time spent together. I did placement tests, met with an advisor to pick 1st semester classes etc. They got to see a musical at the campus theater, eat a nice sit down meal in a nice on campus restaurant etc. I remember my father saying how nice his breakfast was (made to order omelets etc) and we got bagels. When we left it seemed like they had a nice two day stay. I think if the school was close to home they probably would not have stayed over but their room/food was included in the orientation price.
St. Andrews has a one hour reception on Sunday for parents, move in is on Saturday, so unclear how many parents even stick around for it.
My H, youngest D, and I attended Family Orientation at oldest D’s college. There was never any doubt that we would go, and we were so glad we did. It was nice to meet administrators and other some other parents and to attend the events. Instead of just being a bundle of tears and nerves when we left our D at the end, we were comfortable and thrilled with leaving her in such a place as her college.
We have 4 kids. I imagine we’ll attend all family orientations. Just as we viewed attendance at D1’s as a given, I believe we’ll view the others as the same, especially after D1’s was so effective, fun, and reassuring.
D’s orientation is 5 days before classes start, but she has signed up for a pre-orientation camping trip that lets her move in 3 days early, so we’re not going to stick around for days just to attend the parent activities. However, we’ve visited the school with D 3 times already, including accepted students day, and H and I are both alums.
The one thing I’ll miss is getting to meeet D’s roommate and see her room fully set up and decorated.
S won’t know which House he’ll live in or his roommate until 2 weeks after drop-off. So, we may bring less stuff for original, temporary room and bring/send more depending on room size later.
DH attended admitted students days with son, and there were a number of useful parent-only sessions there. At drop-off, there aren’t a bunch of parent sessions–looks like just convocation and a parent reception that is separate from the student picnic. The students have a week of orientation after drop-off and before classes start.
Yes and yes. We went to parent orientation, as part of move-in day. This allowed us to hang around and be useful to the kids, at least for several hours including confirming financial arrangements such as banking; catching a taste of the college (including its location, the town/city, the dorms, the programs); surveying the dorm setup and identifying missing items. We later returned for “parents day,” which allowed us to survey the kids’ welfare, how the dorm was working out, and to shop for some missing items (mainly for the dorm).
It was sufficient to do this in the first year. Also useful because we met some other parents – parents of our kids’ roommates or friends in particular. After the first year? Not so useful for the kids. “Send us money, don’t spend it on your own travel expenses” is a good idea.
I went with one of my three kids. It was basically telling the parents to let their kids have independence, but there was very good advice on what to do if your kid seemed to be having mental illness, drug/alcohol issues where family members should get involved. Also a lot of advice on what to tell your kid to do if kid has roomate problems, is failing a class, etc.
If you don’t want to go to the parent orientation…then don’t go. I believe it’s optional everywhere.
Both parents in this family went to the first kid’s orientation and attended the parent sessions. We both learned things about the school that we did not know…and enjoyed the speakers a lot.
I took kid 2 to college and her orientation was right before move in. I went to the parent sessions for that kid too (actually went with another CC parent whose kid was also enrolling). Again…speakers were terrific, and I enjoyed the sessions.
In both cases…the food served was fabulous too.
But like I said…it’s optional…so if you think it’s “weird” then just don’t go.
Like Ynotgo, there was very little to do at drop off. Since we travelled across country, we had one suitcase with linens and clothes for a week of orientation. Students met our car and moved everything into the temporary room.
I did return for parents weekend. I met a lovely mom who was local, and she invited us to T-day dinner. Her son and mine became friends. At that time, we did shopping for desk chair, room a/c, etc.
Since we are traveling across the country for orientation, when my d signed up for hers she asked me if I want to sign up for the parent orientation. Since I have nothing else to do I decided to do it. I don’t really need it…this is my second kid going to college so I pretty much know the ropes. However, I thought it would be nice to socialize a bit and maybe pick up a tidbit or two that is specific to her particular school. It’s either that or hang out at the hotel pool B-)
Both my wife and I accompanied our D to the campus when she started college during her freshman year. Our D’s college offered an optional “Roadmap for Success” program which allowed up to 25 percent of the incoming freshman class to arrive and move into their dorm rooms early and attend seminars, short classes, participate in fun activities to make friends, and attend local orientations in the community to facilitate their transition into college life. Moving in early was great and much less hectic as there was better parking availability near the dorms and less stress for all concerned
They kept the students busy while their 2-day program for parents was very useful for us. In addition to a reception with faculty and administrators where we could also meet other parents, we were offered a choice of topical seminars that we could choose to attend on a variety of topics. The college had been accused in the media of mishandling some Title IX investigations for alleged sexual assaults so it was very reassuring to attend a small group meeting with the Title IX coordinators to listen to their perspectives and ask questions. The seminars took place in academic classrooms so were also able to see more of the actual facilities the students use.
Since we flew in with our daughter, we had a few days before our flight home, so we also sat in on a few of the general orientation sessions, which were basically the same content as the early sessions we attended earlier. We were thankful the university chose to put together a quality program for the parents that chose to participate and we would do it again without hesitation.
My DS’s school offers a parent orientation and was not planning on attend since I attended the accepted students sessions. After reading the other comments, I may attend the sessions to just meet other parents and the faculty. Plus, it will keep me from trying to overfill DS’s room with everything he could possibly need.
I’ll be honest, I’d like to go to my son’s. However, it’s in June, a plane ride away (a not so cheap plane ride thanks to being in June) and I have a work conflict.
I’ll live, he will live, I would just like to find stuff out for myself and perhaps meet a few other parents. Instead I’ll show up at move in and all will be fine.
Yes, this whole thing is new to me. My DS’s school has a 2 day orientation in summer to sign up for classes,etc. Looks like parents and students are separated for most of the 2 days and,due to needing to fly in, we would need to go early and pay extra for early housing. Whole family is planning to drive to college to move DS in. Then there is parent’s day in the Fall which is really a 4 day affair. Just returned from Admitted Student days so wondering how many more times I need to visit?
Would love some other perspectives to help us decide. This is getting expensive and we don’t have a large pocketbook to keep funding these trips!
For those families who live far from the college, check to see if your school offers an orientation right before school starts. Our DS will attend orientation and a overnight experience immediately before school starts to minimize the trips back and forth. Another benefit of this is early dorm move-in.