Moved him in on a Friday. Got everything set up. His younger brother (rising HS junior) stayed on his floor in a sleeping bag. (His dorm is all singles.) Saturday we picked up the things we had forgotten. Saturday was stopping by a reception for families and then a family dinner. Both boys went back to the dorm (more kids had arrived) and hung out with kids until 1 AM. Went to breakfast Sunday morning as a family and we drove back home to the U.S. Official move in was on Sunday and orientation started on Monday.
Just got back home from drop off. It was much easier and less emotional than I expected. Honestly the week leading up to it I was a wreck and crying at the drop of a hat. Today, my daughter’s excitement was contagious and I felt so good leaving her there with her new roommates and staff. My husband and I happily shared fist bumps on a job well done and had a great, relaxed ride home. Definitely the anticipation was worse than the reality.
Happy drop off to all!
@CupCakeMuffins it seems you are very worried or concerned about drop off at college. Really…it’s going to be fine!! This is a new step in life for your kiddo and you, and it’s exciting.
Check your kid’s college website for parent things…but really, we found that once the kiddo was moved in, it was time for a hug, and farewell.
In some cases, Parents Weekend is in early October, so it should not that long until you can visit the campus again…and when you do, your kiddo will be then expert and show you around.
Really, there is no need to stress about this. There will be hundreds or more parents of freshmen just like you, dropping their students off for the first time at college.
It’s a special and exciting time!!
Some school have giant bins you can borrow for moving, some have helpers, and some really don’t. I highly suggest bringing a hand truck (like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-150-lbs-Vertical-Capacity-and-300-lbs-Horizontal-Capacity-Convertible-Truck-DC73333/207155104)
It will be very helpful for dropping off, picking up, and putting stuff back in your house.
I’m thrilled for my daughter to be studying in Florence, Italy this fall, but a little sad we won’t get to take her to school! And I think she’s getting a car at Christmas, so we may not take her for her senior year, either. 
As US expats living abroad we were given the option to move in two days early during international pre-orientation or to move it on the regular move in day. My daughter pushed for the early move-in and right now I am glad she did. She will have two days to just get into the room and get settled (and meet other international students) and can then just enjoy the orientation events on the third day. It will also spread out our time a bit so hopefully will not feel as rushed.
^That’s a good point. Our D’s school wants the kids to move in the day before school starts, but that’s tough when you have to make a 500-mile trip. So we always request and are granted early move-in privileges.
Lingering after move-in when most parents have left can interfere with your kid’s ability to focus on orientation activities and (however inadvertently) send your kid the message that you don’t think he is able to do this without you.
Ours is this week and we have details. I wanted to hear how other colleges are doing it.
Kids went to a small LAC that started with a Freshman Autumn Term. Move in day everyone went through registration, moved into dorm room. There was help from IT available if needed, bookstore was open. We made a run to Target and BB&B for pick up of items. There was a mandatory afternoon meeting of students, (parents were invited and encouraged to attend), with the student’s mentor, followed by a very moving ceremony of lights in the gym, the students sat together and parents were seated in the bleachers. A picnic at the waterfront for everyone followed. The students had a dorm meeting that night. The next morning, students started their class and parents had breakfast with a Q&A session with the President and administrators. The parents were invited to several sessions including one for foreign students parents. The waterfront was open in the afternoon for boat rides. The students were taken by vans to shopping areas in the afternoon if they needed to pick items. They also were able to go to the waterfront to take their swim test, paddle board, kayak, etc. We bumped into our kids at the waterfront and said our goodbyes. They were already with a group of new friends.
It’s been awhile. At D1’s school at freshman dropoff they had a lot of students available to help transport belongings to the room. There were times scheduled for each student. I believe around 4 that evening or so they had a meeting with the students planned that parents were not invited to and we were made aware they would be busy the rest of the evening. It was time to go. Some parents would stay around the area, most went home assuming they didn’t have to wait for a flight or something. All in all it went very smoothly. We got to meet her new roommate and her parents. After we left the hardest part was wondering how she was and if she was nervous, excited, bored, lonely…
D2 was not a normal move in day. Her school had outdoor adventure programs students could choose to attend the week before move in. She chose a week long rock climbing trip. We took all of her stuff to the school the week before along with the equipment she needed for the trip. The counselors helped each of the students move their things into the dorms. You’re still leaving your child for the semester but it wasn’t quite the same. They had an adventure to go on first.