<p>You have given us quite a bit of great information!! Thanks so much, dak!! I know what you mean about sharing information about favorite hotels, etc. I won't pass along the name of the Brookwood Inn to anyone else--but I am going to check it out on the internet, and while we are in Durham getting our bearings. We stayed at a Fairfield not too far from campus when we were there last year and I wasn't overly impressed with it. So for this trip we are staying at the Millenium, taking advantage of that special rate. But they have a MUCH higher rate for Parents' Weekend. </p>
<p>Glad to know about the Bryan Center having directions to those stores--we will pick up that info!</p>
<p>It does help to have already experienced sending a d to college--we have a good cell phone plan, and she does the same thing walking between classes. We have some great conversations during her "down" time, and there aren't any LD charges with our plan, so she does do it more often than I ever thought she would! It is very special to have those impromtu, casual chats about whatever is on their mind--and they are very anxious to hear about what's happening at home with their family! There are good things about cell phones!!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info! My son and I are going to look at futons. He found out that guests are allowed up to 72 hours so he is excited about that. I hope that he does not have too many guests!! Alot of his friends want to check out Duke. Oh well, I guess that was to be expected. CJ</p>
<p>Haha, guests are de facto allowed to stay as long as they want--I wouldn't concern yourself with the "72 hours" thing--they aren't registered and they could be living here for weeks without anyone doing anything.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how much light I can shed on the dorm question since I only know about the one that my son is in. He was assigned to Randolph dorm - one of the ones with air conditioining. He didn't have any health concerns that placed him there, it was just a random assignment.</p>
<p>It is (I think) one of the dorms with the smallest rooms. This hasn't been a problem...I think any dorm room seems small to kids who are use to a room of their own, but I don't think the size of the room has had a negative impact at all on his overall living experience. Our son chose to loft his bed and has his desk and dresser underneath it so as to allow room for a futon. Without lofting there would still be room for a small fridge and microwave, and of course all the rooms have a desk and dresser. </p>
<p>The one thing I didn't like about Randolph was the open closet situation, but this wasn't an issue at all with our son. The closet is just an open "cut-out" near the door, and in my opinion is a very messy look...that's just my "mom thing". I like things put away. Many of the students put up a shower rod and shower curtain or something similar to hide the contents. My son had no desire for his mom to decorate in that way!!! :-) LOL</p>
<p>All in all, he's been very happy with his first dorm experience. I think it's safe to say that no matter where a student ends up, they seem to think their dorm is the very best - it's all about building a community, and not the actual living space that counts. </p>
<p>I remember we were frustrated that there were so few (if any) dorm pictures online that we could look at before our son's arrival...I should have him work on that with his digital cameral somehow....hmmmm, now there's a thought. Actually, I think he's much too busy to accomodate his mom (who's still, much to his surprise, hanging out here on CC) with her suggested project!!!</p>
<p>Thanks Dak for the info. Was the air conditioning a good thing? I wonder how hot it gets in the non air dorms. My son says he would rather have a bigger room than air. Oh well, I guess he will get what he gets. When do you get your room assignment? I hope that we will be able to find out what the room is like when we find out which dorm he is assigned to be in. CJ</p>
<p>candance: In general all dorm rooms every where are crappy, but I have found that most kids use their room only to sleep. No matter how big they are, they are messy. You should get a table fan for a non-airconditioned dorm though.</p>
<p>Hi Candace! We got back late last night from Blue Devil Days--in a word--fantastic! You always worry that the "dream" school may ultimately not live up to your s's picture of what it will be like, in spite of having visited once. It was all that he (and we) had hoped it would be, and more! We liked everyone we met--new kids and parents, faculty, admissions people, current students--can't think of anyone about whom I would have reservations!! The CIEMAS addition to Pratt was state-of-the-art amazing! We spent time wandering around on Sunday early evening, and then more time during the sessions on Monday. We were so impressed with all that we heard and saw, and feel very lucky that he is starting at such a great time for Pratt. Many of our questions were answered in the counseling session, and s came away very excited about the next step in his education. We went to a session about FOCUS, an activities fair, a parent-to-parent session that was very informative about many issues. </p>
<p>What we did not get to do was: tour a dorm! Unfortunately the sessions for Pratt were held during the times they had set aside for the dorm tours and we knew that those sessions were really going to be informative! But... we did take the shuttle over to the east campus and did our own tour of the buildings. It really is an ideal place for the freshmen. They have some older dorms (some had air conditioning units in some of the windows) and there were 2 newer dorms near the left side of the entrance to the campus. Another dorm is under construction, and is set to open in August. We went through the gym they have on East and it was great. There are 13 outdoor tennis courts, indoor and outdoor basketball courts and fields. We were surprised that on such a beautiful Monday afternoon (about 4 p.m.) there were very few kids using any of the sports facilities--but it is getting close to exams, and maybe they are in heavy use on the weekends. There were kids out studying/sunbathing! And, the big attraction was a "tryout" for extras for an American Eagle commercial that apparantly is to be shot at Duke. There were kids lined up for that in front of the library on East. We also toured the dining hall on East--looked just fine!</p>
<p>I also picked up the various cards they have at the Information kiosk in the Bryan Center on West Campus. They have directions to the stores like Costco, Linens and Things, Wal-Mart, etc.</p>
<p>All-in-all, a wonderful day, and we left with the assurance that he is very happy about his choice!!</p>
<p>Awwww Irish, it tugged at my heartstrings to think that you may have actually seen my son (who spends a lot of time in CIEMAS) and didn't even know him...I'm jealous and wish I was there - I miss him sooooo much. Thankfully we get him home for ten days in just three weeks. YAY!
I'm so glad you had a good trip and that you and your son felt the magic that is at Duke!</p>
<p>I know how you feel about your s, I miss our d who is going to be home in 3 weeks! It is more likely that our s saw your son, as we left Pratt for a parent session, and our s wanted to experience the "open house" project fair in CIEMAS without his doting parents at his side! But there were many students there on Sunday early evening. They were studying in small groups or individually all through the buildings! He may have been one of them! </p>
<p>Only 10 days? Is he doing a summer at Duke in research? The fellows program for Pratt sounded excellent!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the great Duke Blue Devil Days report, Irishforever. I wish that I was going. I tried to talk my husband into going to the parent session but he is not going. He says that he doesn't have any questions! Oh well. What can I say. My son can't wait to go on Monday. CJ</p>
<p>We like to glean all the information from listening to all the other parents asking questions, and the answers that were given. We did the same at our d's school during their orientation. We enjoyed hearing from a parent's perspective how their child feels about the FOCUS program (2 had done it, and loved it, 2 had not done it), the work load (heavy, all kids are used to being at or near the top of their class & they have to get used to the tough grading, and time management.), the project BUILD and projectWILD that are offered right before orientation. Have them pick up brochures on each--the Duke parents spoke very highly about them, and said that they fill up quickly. One of the Duke parents ended the session by saying that when we get a big packet of paperwork during the summer to look through everything very carefully, and get things sent back in a timely fashion!! </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me when dorm assignments are given out? I am just curious. Then we will know whether or not we need a fan and other specific items depending on the specific dorm. Thanks! CJ</p>
<p>CJ,
Last year they mailed out room assignments around July 2. They provided the students with a comprehensive information packet that included the name, email address, and phone # of their assigned room mates as well. That way the students could contact each other prior to arrival to introduce themselves, and coordinate refrigerator and microwave rentals, etc. - so there would be no duplication. (The air conditioned rooms are pretty small and I think they only allow single appliances in most rooms anyway.)</p>
<p>Keep in mind, also, that there may be room changes even after you get your assignment. That happened to my son. With the exchange of the first email, my son's original roomate said that he had put in for a change because he didn't want to pay the higher price for an air-conditioned dorm...he didn't know if they would honor his request to change. Several weeks later my son got a new assignment. His current roomate had been assigned to someone that changed his mind and wanted a single. </p>
<p>This may be an unusual circumstance, but just wanted you to be aware there could be changes. All turned out well, and my son really likes his roomate. He also knows his "almost roomate" and really likes him, too! :)</p>