<p>Yes, the schedules are very helpful. Thanks. I’m not sure why AU doesn’t send the participants these schedules in advance. It’s much nicer to know before you get there exactly what you will be doing and how long you will be there.</p>
<p>Raising my hand as another parent who did not attend. D is a rising junior. AFter campus tours, accepted student days, information packets in the mail, information on the website and of course college confidential, I admit to feeling it was time for D to venture forth on her own. She managed to get from the train station to campus, gather all the information, meet some fellow freshman and get herself home.<br>
I do remember feeling a bit “discombobulated” over the course registration, trying to figure out Gen EDs (which have changed since then anyway), waiting for AP scores etc. However, D selected based on what our interpretation was at that time and had no significant problems.</p>
<p>About course registration–I thought that was done already?
Was that just a dry run and they have to do it over at Eagle Summit?</p>
<p>I did notice there was overlap between the topics covered at admitted students day and at Eagle Summit, at least for the parents. It may be overkill to attend both–and then they have something for parents during Welcome Week as well? </p>
<p>However, we’re local, so why not go? Looking at the schedule, I think we might not rush back on day 2 until maybe lunch time. Or maybe not at all–we could challenge our daughter to find her way back home on public transportation just to see if it can be done.</p>
<p>We attended a June orientation session with our son (now a rising senior at AU!) and the only session we went to was the “class” taught by the professor…very, very impressive. He was our third off to college so we didn’t feel any great need to attend the other sessions, but others’ mileage may vary.</p>
<p>For the same reason, we didn’t attend any of the parent sessions at drop off. But we greatly enjoyed moving him in, meeting his roommate and his parents, and getting him a few extra desired items before we left a day or two later.</p>
<p>Maybe because he’s our third we had a bit more perspective…DC is not a third world country, and it’s easy to get anything the student decides is needed/wanted. Especially with the availability of Amazon for shipping! Nothing dire is going to happen if the student needs to wait a day or two, or even a week…my son’s roomie forgot his towels and just borrowed a towel from my son until his arrived from home a few days later.</p>
<p>Sophomore year my D’s stored boxes, which were supposed to be in her room by the time she arrived, were “lost” by UPS for two days–she had to borrow sheets and towels and sleep without a pillow. I was more upset than she was, but then I was contemplating the cost of replacing all her clothing and bedding. </p>
<p>Agree that the only area that was a beast to figure out was the old Gen Ed requirements, but they were so complicated that I don’t think any presentation would have helped.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting the schedule! We will be attending the orientation tomorrow and Friday. As I am also local, I went ahead and signed up to attend the parent session but will likely pick and choose those programs that seem appealing or where I would like more info. I felt like we did get a lot of good info at Freshman Day back in April, so it does seem that some will be a repeat. All in all, I just think it is a good opportunity to get a peek at her new community. This is my first headed off to college, so I appreciate that opportunity. Unfortunately, looks like it will be an awfully hot day for wandering around that beautiful campus. See some of you tomorrow!</p>
<p>For those of you who will be attending future Eagle Summit sessions, I wanted to follow up on my post yesterday. I attended most of the sessions today (had to head home to feed the dog before the evening session) and found it to be very informative. No official numbers, but it looked to me like almost every kid had one, sometimes two parents there. Not to say that it is necessary for your child’s success, but with some of the other posters saying it was a waste of time and money, I thought I would share my impressions. </p>
<p>I appreciated the time spent on educating the parents on their role in their child’s transition to college…where do I back off and where do I offer support. While that is certainly different for every kid, I appreciated the information on what some of the normal “bumps” in the road might be. I also particularly enjoyed the welcome to the College of Arts and Science that we participated in with our kids. Very impressed by the faculty we met in that session.</p>
<p>Do I think my participation today and tomorrow will be essential to my D’s success in college? No. But I do think it will be extremely helpful in our family’s transition to this new phase of our life together. All of our lives are changing and, as a clinical social worker, I appreciate the acknowledgement of how that changing family system impacts my child’s successful transition. </p>
<p>Bottom line, if you have the time and resources to attend, it is time well spent and is very well done. If you can’t, then your kid will be just fine. Best wishes to you and your kids!</p>
<p>KellyLJ1,
Thanks for the recap. Glad that you felt the sessions were well done.</p>
<p>Thanks for the report! Looking forward to hearing what you thought of today…and what your daughter thought, as well.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the links to the schedule and to the person who attended and said it was worthwhile for dealing with the transition. This is my first child to college so we just planned to do everything offered without even wondering whether it was worthwhile! She told me there were parent activities, but I had no idea it was 2 days of talks. It is definitely good to know that before getting there! </p>
<p>We’re attending the session that starts next Thursday, coming up from Tennessee. I’m trying to decide whether to stay an extra day so we can visit the Smithsonian. We had about 3 hours at the Smithsonian when we visited AU in May. That was just enough to whet the appetite. </p>
<p>Heather</p>
<p>DeskPotato, the second day was also worthwhile, although I again missed a couple of things commuting in from northern VA. The Q & A with current students was wonderful; confirmed for me the kind of bright, thoughtful and engaged young people that American attracts (although this was, of course, a small sample!) My daughter and I also had the opportunity to eat together in the dining room and, since she had already eaten there the night before (I had missed it) she gave me the tour…already proud to show off her new digs to me! We then took the offered opportunity to go see the sample room over at Anderson, where she will be living in the fall. It is professionally decorated by The Container Store so it gave us lots of great ideas…great marketing for them! We also really enjoyed the Activities Fair (or whatever they called it) and I had the opportunity to look around myself and see her interact and explore. We attended the UC session during the concurrent sessions and found that to be ok…really all info that we already knew from previous communications with them. The final session was GREAT! A great summary by another very impressive faculty member, a slideshow of the time the kids spent together and then some final fun from the very energetic Orientation Leaders (OLs.)</p>
<p>My daughter, who is not terribly extroverted, found the small group discussions in the evening to be her favorite part…more depth about things that she found interesting (a discussion of diversity, I think) and an opportunity to see the kind of people with whom she would be living and studying for the next 4 years. She was given the advice by her friend who just finished his freshman year to get as many phone numbers as she could at orientation…that way she would have someone to call to meet for meals that first week or two when everything seems so awkward. She stepped out of her comfort zone and did collect some numbers and is really happy to have met some kids with whom she felt comfortable. She loved the whole thing and came home energized and excited.</p>
<p>Also, as an aside, I am an avid gardener and the campus is a national arboretum. Absolutely gorgeous!! Just walking around seeing all the flowers made me smile. Very impressive two days; time and money well spent. For those of you who will be attending in the coming weeks, enjoy!! </p>
<p>And hdb123, you can’t ever go wrong with an extra day in D.C…lots to do here!</p>
<p>I am so glad I read comments from those who attended. I am now very excited to go and learn everything AU has to offer. I, too, wasn’t sure what to expect. My D and I are coming from Southern California so I thought it was important for us to go to the orientation. Neither one of us has ever visited the campus! I’ve never even been to DC. We hope to get a better insight so we can spend the summer before school starts to plan and get organized for her big move. Looking at the schedule that someone posted (thank you, btw) is a big help and I feel the 2 days will be worthwhile.</p>
<p>Coconutgyrl, yes it definitely sounds like you will get a lot out of it, especially since you’ve never visited the campus or DC. You should definitely try to explore the neighborhood around the campus too while you’re there. </p>
<p>KellyLJ1, thank you so much for the incredibly valuable info that you have provided. I’m looking forward to hearing other people’s thoughts after they do the Eagle Summit too.</p>
<p>coconut,</p>
<p>have fun and bring walking shoes!</p>
<p>Hi, I’m new to the Board and have a rising soph at AU. Both my husband and I attended the Eagle Summit last summer and I would highly, highly recommend it. I agree with the comments about college being the time that our children need to “rise to the occasion” and learn to function on their own HOWEVER as this was our oldest child and we KNOW that college has changed since we both attended it was imperative to attend. We never had parent orientations when we went to college and it was definitely more of a “sink or swim” moment but life is different now. Was the full two days overwhelming? Yes! Could they have done it in a day? Probably but then it would have been even more overwhelming. We didn’t stay on campus, she did, but we wanted to be comfortable in a hotel and, more importantly, wanted her to have her own experience. If you can make the time and spend the money, you’ll not regret it. In fact, it will make you wish you could go back to college and you’ll be glad that you’re sending your child to AU!</p>
<p>Agree with Momanddad12, Eagle Summit was tiring but worth our time. The presenters were excellent, especially those on housing, billing, career services, and so many other topics. At times I thought the info was more important for students than parents, but I do think I have a good sense now of all that is available to help students succeed. The days were a bit too packed, but overall I am glad we took the time to attend. We arrived the evening before our session began and spent time walking around the city. Glad we did this because there was almost no free time during the two days of orientation.</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on what kind of food is served and in what format (buffet, plated, boxed)?</p>
<p>My daughter just got an email yesterday evening asking about dietary restrictions, but also asking that we notify AU at least 5 business days in advance…which would have been last Friday, since we’re attending Monday’s Eagle Summit, and today’s a holiday.</p>
<p>She (and we) do have some restrictions but usually find them easy enough to work around, particularly in buffet settings. Boxed meals are more challenging, and we did find that they’d run out of the vegetarian option at Freshman Day before we got there.</p>
<p>Just wondering whether to come armed with a Clif bar or two…</p>
<p>Most meals are buffet style in the dining hall. There are many options there including gluten free, vegetarian and salads, etc. One parent meal was assorted sandwiches but there was a veggie option and pasta salad. No boxed or served meals, so you should be okay, hopefully.</p>
<p>When will my son get to go to his room and put his luggage away? We’re not sure if he will be carrying it around all day or not. Thanks.</p>
<p>Is your son in any of the Facebook groups for the incoming class? I bet he could get a very quick answer to that question from his future classmates, as well as any other details he wants to know.</p>
<p>I ask questions here because my daughter is incommunicado, or pretending to be.</p>