<p>nmr-
yes, target does have them. I got mine from Walmart. We are bringing older d's refridg/microwave (they call them micro-fridge, made for dorms) so that is taking up room. She was also approved for an air conditioner, so that is in there too.....along with food, clothes, instruments (luckily she is a flautist, so 2 flutes and 2 piccolos do not take up too much room!). Also laundry detergent and some cleaning wipes. I spoke to someone who lived in Morewood last year and they gave me some ideas of what is nice to have....one thing was a bath mat for the bathroom.
Volvo's have a tremendous amount of trunk space....we have volvo sedans and I am amazed at what we can get in them!! Unfortunately, the micro fridge would not fit....:(</p>
<p>notfromme, thanks again (so much) for the good info. I am hoping my D can rent a microfridge when she gets there. Lucky indeed are the kids who get to room with those who have permission for air conditioners. My D has allergies, but (thank goodness) no asthma, so we had no medical excuse to warrant an AC. I hope you are right about the Volvo trunk space. Last year, when we took her to Shakespeare camp (only three weeks) we could barely cram everything in. Wish us luck!!</p>
<p>Luck!! :D</p>
<p>To all of this years Pre-college kids and parents... Have a great experience at CMU! Eva and I were talking about last year's trip to Pittsburgh this past weekend on our way to college orientation. It is so hard to believe a year has past. Looking back I see CMU Pre-college as the start to an exciting, stressful and wonderful year! Here is to more good times to come!</p>
<p>Evasmom....Kay and I second that! To everyone going to pre-college...have a great time!!!! :)</p>
<p>Thanks evasmom and kaysmom!
Packing day today. Then off to CMU tomorrow. D is very excited...(and overpacking!!) I am not ready to give her up!! House is filled with excitement...and lots of piles of clothes, shoes ect..... :D</p>
<p>yay! im not the only one overpacking!</p>
<p>Wish I would have thought to check out the CMU section for this! I've just been looking at the summer programs thread. Oh well.</p>
<p>My D is going to the MT program, we leave early tomorrow (Friday) morning to fly to Pittsburgh to be there Saturday morning, coming from California.</p>
<p>I'm sure I'll be meeting some of you there, and hope to be able to share what we hear about all of it over the next six weeks. Hopefully six weeks will seem far shorter to me than it does to her!</p>
<p>Well, today is the official "stuff the stuff in the car and go" day!!! We are bringing too much, but we have the thought that if the roomie is one who is flying in, they will be very limited on what to bring. And, if we have to bring things home, well that is fine too. Clothing...well, leaving all on hangers so she can just put them in the closet. WAY too many clothes, so if anyone is an xs, or 00, just look for my d!!!! :D Safe trip to all.....</p>
<p>My dad says I've packed more for six weeks than my brother did for his first year at college. Oh, well. I think I forgot to pack my sink, though...</p>
<p>Can't believe it starts tomorrow!
So excited to meet all of you.
Oh - and because I'm a nut and this website was a little hard to navigate in terms of finding things about CMU, I started my own thread in the Summer Programs section to talk about Experiences over the summer so that next year's bunch has a section just devoted to what it was really like.
Feel free to add on your own Opening Day/Arrival experiences - we could have an online open blog sorta thing.
Yeah... I spend too much time online lol
See you all tomorrow!</p>
<p>I think opening day went very well!! Plenty of help....actually got EVERYTHING to fit in d's room!!! We left Friday to go out to Pittsburgh, sat on the turnpike for an hour and a half, so we were very glad we left on Friday. We got to CMU at 8:15am on Saturday, even though check in was not to start until 9:00, they had us get started. We were not the only ones who were early. Students were there with carts to help us unload and take things up to the room....very nice kids. CMU was very well represented by these young people. D and I unpacked while Dad tackled computer isssues. Then off to lunch and orientation/information sessions and campus tour. Seems like the largest numbers were for APEA and MT....d is there for music. Her prize possessions are her carnegie card and....a key to get her into the practice rooms at the CFA building. Walking into that building was amazing...and d's comment was..."wow, this is my home for the next 6 weeks". She may never want to come home!! D is ready for the classes to start...she will be glad when the placements are made. Today she has all of her placement tests and auditions. She has met some great kids, has a very nice roommate and very nice suite mates...all is very good so far. We found all of the important places.....practice rooms (already used them three times!), laundry rooms, food places.....ect. The campus is very managable, very nice. I think this is going to be an amazing summer for all of you!
Okay, now, who decided to shut down 376 eastbound on a holiday weekend?????!!! It took us 5 hours to get home, and hour of that was to just get out of Pittsburgh!! (of course, we were one of those parents who waited until the 7 o'clock NO MORE PARENTS time limit!!!) :o Lets keep in touch and each other informed.....even though my "baby" is a musician, my oldest is a mt major!!! (Which is why I am here on this thread!!)</p>
<p>It is so quiet at home today!</p>
<p>I also dropped my daughter off on Saturday. She is in the MT program. We flew in on Friday, and it was a complete comedy of errors: 1. our first flight was delayed, 2. then we had to make a quick connection and streak through the next airport which made us go through security again, but we made it with 10 minutes to spare, 3. they wouldn't let us sit together on the flight, no one would change seats, 4. all her luggage didn't make it onto the flight, including her dance shoes, 5. the driver scheduled to meet us never showed.</p>
<p>None of these were bad in themselves, just made for a long, frustrating day!</p>
<p>Luckily we met a wonderful family on the flight who were staying in the same hotel, and they took us to dinner. The hotel people were helpful. Lots of people were concerned about her luggage, and offered their help however they could. The RAs and other CMU staff were helpful and so kind.</p>
<p>The baggage made it there by 5 on Saturday. Whew. Her roommate seems nice, the academic orientation sounded fabulous - I wish I could be going to school there this summer!</p>
<p>I've been reading all the posts on CMU's precollege. I' pretty new to this, but this precollege sounds like a very big deal. Does not going to CMU's precollege hinder your chances of getting in next year? Do they look first at the students who went in the summer and give them priority? If so, what are your chances if never went to precollege?</p>
<p>rookiemom-
I really do not think it will hinder your acceptance to the MT program. Carnegie's MT program is so highly thought of, and so very selective that my feeling is that it may only make a difference if it an acceptance comes down between two auditionees, one with pre-college and one without. My next thought is that when roughly 10 are accepted out of nearly 1000 auditionees, what are the chances it will come to that? Now, I could be very mistaken, so please correct me!! I think this would be a good question to all of those current CMU students!! How many did attend the Pre-College program? My d is attending there this summer to see if this is truly the road she wants to travel for college. CMU has one of the top flute studios in the country, and I know they are the top of everyones list for MT. (at least they were for my older d!!) Now, of course, we do hope favorable impressions will be made and remembered, but we are not thinking she has an acceptance to CMU by attending the pre-college program. We feel it is an experience that will always be remembered....it is truly a wonderful school.</p>
<p>ohh..and yes...it is terribly quiet here also! :( I am so sorry to hear of all of your troubles arriving to CMU. Sitting on the turnpike seems somewhat petty!! I hope everything is going well for her now!</p>
<p>Thanks notfromme
We are visiting CMU later this month, have never been to Pittsburgh. This whole process is so overwheling, I just discovered CC and the more I read, the more I realize what I DON'T know...it's all very helpful though.</p>
<p>Yeah - basically the CMU Pre-college program doesn't get you into the college, but it teaches you the best way for you to get into the right college for you. Basically you learn how to audition for CMU and what they look for. So in a sense you have an edge because you know what they want - but you might not be that. But, if you are really good, and you know what they want you to change before you get there - there's an edge. But the same is true for any student who studies with a music teacher at a college and then applies to the college.
Hope that helps</p>
<p>That's my impression, too, about admission. Though I'm a rookie, too.</p>
<p>The MT department only admits about 10 - 12, and the summer program has over 100, I think. They make it real clear in the orientation that this doesn't at all guarantee you admission, but they end the program with each student auditioning. It's supposed to be a practice audition for next year. They said that occasionally they have admitted someone from that audition, but only maybe one or two each year.</p>
<p>It's also my impression that most of their emphasis is on straight drama - they admit about 40 drama students. And they apparently do about 25 productions each year, with only one of them a musical.</p>
<p>The students who we talked with who attended CMU in previous years said it really helped them prepare for their auditions, whether or not they were applying to CMU.</p>
<p>The auditions at the end of pre-college are such great practice for the upcoming audition season but I don't think they give you a leg up in any way over anyone else coming in. My daughter went to pre-college last year and no one was accepted at the end of the summer program for admission! There has been a few kids in the past offered admission right after the audition but it is rare...especially for a girl. This past year CMU accepted 3 kids who have attended pre-college: a girl and guy from this past summer and a girl from the summer before. They take about 10 for MT and another 18 for acting totaling 28. There may be 11 Mt's this year with 6 guys and 5 girls. </p>
<p>Take pre-college for all that it can teach you. My daughter learned so much from so many great professors....but don't expect it to help you be admitted. In the end if it does just consider it a wonderful bonus! Your kids will have such a great time over the next 6 weeks!</p>