<p>Can somebody please explain to me what the family letter should be like? Do I really need to send one?</p>
<p>I don't know that much so maybe talking to a current student would be more helpful...but what I do know is that it is recommended that families submit a letter to the office if there were any special family, social or personal circumstances that affected the upbringing of the student. So if you grew up with severe arachnophobia, that would probably go in the letter</p>
<p>^^ I don't think this is what the OP was talking about... according to friends, every incoming freshman has to write a "family letter" to explain the family's situation or something. I don't really know; I just know it seems like something everyone has to do.</p>
<p>Lol what</p>
<p>I haven't heard anything about this.</p>
<p>It's definitely not necessary; few families do it.</p>
<p>I read through the description and it looked completely optional to me. Something to do if there are unusual background circumstances for your child that the university should be aware of.</p>
<p>We wrote one, e-mailed it yesterday it was on the lighthearted side, my H did it and he can be pretty funny. It was basically a letter of introduction that described our family and gave some stories etc about our D. I think it helps them to get an idea of what your kid is like aside from his academic and extra curriculars that they already know about.-gives them a more personal perspective on your child.</p>
<p>I think it helps the freshman housing people determine what sort of dorm, and setup would be best for you. (Light sleeper?=quiet dorm; catches colds easily=single rooms, etc.) The letter is a good format for explaining family situations or past events which might impact students away from home the first year.</p>
<p>We wrote one for our son. He approved it before we sent it though :)</p>
<p>Many students opt to express their needs/wants in their own housing forms.</p>
<p>Oh yes, our letter also had to go through the approval process!</p>