<p>Have any parents attended this? Do you recommend attending? We live in PA so it would be a plane trip for the weekend but it would mean we could see my daughter a day after her birthday!! I just wonder if it would be better to visit more mid-semester. I also would not her to be the only one without parents attending. Thanks for any info you can provide.</p>
<p>We went to Family Weekend during my daughter’s freshman year. (She’s now entering her senior year.) We live in NY, so it was a plane ride for us, as well. None of her friend’s parents came, so she ended up not spending a ton of time with us. (She also works at the Wellness Center and had a shift while we were there.) That was the only time we went. I think you will be fine either way. If ALL of her friend’s families attend, she can always hang out with my D at the Wellness Center!!! :)</p>
<p>We were at Family Weekend last year. We didn’t attend the football game, opting instead for a couple shopping trips (Apple store & Austin’s Dive Shop), followed by a nice drive to Key Largo and dinner with our D. On campus, we toured the art museum, went to a model class, did some information sessions, did another campus walking tour. At night, we did the “Ghosts and Graveyards” tour, which was pretty good (I thought) - just need to make sure your bladder is EMPTY before you start…! </p>
<p>There was plenty to do over the 2 days, including a nice brunch over looking Biscayne Bay and the ocean at the RSMAS campus, since D is a marine science/BIO major. We’re planning on going again this October - maybe we’ll do the tailgate party and football game this time…and maybe UM will WIN the game this year!</p>
<p>We debated whether to attend last year when our son was a freshman. We chose not to because we had just spent so much time there during move-in the month before. My son ended up very busy with school/clubs/work that weekend and didn’t miss us at all. He did not feel he was the only one without parents there that weekend. In fact, he suggested to us that this year we attend homecoming weekend instead which is October 19-21st. There is a pep rally, parade, boat burning, concert, fireworks and UM vs. FSU football game [Alumni</a> Weekend & Homecoming 2012 | Schedule](<a href=“http://www6.miami.edu/alumniweekend/schedule.htm]Alumni”>http://www6.miami.edu/alumniweekend/schedule.htm) Registration opens in late August.</p>
<p>We attended during son’s freshman year (now a graduate). Many of his friends’ parents did not come in. Personally, seeing him in October a few weeks after he left seemed too soon. It was nice and the events interesting but the fact was that he was coming home in a few weeks for Thanksgiving only reinforced that he hadn’t been gone that long. </p>
<p>After freshman year we took to creating our own ‘Parents Weekend’. We’d fly down in February (a nice time of year to visit when you live in Michigan) and take him and his friends out to dinner and see some of the South Florida sites. Given that he wasn’t going to come home for Spring Break (why leave Florida for bleak Michigan?) it became a good way for us to break-up our time apart.</p>