D19 is 95% sure she is going to pick Tulane. I am starting to look at hotels and was wondering if any current parents remember how many days they stayed during move in week. The kids can move in to the dorms Wed., Aug. 21st. I thought I had read there were meetings for the parents but not sure if those are just Wednesday or is there anything Thursday and/or Friday? Thanks!
When we took my son two years ago we had two days on campus. One for moving him in and the next day they had a ceremony for the parents and kids. By the end of move in afternoon there were things for the students to go to and so we were done early afternoon. I believe they eliminated the second day from the schedule last year, in which case you just need to be there on move in day. It was very well organized with plenty of volunteer helpers. There is also a sale on campus of furnishings and things you may have forgotten or not wanted to transport. Literally semi loads of storage totes and desk accessories, lamps and extension cords and closet organizers and just about everything the previous classes donated when they moved out.
For Class of 2022 - Two days - Wednesday for move in and Thursday for parent and student events. We stayed through the weekend. On Friday we visited the World War 2 museum - don’t pass on the 4D film - worth the additional fee. My son had free time on Saturday, from what I remember he didn’t have to meet with his courses advisor as he met with her during the Honors Weekend. We met him on campus and walked to one of the Ferret eateries. He kept us laughing at his stories of his first impressions. He’s enjoying Mardi Gras. For your calendar Mardi Gras is February 25, 2020.
Thank you @threebeans and @callmom! I was thinking we might head home Friday since our other two kids will be at home, but I know DH would love to stay through the weekend if he had any chance of spending a little more time with D19. 
I also don’t want to make D19 feel like she has to hang out with us if we stay the whole weekend though.
We are heading down over spring break - not sure if we will have time for the WW2 museum with all the kids but DH and I definitely have it on our list to visit.
I watched a little bit of the live feed of Mardi Gras today - looks like fin and not as crazy as I expected (of course I was watching at like 11am!) It motivated me to make jambalaya for dinner tonight.
@momtogkc We are leaving Friday also. This gives us time to be with D on Wed and do any last minute errand runs on Thursday. Since my H and I are coming back for Parents Weekend (and the next 4 years) we are splitting up NO a bit on each visit. The WW2 museum is on the top of the list!
Very exciting!!
So…my son is going to Tulane in the fall and he’s going to be in the marching band…anyone know how freshman move in works for band kids? I think they go back to school earlier???
Be sure to find out when Convocation will take place. The parents watch it streamed at several locations on campus and then form a second line as the kids exit. If you can be there it is worth it. Unfortunately it is usually not available off the campus (via computer).
They changed it up last year. We arrived on Monday from the West coast, shopped on Tue, moved in Wed. Sessions for parents on Thu while kids rotate to orientation. We knew nothing about Fri Convocation, and I wish I had. At the parent orientation, they asked us to leave by Thur afternoon. We agreed to make our teary goodbyes by the quad, like most other parents.
We could have left Fri, or even Thur night, but stayed in NOLA and had a fun weekend without our daughter. Kids are in orientation for three days solid, so parents say goodbye on Thu afternoon. I liked the set up and liked the tone. “It is time to let your child’s college life begin. Please say goodbye and leave campus.”
I don’t know if they’ll change anything next year. It was LONG days for the kids and I believe they’re evaluating the orientation schedule based on this feedback.
All in all, less coddling than the LAC orientation we experienced and prefer how Tulane did it.
A general schedule is available on the portal. It sounds like this year will be the same as last year or at least very similar. My husband and I are leaving Thursday afternoon earlier than the school says we have to leave due to limited flights and the need to be home for work. I’m pretty bummed about it but D says she doesn’t mind. I’m worried she will when all the other parents are there to say goodbye.
Thanks everybody! @Momof3kidz I didn’t see anything on the portal but that is probably because she has not committed yet - she hates to make decisions!!
The convocation thing sounds great, hope they do that again. I think we will plan on heading home Saturday but won’t book flights until i see the final schedule.
I don’t know if I can attach pictures of the schedule and it isn’t copying well since I’m on my phone… It’s posted in the
“What’s next?” section of the portal for students who have committed.
The President’s Convocation for students is Friday 11:30-12:30 if that helps @momtogkc
@Momof3kidz - Do parents go to that? Isn’t that just for the students?
@3mamagirls Yes, it is for just students but someone mentioned being there when the students exited it and that it was a special experience so others inquired about when it was held. I was just supplying the information they requested
@Momof3kidz Got it. Thank you! I missed that in the thread.
Thank you @Momof3kidz!
Here is the move-in / New Student Orientation (NSO) agenda:
https://orientation.tulane.edu/sites/orientation.tulane.edu/files/NSO2019_DraftSchedule_AtAGlance.pdf
The only “special” part about Thursday is that Tulane is encouraging a goodbye photo somewhere on campus and that you post it to social media with a certain hashtag. It’s not formal since you can take that photo anytime, anywhere on campus. Since my DS is opposed to posting stuff like that anywhere, we will just have to get our photo and keep it private.
If you search for NSO or move in information, there is a lot of material out there including a webinar from last year for those who like to plan ahead and understand what they are getting into. Keep in mind on Wednesday night, the night of move-in day, the kids are expected to sleep in their dorm. That’s really the cut off point. From there, they should be spending time and bonding with their roommates and other people on the floor.
@Momof3kidz, don’t worry about leaving early. There will be plenty of other parents leaving early due to schedule conflicts, or because their kids tell them “I got this.” as they gently shoo their parents off the campus.
Half an hour.
Thank you everyone! I can tell you it will be more than 1/2 hour but less than the whole week. :)) We will probably head home Friday or Saturday, most likely Saturday so we can enjoy a few nights out on the town ourselves.
Oh, nd @AH1310 My D would be the same way about posting the picture!
@AH1310 Thank you! This makes me feel much better. D is not the type to want us to stay anyway but she’s really good at playing the “I’m the middle child so I got dumped off” card lol