<p>If a college gives you the choice to attend an orientation/registration sometime over the summer v. online orientation/registration v. a "late" orientation/registration right after move-in for a residential student, is is worth it to invest in the travel to the summer event on campus --- if the cost would be dear (RT flights for two, lodging)?</p>
<p>If you can easily afford it, sure! And if you can’t, don’t even give it a second thought - you certainly won’t be alone in attending the “late” orientation.</p>
<p>You may want to investigate whether that affects registration priority. If the student does not mind taking the 8am section of a needed course for his/her major, then perhaps it is not a big deal.</p>
<p>Also, why would it require flights and lodging for two? Wouldn’t only the student have to travel, with lodging included in the orientation?</p>
<p>We are not sending DS until 2 days before school starts because we can only pay the air fare once.</p>
<p>There should only be a flight for one and the lodging should be included. If it can be afforded I would send. If the college is far away it would be good to have the student do the ‘dry run’ on the transportation. </p>
<p>^We had to pay a couple of hundred dollars for room and board during DS’s orientation a few years back. At his school, it definitely DID help to attend in order to have the best chances for classes. He could go online once a week after orientation to try for even a better schedule, but you weren’t allowed to go online until you had been advised. So if you went to the late orientation, you would be at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>If you can send the student by themselves it is worth it - it is a chance to start to connect and find friends and feel like a part of the school community and of course registering and getting to meet your advisor is important. You will need to pay travel costs for the student during the school year (winter and spring breaks) - consider this part of that cost.</p>
<p>For my daughter, it is quite expensive. It’s only $60 for the student to attend, but they expect some adult to go too (there are sessions for the parents, and while helpful to learn about insurance and health care and paying bills, I’m sure I could figure it out), and that involves a hotel room, car, and $400 plane ticket. She’d also need time off from her job smack in the middle of June. We’re trying to tie it to a family wedding, but it’s still expensive.</p>
<p>I’m trying to justify it, but it’s hard. I may send her with a friend and thus save half.</p>
<p>They have events for parents to keep them out of the kids’ hair . . . it’s like move in. There is a full slate of parent activities and info sessions which allows the kids to take off w/o clingy parent cramping their style. All that stuff can be learned on line and/or by sending specific questions to the person in charge.</p>
<p>Yup all schools have things for parents during orientation but i agree with saintfan it’s primarily to separate the kids from the parents. If you think what you will be shelling out for the next four years, the orientation is a great way to get the kiddo used to traveling (alone) if they have not done so at this point in their life. It should come down to one plane ticket and the orientation fee, possibly some transportation cost from airport to college, but be sure to check and see if the college is running transport prior to orientation many remote places do at times like this and college holidays. </p>
<p>My oldest was at a remote college that had a small commuter airport, I found out mid-freshman year that there was a bus to the nearest big metro airport for $30…which saved me almost $200 in airfare since he could pick up cheap flights from the metro airport, so do the homework on transportation, it’s worth it to save some bucks. It was a long bus ride and a long day, but I told him to suck it up as part of the “privilege” of choosing the college he chose. Young adults are resilient if they are determined.</p>
<p>We are in the same boat. S really wants to go to orientation. He never did an overnight during ASD (thought it was “awkward”) but now he’s looking forward to meeting more of the kids and starting to feel more comfortable on campus. Unfortunately, his summer job is in a remote area (away from home) so flights are difficult and expensive to arrange. I looked into sending him alone (and he was willing) but the cheapest flight option requires him to stay an extra 24 hours after all the orientation events are done and we just didn’t see how that could work without me coming along. </p>
<p>I’m justifying the extra expense by realizing that I’m getting precious extra time with S, plus I think I’ll learn a lot more myself by being there – not just the parent sessions but hearing about things in real time rather than expecting an 18yo boy to relay everything by phone or text once he gets back.</p>
<p>I don’t know when this idea originated of having these orientations in the summer, but I think the idea sucks!
Why disrupt people’s summers (including jobs - that students may need to pay for the college) instead of just doing an orientation the normal way - a new student week prior to classes beginning? What is the possible advantage of this?</p>
<p>Thankfully Spygirl’s choice has scheduled orientation just before move -in. I agree with you, @Pizzagirl, I don’t see the advantage of this practice.</p>
<p>Back before the earth colored and the dinosaurs came, my state school did orientation in various sessions over the summer, but I’d guess 80% of the class was within a three hour drive, so it wasn’t that big a deal. The places I’ve heard about that do these types of orientations still are mostly public and big enough that spreading out orientation and registration makes sense. </p>
<p>Yes, all three of my kids had the option of doing orientation right before classes started. Any college that has internationals or kids coming from great distances would probably do that. One of my faraway kids did an "adventure’ trip the week before classes started and wanted to go through a traditional on-campus 2 day orientation in addition so made a trip out and took 4 days off from work that summer. My youngest is at a big state uni so wanted the “early registration benefit” and elected an orientation right after high school graduation but it was only a three hour drive or so. Number two went to a far away college and also did an adventure trip right before starting, he was able to do his registration and orientation paperwork on-line with a phone call adviser. </p>
<p>Both of my kids attended the college orientation during move in week. One had a summer festival he was at all summer. The other lived 3000 miles away from the college.</p>
<p>For the first kiddo, he actually did register for classes online in June. The second kiddo did it all in September.</p>
<p>Both schools required attendance at one orientation session, but the one coinciding with moving was NOT publicized in either case. However, when contacted, both were allowed that option.</p>
<p>If traveling the distance is not economically possible, just deal,with the course registration ASAP, and do the orientation when you move in.</p>
<p>I would go unless we’re talking about a flight over 6 hours. But there’s no reason to send two people – the orientation is only valuable to the person who’s going to be attending. I agree that universities only hold parent events because otherwise nearby parents crash the student events.</p>
<p>My son opted to skip the summer orientation “camp” even though we are a few hours away by car. He just did regular freshman orientation a few days before class started. He didn’t feel he missed out on anything. </p>
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<p>I agree, I think it is a good transition for them to leave parents, friends, home etc. and go away and have time to adjust a little and make friends before classes start. Going to the school, then coming home again right away takes away from the experience of making the break. I think schools do it to break up the amount of kids they have to register and orientate at once. It might make it more manageable for the schools, but does nothing for the students IMHO. </p>
<p>Hmm. Very interesting, and thank you for helping me think this through. Now I’m feeling in favor of online registration over summer (for early access to courses) IF it’s offered, followed by an on-campus orientation right after move-in. I like the idea that a parent wouldn’t need to attend the move-in, unless there was some reason/desire to. </p>