Important Dates for Parents

<p>I'm delighted that my DD will be part of the Class of 2018! I'm trying to book hotel rooms for important dates. I have anticipated moving her in at the end of August. Does anyone know when Parents Weekend will be in 2014? Are there any other dates that I need to book now? Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Welcome to the Tulane family!!</p>

<p>Parents weekend has always been the same as homecoming, which they have not announced yet. Especially since the completion of the new stadium is looking like it might not be until the first of October, they are probably holding off any announcement until they have a better idea about that. I know Tulane would like to play ALL its home games at Yulman in 2014, and they are hoping the stadium can get done by early to mid September to make the scheduling easier. Anyway, bottom line for you on that is to just hang loose for that date.</p>

<p>Move in will be August 23, since classes start Monday the 25th. So hopefully you booked your flight to get in no later than Friday the 22nd.</p>

<p>The only other dates would be if she is going to attend one of the orientation sessions in June. The dates are in this link. [Tulane</a> University - dates](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/summer/dates.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/summer/dates.cfm) Parent(s) traveling for this is completely optional.</p>

<p>Also, is she ruling out participating in the NOLA Experience? [Tulane</a> University - Nola Experience](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/nola/index.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/nola/index.cfm) As I recall, it is a Tuesday through Friday thing. So if she wants to do this, she would fly ahead the Monday before and you would catch up with her that Friday. She would have already moved some basics into her room, but I imagine there would still be things you would ship FedEx that would need to be moved in that Saturday.</p>

<p>Other than that, I cannot think of any other parent oriented dates.</p>

<p>Thanks, FC, for your quick reply. We are thrilled to be part of the Tulane Family!</p>

<p>DebmomNY, I’m assuming you are from NY,lol? we are in PA and our son is also joining the class of 2018. I am also wanting to book airfare for Orientation in June but those registrations don’t open until March! We will be driving down for Move In as it will be cheaper for the 3 of us to drive and pack all of sons stuff in the car than for 3 of us to fly and ship stuff down via Fed Ex.</p>

<p>Yes, D6, I’m sure we will have many notes to compare. Driving down is not an option for us. I think the 3 of us would kill each other in the car for that many hours-- and then having to drive back, no thanks! We will be flying! </p>

<p>I realize that this will be a logistical nightmare but lots of people do it and we will figure it out. I have read that you can order everything at Bed, Bath and Beyond pick it up down in New Orleans or use FedEx to send stuff. Does anyone have experience with that or any other suggestions? I know I’m way ahead of the game, but I’m a mom and I can’t help it!</p>

<p>I’ve read that about BB&B as well and I’m saving every coupon we get in the mail since they never expire! And yes people do it every year and I read on the Tulane Parents FB group that there are storage facilities where the students can store all their stuff over the summer so they don’t have to lug it back home. Some will come pick it up for you and several students can go in on it together to cut costs.</p>

<p>^^^All correct, and to answer your question on the FedEx, in July Tulane will send you a move in packet that includes addressed FedEx labels. You just buy the boxes, have FedEx pick them up about 2 weeks before move in, then on move in day there is an extremely organized procedure with ROTC taking all your boxes to the room. Between taking stuff on the plane as extra luggage, BB&B and FedEx, people do one, all, or some combination of these.</p>

<p>Relax Mom, it will all go just fine.</p>

<p>FC, you really should put together a FAQ for this page for all the most often asked questions! Or someone should, not necessarily you. But you are always the one with the answers! Of course it would only be helpful if people actually read it.</p>

<p>I have thought about it several times. The problem is that details change from year to year, and sometimes they are important. And since after 15 minutes or whatever it is you cannot update a page, it would get confusing. I suppose doing a whole new FAQ every year would still be easier, since most of it would be cut and paste with minor changes.</p>

<p>But I guess the bigger issue is that, to me, one of the best things about this forum is it develops a sense of community every year, and part of the reason for that is the back and forth. Each class of students and, even more so, parents get to know each other and often end up meeting at move in. Last year was the strongest example, but it happens to some degree every year. I would hate to lose that. It seems so consistent with what Tulane is like.</p>

<p>Good points. I’ve only browsed other college forums on here but it seems like Tulane’s really has the best “community” out of all them.</p>

<p>Debmom and dolphn, do not stress about orientation or move-in. As one of last year’s most stressed moms, I am happy to report that it all works out and is a fairly painless process. My son is a freshman (lives in Monroe) and is very happy.
For orientation, - there will be several dates to choose from (I think there were 9 or 10 actually), however, you need to factor in if they overlap with prom, AP exams and graduation. I believe that they limit the number of student to around 50 per session. I’m not sure when they open up the sign ups, but you should not have a problem as long as you don’t wait too long.
For orientation, I would advise that you book a hotel in the Uptown area. There are several along St Charles street. We stayed at the Hampton Inn which was very nice (free breakfast and free wi fi). We did not rent a car and were able to jump on the street car right across the street from the hotel to get to the school. We went for three days (orientation is 2 days, and the students sleep on campus 1 night). There were lots of activities and orientation sessions for both the students and the parents. It was a lot of information to take in, but I felt like the school really tried to make the parents feel comfortable and informed.
The night that the kids stayed in the dorm, there was a very nice wine and cheese reception at the Alumni house for the parents and after, the school provided transportation (bus) to all of the area hotels, which was great.
One of the best parts of orientation was meeting up with one of my fellow CC friends (shout out to my now “real friend” Oliver!!) and meeting some other CCers in person.</p>

<p>As far as move in goes…we pre ordered most big items at BB&B. (it is called “pack and hold”). You go around your local BB&B with a zap gun (like a bridal registry) and zap away . It is then waiting for you at the BB&B near Tulane (we went to the one in Metarie). When you get to the Metarie store, they pull out your order, you look over everything and take only what you want, so you are not obligated to buy it all). There is also a huge Target in the same shopping center. So, between those two stores, you can buy just about anything you need.
For move in, we rented a car (free parking at Hampton Inn too) and did the BB&B and Target shop on Thursday. We brought everything into the hotel room, & organized . On Friday, we stopped by the school to see if we could “sneak a peak” at the dorm room before move in on Saturday and were surprised to find that they were allowing people to check in and move their stuff in. We went back to the hotel and got one car load of stuff and brought it over. (Please note, that if you move stuff in on Friday, you will not have the “helpers” who are there on Saturday).
Move in itself (Saturday) is very organized. You follow the signs to your dorm and there are tons of upper classmen “helpers” who unload your car and bring everything up to your dorm room. You do not have to carry a thing! Just be aware that the elevators are for moving stuff, so you will most likely have to take the stairs. While the student goes up to the room to wait for his/her stuff, Mom and Dad park the car. This was the hardest part of the process. There are a couple of lots, but they fill up fast. We ended up parking by the baseball field which was FAR! There were supposedly shuttle buses back to the dorm, but we did not see them! But, once we were parked and made our way back, it was fine.
The last thing I want to mention is shipping. The school will send you a packet with shipping labels a few weeks prior to move in. I set up a fed ex account and shipped 3 boxes (I think it cost around $100) mostly heavier items like shoes, jackets, speakers…We packed most of the clothes in two large rolling duffles that we checked on the airplane. As far as the fed ex delivery, there were about 5-6 large fed ex trucks parked on campus. We were told exactly which truck to go to, retrieved our boxes, and a very polite ROTC boy put them on a dolly and wheeled them to the dorm. All in all, it was very organized and easy.
One of the best parts of move in was meeting up with a bunch of my fellow College Confidential friends at The Rum House the night before move in (Oliver, Vitrac, Bloomy and more!). A few had even made up tee shirts honoring fallen! We suggested selling FC FC (fallen chemist fan club) shirts at the book store, but that did not come to pass!
I hope that this long rant has a calming effect on you nervous but excited class of 2018 parents. It’s a great experience, so enjoy!</p>

<p>For a fun look at move in, check out this you tube video - The Move-In Day Two-Step:
[The</a> Move-In Day Two-Step - YouTube](<a href=“The Move-In Day Two-Step - YouTube”>The Move-In Day Two-Step - YouTube)</p>

<p>Thank you all for the warm welcome! I think this is going to be a great journey! Looking forward to 2014!</p>

<p>Thanks,Vitrac, for your PM. I’m a newbie so I can’t PM you back!</p>