<p>My brother is getting married on September 19, which is listed as Move In Day and Classes Day. His wedding is in the evening, so I can't just fly out late afterwards. So, I'll be missing at least one, possibly two, of the days. Is this really problematic? Is it a big deal if I actually move in on the 20th or 21st, and will this make registering for classes difficult as well?</p>
<p>Any advice would be very welcome right now, as I am stressing out over how to get around this scheduling issue. Thanks!</p>
<p>missing move in day isn’t that big a deal, but ALL the other days are a BIG DEAL. So, I would try to schedule it so that you get in on the 20th and can stay the whole week. otherwise, you’ll miss a bunch of information in advising and class registration, not to mention placement tests and all of the bonding activities. It’s important. Don’t do “possibly two days” no! fly out on a red eye or a 6am flight right after the wedding if you can.</p>
<p>ok… less urgently, I talked to a bunch of upperclassmen, and they all said that O-Week is a ton of fun, and it’s great for meeting people, and the parties are really good. They said O-Week gets better every year, and that I should look forward to it. These were pretty cynical people, too.</p>
<p>Thanks! I was considering a red-eye, but my parents said that they didn’t want me to do that. I’ll still try to talk them into it though. Otherwise, yes, I’ll be on the first flight out in the morning. The problem is, though, if I take a morning flight, I might still miss some of the activities for the 20th.</p>
<p>What do they mean by “Classes Day,” though? Because that looks like it’s on the 19th as well… That’s what worried me more than Move In Day.</p>
<p>My impression as a parent is the O-Week packs about two days’ worth of content into 8-9 days. There are some really important things that happen that you don’t want to miss – placement tests, meeting with your advisor to select courses. The rest is fun, exaggerated coddling, and bureaucratic well-meaningness. You can miss lots of it, as long as you don’t miss the important parts.</p>
<p>The convocation ceremony is really moving for parents, though. It’s sad for them your parents will miss it. But that won’t diminish your experience at all.</p>
<p>@insomniac- I’d echo the suggestion that you take the earliest flight possible after your brother’s wedding. We understand and expect that some people will have conflicts with parts of orientation week (mainly religious observance conflicts, which we try to avoid through scheduling), an obviously your family should precedence over the one day of O-Week (congrats to your brother, by the way!). However, coming two days late (or missing more, for anyone who might be thinking of arriving at a different time) brings you in to the category of missing a lot of stuff. While there are only about 2-3 days worth of meetings and required tests during O-Week’s 8 days, these would be 2-3 packed solid days; we try to intersperse some down time with your house, fellow students, RAs and RHs, and general “settling in to college” time among the boring stuff. Missing more than the first day will run you in to being at a disadvantage in terms of having gone to meetings about registering for classes, learning how to use Chicago public transit, getting to know your House and the House System a little better, and other things along those lines.</p>
<p>You should definitely maximize the amount of time you’re here during O-Week. Also, on a slightly related note, I suggest hanging around after you move in. I know a few people who moved in and then returned to their hotels with their parents instead of spending the night in the dorm. These people regretted it the next day when everyone had formed groups already. It worked out for them eventually, since O-Week friendships are about as consistent as the Chicago weather, but it made them feel left out for a reason that could have easily been prevented.</p>