<p>My son will be a freshman this August. I wanted to get some advice from current students and parents on the above topics. We live about a 6 hour drive from the campus. </p>
<p>I see that move in day is scheduled for Friday August 23rd. Any advice on when to get there and when to depart? Was thinking maybe getting there Thursday afternoon, help my son get moved in on Friday, then heading back out Saturday. Any thoughts on when to be there, what to bring, what is most helpful, etc. would be greatly appreciated. </p>
<p>Parents weekend looks like November 1st to 3rd. Advice on where to stay? Looks like hotels book up pretty quick. Looks like the school has a program that you register for later this year. Was it enjoyable? Any suggestions on making the most of the weekend would be welcomed. </p>
<p>That is exactly what we did in terms of arrival/departure. If you haven’t made a reservation yet, do it NOW. Hotels fill rapidly in Ithaca. I would also make reservations for Parents’ Weekend - if you intend to go. I like the Hampton, but the Homewood Suites is really convenient for arriving on North Campus without dealing with traffic (it is already on the right side of town). That helped for move-in. I booked the Hilton for this fall, but we haven’t stayed there before.</p>
<p>There are a lot of dorm lists. Bed, Bath and Beyond actually has them by college campus. That way, you can see what is permitted at each school. Unless your child ends up in an air conditioned room, it is nice to have some sort of fan for the warm weather months. Move in day will be very crowded with kids and families. Try to pack into fewer bags to have less loose items to carry. Make sure they are tagged with your child’s name, since other people may end up carrying things for you. There will be students helping with the move-in process. We did a program that allowed our son to move in one day early and then a attend an overnight with Hillel (not for everyone). I don’t know if any other organizations do this, but we loved moving him in without the chaos. We helped him get his whole room set up and were able to enjoy the rest of our time.</p>
<p>A friend told us to get a fun cookie jar for the room (we bought a Tardis jar that makes the familiar Tardis noise when opened - Doctor Who). Your student might like that, too. Friends and relatives can send cookies to keep it stocked. </p>
<p>If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>Oh, and as for Parents Weekend, we enjoyed some of the activities. We did not attend anything that required the payment we made and the ID badges we were given. I am not sure why we paid to attend (we were misinformed that the payment included Sunday brunch). </p>
<p>You may choose different activities. I don’t mind that we paid $15, but I went with a friend and her daughter and we paid for them, too, since they would be with us. They were just considering Cornell for application next year. The payment wasn’t necessary for them. I had also paid for my younger son to attend not realizing that it conflicted with PSAT. He had to miss the weekend and has still not seen campus. Our next attempt to bring him to campus was NJ Teacher’s Convention weekend which was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. Absences are not tolerated at our school. Again, no visit. Hoping to bring him up during his spring break. Unless we lose that for snow days. Sigh. </p>
<p>Congratulations to your child! Our son absolutely loves Cornell!!</p>
<p>Infosec, your son will get a move-in time slot, as there is a lot of car congestion on move-in day. If he gets an early time-slot, (or even if not early, as I have heard of people just arrive super early and move in anyway by chatting up the RAs), then you would probably want to leave Ithaca the same day.
The kids are really excited, have floor meetings scheduled, want to meet and make friends, and your presence would be awkward lol.</p>
<p>Certainly, you shouldn’t be hanging out in the dorm beyond assisting your child to move-in, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore Ithaca (with or without your child). We had an entire day to ourselves, since our son was at the Hillel campout. We went out for a nice dinner, checked out the area, and enjoyed the sights. There are some orientation meetings and activities that are for the parents/families. Don’t cramp the kid’s style, but there are events planned for the parents, too. Why not enjoy them? This link is for the schedule from last year. </p>
<p>Your timing (arriving Thursday, leaving Saturday) sounds perfect. We found the drop-off / orientation at Cornell to be somewhat extended – there are events for parents/families and most seemed to ‘hang around’ into Friday afternoon. Also there will be a convocation on Saturday morning (first altogether for the entire incoming freshman class, then a separate one for/at each college/school). Parents generally seemed to meet up with their kids for these convocations, after which there is a required ‘students only’ meeting. They make it very clear that the time for parents to say their ‘final’ good-byes is between these convocations and the required ‘students only’ meetings. </p>
<p>This extended drop-off with talks/events/activities for parents & siblings was very different from what we were expecting – which was the quick help freshman move-in/get settled, then disappear. My D2 will be a freshman at a different school this August – and apparently her college is of the ‘quick drop-off & get out of there so you don’t cramp their style’ variety. It’s good, I think, to be aware that there are different traditions/expectations at different schools. . .</p>
<p>One thing to be aware of is that some hotels have minimum stay requirements. For example, the Homewood Suites I believe had a 3-night minimum if I recall correctly for move-in weekend.</p>
<p>They may for graduation or other special events, but I just looked back at my Hilton account. We definitely stayed at the Homewood for just two nights during move-in weekend.</p>
<p>Try here, about 8 miles from Ithaca but very nice: [Taughannock</a> Farms Inn | Fine Dining & Lodging in the Heart of the Finger Lakes](<a href=“http://t-farms.com/]Taughannock”>http://t-farms.com/)</p>