Move In Day Stories Or What You Think Your Move In Day Will Be Like?

Prep School Admissions
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<p>Hey guys :-)</p>

<p>I decided it would be cool to post about first day at boarding school, aka moving-in-day or classes. That way, we can have some laughs, learn some things, and have a deeper understanding of everything. Also, I thought it would be nice for those who have been through the first day chaos give us newbies some tips.</p>

<p>By the way, if you haven't gone to boarding school yet then just say what you think it will be like for laughs. Talk about how you think your mom will need five horses to pull her off the campus and away from you. Ask any questions, I bet someone will take pity on us new kids to the boarding school experience. </p>

<p>My Moving Day Experiences:
Well, I have never been to a boarding school, but I have had like three generations of family that have, and I have been to something like it. College move in day, and my mom said it was just like boarding school from what she could see. They dorm in a hotel right down the road, it is a nice university. My mom and my mom's side of the family own the hotel, and there were five hundred kids. It was chaotic. They kept on overloading the elevator with like five thousand pounds of stuff, and a few cars got towed. Ha ha. I went out and helped guide some people to the secret stairs and places. Wasn't so secret after that. </p>

<p>So, my tips:
1. Get in as early as possible.
2. Be patient with your parents.
3. Be careful where you park.</p>

<p>My questions:
1. What is it like?
2. What is the best way to make friends with everyone?
3. What did you bring to school? Did you bring furniture? How did you get it up there?</p>

<p>MY FUTURE MOVE IN EXPERIENCE</p>

<p>You think you have an emotional mother? You haven't seen anything! lol! I want to get into either Andover or Exeter, so I hope to be heading up to that area. </p>

<p>I plan to wear some cute, but no shorts, because shorts never have been my thing (I'm a girl by the way) A rocker outfit but still with some niceness style, or maybe my school jacket with a long light-weight shirt. It depends on my mood. </p>

<p>I plan to bring tons of things to make the dorm homey, or whatever will fit in the guidelines and family plans.</p>

<ul>
<li>Part 1 - Going there* </li>
</ul>

<p>"GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED NOW! WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE" My mom is going to roar at me while I sulk out of bed from no sleep out of excitement. I will be going too slowly, so she will scream in her army voice, "MOVE IT! YOU ARE ****ING ME OFF, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M GOING!! YOU KNOW WHAT? YOUR DAD CAN JUST TAKE YOU!! I QUIT!! ACTUALLY, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I TRY. GET DRESS!!!!" I will then be shocked awake and rush to get dress as my mom has her angry breakdown around the house ordering my dad around to get everything done. She isn't mean or anything, just bossy, and as long as it isn't directed at me, I'm happy. She always gets angry before any big travel day or something like it. </p>

<p>She will basically be screaming at me and she'll have some friends helping us get everything going, and I'll be like glued to my dogs before we leave, saying bye and stuff. Also, I'll probably hug my friends bye, they live down the road...</p>

<p>The airplane ride or whatever will be hell on earth, because at first she will be screaming through the whole airport, whacking me on the back of the head for not moving fast enough (Not in a mean way or anything) then, as soon as we are on the plan she will be sobbing her eyes out because I'm about to leave, and be like, "Don't go... I don't want you to go." she doesn't mean for me to really stay, but she says it anyways. If I said, "Okay I won't go" she would be like, "After all the work and asking to not go? NO YOU ARE GOING!" ha ha, gotta love moms. Oh, and don't get me started on the days before school. She will be attached to my leg and sobbing every night. Gotta love her lol </p>

<p><em>Being there and leaving</em>
My mom during move in will be extremely embarrassing in anyway she can find, not on purpose, but she can't help it. When it is time to leave, she will be sobbing and it will be a very hard scene. I'm not sure if she'll leave that day. </p>

<p>My mom will like follow the car when I'm leaving for only a two night sport thing yelling, "bye, I love you! I'll miss you!" So, I'm not sure how the four year thing will go for her.</p>

<hr>

<p>That is my future story! Hope you got some laughs :-)</p>

<p>P.S I didn't even try on grammar, so sorry for any mistakes :-(</p>

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<p>that was such a cute future story!</p>

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<p>I got some laughs! Your future story and my future story are VERY similar…except mine will be happening very soon. Sooooo excited! :D</p>

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<p>I think that my mom won’t be the issue. It’ll chaos that’s going to be move in day. It’s hot and everybody wants to do the same thing as once. Though my mom disagrees, I think that it is going to be horrible!! On a side note, if I’m back early for preseason, do I move in my dorm earlier? That would be awesome!!</p>

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<p>Not moving, but still going to boarding school (as a day student). Sure I will see my mother every day, but she’s not quite ready for the “growing up” aspect of things.</p>

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<p>Thanks for replying, and I’m glad I got some laughs out of my future misery. </p>

<p>Anyways, for those people who are moving in to the boarding schools soon, make sure to update us on what happens ;-D</p>

<p>By the way, I meant plane not “plan” ha ha. So, sorry for that little typo in my paragraph.</p>

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<p>We flew in the day before so we could shop for bulky stuff (blankets, pillows, etc.). We used a GPS to find to the closest mall. I was navigating. Didn’t realize we were headed in the opposite direction of the school and two hours away until we were off to find mall #3 and saw a sign for the next state.</p>

<p>Drove by campus late a night to get a sneak peak. Mom freaks out as the reality hits and says we can both fly home since she has no credit limit on her card. I’m thinking it’s a good idea, but keep that to myself.</p>

<p>Next day - school had students helping us with our bags. Realized there is no elevator in the dorm. I’m grateful that a bunch of jocks had taken my heavy stuff upstairs. Ran around and met my teachers and learned how to get from one class to the other with my chaperone. Mom stayed in the dorm room unpacking and bonding with my roommate’s mom. I knew I was in trouble when they started exchanging contact information. There were more adults in the dorm than kids and most were having to be dragged out kicking and screaming. Someone yelled that there was free food and frozen yogurt in the dining hall. Never saw a bunch of adults move that fast.</p>

<p>BTW - parents are very vulnerable at this point. If you need something (snacks, clothes, a sportscar) - now is the time to ask! :)</p>

<p>Roommate arrived earlier than me. She snagged the bottom bunk. Awkward when the top bunk has no safety rail. Decided it was rude to move her stuff and sucked it up. Turned out she was nice so I was cool with it.</p>

<p>Sent mom out shopping for more supplies. She wasn’t too happy when she was driving back and I called to ask for more things I’d forgotten (laundry detergent, a hamper, a lock for my desk drawer). She gave me one of those cloth shoe racks you hang in a closet. I discovered its perfect for holding stuff (like an alarm clock) if you are stuck with the top bunk and hang it from the curtain rod instead. </p>

<p>Mostly - discovered the dorm pillows looked like they’d been around for a few centuries (glad I had new ones), the bathrooms should be condemned, but the students were all nice and the dorm heads know how to break the ice - by feeding us. When there’s dorm food you have to be aggressive or be run down by the stampede of more experienced students thundering to get there first. If you’re last - it will look like locusts hit the brownie tray and you’ll get crumbs.</p>

<p>Took a week to remember to call mom. She reminded me that she could stop sending care packages. Allowed her to friend me on Facebook if she promised not to cry on her next visit. Instead, she made friends with the faculty.</p>

<p>BTW: don’t let your parents friend the faculty. They share stories. Lots of stories.</p>

<p>Good luck everyone!</p>

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<p>Nothing story exciting about our move in. Lots of emotions leading up to “letting my baby go”. Shopped end of the week for specifics (after getting power back from the storm outages, so we were a tad behind)… Arrived at place, checked in at two desks, got room assignment. Went in, roommate had been there. Noticed there’s not enough room for Roommates to have equal wall space (for supplied dresser, much less extra drawers or fridge)… But helped arrange the room, unpack, tidy the stuff. Met roommate and wondered how many differences the two kids would have. Hoped they’d be able to find similarities or embrace and share their differences. Oh, thought the room was a tad sweaty smelly and they didn’t even have time to make it that way, lol. But just picked up febreeze and will hope it doesn’t get worse!</p>

<p>Then just the waiting of the weekend. Meaning, with the orientation, down time, meetings, informal greetings, downtime, it was difficult to gauge how quickly adjustment will come once school actually starts… Teared up once a tad on one goodbye hug. Since we made 2 mini visits back, I made sure I was not emotional. Don’t want to make it more difficult. </p>

<p>Move in represents all we worked for the past year. The goals. The ambition and adventure ahead. Our move in was smooth and everyone we met was helpful or atleast friendly. Looking forward to what lies ahead.</p>

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<p>Sunmidbea - be sure you do a ton of writing at boarding school. You’ve got talent.</p>

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<p>Thanks! Can you tell that to my English teacher? :)</p>

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<p>Two great stories! Got some good laughs, and thanks for the tips. Can’t wait to be able to post my actual move in day. Well, I pray that I get in!</p>

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<p>Just moved into Andover today, guys! Ok, so the day was kicked off by driving down Main Street and seeing the crowd of Blue Keys waiting on a corner. I think everyone in my car got a little choked up by seeing everyone cheering, simply because it kind of highlighted that I was ACTUALLY here. That, after a year of the application process, Andover was indeed a very real place. </p>

<p>After exchanging hellos with various admission officers whom I had had the chance to meet over the year, my mom bought some Andover swag (as she manages to do whenever we’re on campus) and we went to my dorm. I won’t say which one, obviously, for anonymity, but it is a reasonably sized dorm. Verrrry few new girls were in it, though, so our first dorm meeting was very intimate. The proctors in my dorm were amazing, and they lugged my suitcase up the flight of stairs needed to get to my room. My roommate is also absolutely wonderful, very helpful and outgoing from the start. Our families got along immediately, which was a major plus! </p>

<p>Then, after lunch, we realized that we were in the final stretch of the day: the orientation meeting. There, several major figures on campus (the Head of School, the Dean of Studies, etc.) gave short, but meaningful speeches. I think I liked the School President’s the best, since he had been in my position only three short years ago. </p>

<p>Then… oh, God. The first cluster gatherings. Students were sent out to the Great Lawn, away from their parents. There, they met with the Blue Keys of their cluster. I must say, Andover students sure have a lot of spirit! (: It was a wonderful kind of awkward, walking toward a group of people who were screaming at you. As my friend said, “It was kind of scary… I thought, ‘WAIT, should I scream back?! Or go crawl under a rock or something? But I mean, yeah, it was pretty cool.’” That about sums up my feelings about it. Then, we played little games that were both pretty useless and fun. After that, we started learning the Andover cheers, which I think everyone loved, even though all the new students were pretty pathetic about shouting. Hahaha. We were all pretty nervous, even if we had tried to convince our friends, parents, and selves that we weren’t.</p>

<p>After that, it was time to say goodbye to our parents. I mean, at this point, I think most of us were ready to be on our own. However, when I saw some students crying, I think I got a little teary-eyed myself. I mean, it was hard. But Andover left cookies out on tables, so that made the separation a little better. Hahaha. (: </p>

<p>THEN, (…if I were saying all of this out loud, I’d definitely be out of breath) we met up with our advisors for dinner to chat. It was nice, meeting the other advisees. Nothing really stuck out to me. I mean, the food was good, but that was really it. After that, we all found out our course assignments and, later in the evening (online), our schedules. I was VERY pleased with my courses, and I think Andover does a great job with scheduling. Mine is a work of art. </p>

<p>After that, you could do whatever you wanted. I hung out with my roommate and went for a walk with her friend from her old school. Shook hands with people who I now forget the names of, the usual. I think I’ll make my close friends during class… I don’t really have high expectations for orientation bonding. Haha. I’ll keep everyone updated!!! It was an exhausting, overwhelming, WONDERFUL day. Go Big Blue! (:</p>

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<p>Looks like they recruit a lot of cheerleaders! Goodness we all get singles at our school. :)</p>

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<p>…If you’re saying I’m a cheerleader, I take that as a weird compliment.</p>

<p>Oh, and I wrote that post at around 11:30 last night and I was completely beat. Yeah, I don’t think three exclamation points after one sentence was needed. That’s what I get for writing a lengthy post while exhausted. :P</p>

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<p>@ Cassat, your move in sounded great! Have fun at PA. We all understand you’ll be busy as the school year goes on but try to post as much as you can. Have a fun year!!!</p>

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<p>Pouring rain. Seriously massive rain. So we regrouped at hotel and repacked stuff to carry in the rain and made two trips to keep things covered and dry. Glad for Gortex.</p>

<p>These last several weeks Exeter has been very active sending class info, schedules, dorm assignment, advisor info. to my daughter. There is a Facebook group for new students and my daughter found out the layout, location and color of her room from the girls who lived there last year. She had friended her roomate (from Southeast Asia) and they already had lots of on-line contact. When they met they seemed to already know each other, and got off to a great start.</p>

<p>The registration process was warm and friendly, and very well organized. Several senior faculty we encountered saw her nametag, started friendly conversation and commented on details of her application! The dorm proctors helped carry everything (no elevators) and the dorm head and adviser popped in to say hello within 10 minutes. After some time to unpack, separate activities for parents were scheduled (welcome, reception), that some parents went to but some did not. Overall there was flexibility for parents to interact as wanted, with lots of friendly warmth from staff and faculty. </p>

<p>The dorm had only proctors, staff and the 13 new preps, so each had lots of help, and they formed a nice group. That night we got e-mailed pictures of them playing a board game, they made cookies, and went to meals together. Lots of bonding before the returning students arrived the next day. At Exeter most students remain in the same dorm all 4 years, it becomes in many ways a new home. </p>

<p>Clearly Exeter is a very diverse place, we met many families from all over the world, and were told that 55% of the new class is racially diverse, and 44% of the students receive financial aid. </p>

<p>My daughter quickly immersed herself in activities with the 12 other new 9th grade girls in her dorm, and she clearly was enjoying the warm welcome. Her comment - “everyone is so nice here.” I felt reassured and not particularly needed. I said an unavoidably emotional private goodbye and was off. It was a long ride home and harder than I had anticipated to leave her, even though I heartily believe she is in the right place.</p>