<p>There's a good question. And...since I'm a parent, I'm curious as to what the answer is. There are many activities planned on the 2nd for parents as well Is it worth it to stay and attend?</p>
<p>I think it's worthwhile to stick around for a day or two. You can get to know and talk with other parents at the formal sessions and spend a little time walking around campus, shopping in NoHo etc. Just as long as you don't feel bad if your daughter wants to totally ditch you (outside of shopping excursions). I noticed this happening last year with many of the First Years whose parents were there. </p>
<p>She'll miss you like crazy and be really homesick about two weeks later but she might act like you don't exist once you hit campus and get her unloaded. :-)</p>
<p>The ditching part we expect. ;) We just didn't know how valuable the day was for parents. Guess we'll stick around and figure it out after awhile.</p>
<p>SS, if you're arriving on your own, I would definitley either park near your house or if you're taking a taxi have them drop you off by your house rather than the ITT. You can leave your stuff with your HONS in the house lobby, go get your room key, and walk back easily enough.</p>
<p>I'm going to have to ditch my daughter at pre-orientation. Since she cannot unpack at that point, she's going to have to do all the work herself during orientation. (I don't know whether her roommate's parents will be there.)</p>
<p>No orientation for us. I attended the Open Campus days and heard the spiel then. I never considered that parents would be included in first year orientation.</p>
<p>Momwaiting: Two years ago I also had to ditch my daughter for pre-orientation, and she did just fine setting up her room without parental assistance. Living two hours away, we were all ready to come back for orientation, but she phoned us to say we didn't need to -- she had managed everything on her own (setting up her computer, setting up her bank account, setting up her prescription account, etc.) We had purchased all the basics before we took her to Smith, so she didn't need to get to the malls for any last-minute room items, and it's good for the room-mates to do that together anyway. So you can rest assured that everything will be fine without you.</p>
<p>I also had gone to Open Campus and never felt I missed anything by not going to parental events at Orientation, but I WILL say that the parting at pre-orientation felt awfully abrupt so I would recommend you say your good-byes before you go with your daughter to the preorientation gathering because she will be whisked away very quickly afterwards.</p>
<p>Coming from afar and with no program that particularly interested D, we did not do the pre-orientation thing. Like Pesto, I don't think I missed much by skipping most of the formal Orientation events. </p>
<p>The last thing we did was the "Meet the Departments" thing on Chapin Green. I wandered around at a distance, listening to various and sundry discussions of other people, and then for some discussions D waved me over so that I could hear what the prof was saying to her. I'm glad I was there because based on something that one of the Deans correctly but brusquely said, D ripped apart the whole prospective schedule she'd designed and then put it back together; one of the profs kindly loaned me a hardcopy of the schedule to facilitate that. Six weeks later it didn't matter but at the time she was upset and I think I was a calming influence as she re-worked her plan to account for possible Major decisions. (It worked out fine. She declared both her ultimate majors towards the end of her first semester...it had been how to schedule classes keeping options open that posed some problems.)</p>
<p>It was late in the afternoon, around 5pm, when we finally split. She had a 6pm meeting in her House. It was hard for me going back to the hotel. I wound up driving down to the Hampshire Mall just so that I could buy a Mary Renault novel to bury myself in before, during, and after dinner.</p>
<p>Our D is not doing any pre-orientation program either. She does not see the need. Orientation begins on the 5th, and that day is really the only day designed for parents as well. We'll probably just stick around a little and play it by ear. I'm sure she will be deep into other issues surrounding moving, and meeting new people, to even notice us coming or going. I think it'll be particularly tough on dear old dad, because I'm a big softie!</p>
<p>I'm not worried about my daughter. After all, two years ago she spent a month in Japan as a summer exchange student. If she could survive that without problem, she can move into a dorm room.</p>
<p>I advocated the pre-orientation for my d. because I did a similar thing when I went to college. Some of the students I met during the program became my close friends for all four years. It's just another way to meet people with similar interests, although certainly not the only way.</p>
<p>Another reason I wanted her to do pre-orientation: she was ready to pack up and go to Smith last April. She wants to be on campus as soon as they let her. :-)</p>
<p>MWFN, that enthusiasm is terrific. I know a girl who was ready to buy her plane ticket after going to the prospective student party. There was the little detail of applying and getting admitted that slowed her down a little.</p>