<p>Hi all - I am going to orientation with my son. I am going to fly into Indianapolis on Southwest on Monday morning, and take the Bloomington Shuttle to the campus. </p>
<p>I am curious to know how orientation went for others so far - parents and students. Did you get all the classes you wanted? Was the Math test easy or hard? Where did you go for 2 days and what did you do at night?</p>
<p>Also, any other single parents going Monday/Tues/Weds?</p>
<p>I am a student who attended orientation a few weeks ago. I pretty much got all of the classes that I wanted, although there wasn’t a whole lot of space left in a lot of the classes I signed up for. I thought the math was fairly easy, and I didn’t take math during my senior year of high school.</p>
<p>Hope that helps</p>
<p>math placement was really easy</p>
<p>Math placement was pretty easy, the foreign language (Spanish for me) was even easier. I think I was done in like 20 minutes. I got into every single class I wanted, my advisor was fabulous and helpful, and I met some pretty cool kids. The first day was very basic orientation-ish stuff - icebreakers, small groups, nothing that exciting. At night, we went to a thing called “For Students Only” after dinner which ended up being pretty funny…I don’t want to give it away for you. After we went to the SRSC for a while and then back to the dorms, I ended up just playing cards all night with some kids. The next day is boring, you go to your advising appointment and then register for classes. I think orientation is what you make of it. I know some other students who thought it was boring and dumb and others who loved it. Just be open-minded and try to meet new people. Have fun!</p>
<p>I am a parent. My son and i attended one of the early orientations. I thought they did a great job. Students and parents were separated but rejoined later on the first day. I met some really nice people, and most of the sessions were informative and even entertaining. My son enjoyed himself at the dorm, playing volleyball, etc. FYI, if you’re taking the shuttle from airport to campus/hotel, there is an option that is just $15 one way at the airport. I think it is called Star, but it is right next to the other shuttle service when you go to the ground transportation area. There price is cheaper than even buying on-line.</p>
<p>Orientation was fun. Anyone who didn’t have fun there either didn’t try or deep down didn’t want too. The math placement test was fine. I personally thought the Spanish test was extremely difficult, then again my teacher in high school didn’t really know Spanish that well. The first day is fun you get to talk to a bunch of people and do these skit type things in small groups to teach you about Indiana. The Rec center was awesome tons of stuff you can do there, make sure you get your free t-shirts by signing up for some student rewards bookstore card. The rest I stayed up hanging with a small group in main lobby area where there was AC and played some cards.</p>
<p>The next day was kind of boring, my advising wasn’t til 12:30 and I woke up at 8 and couldn’t get back to sleep. Luckily I ran into someone I met from the previous day. I just wandered mindless around campus the rest before my appointment. The Union is sweet if you haven’t explored that. I made a pretty nice schedule for myself but I guess most of the classes will be taken by time the next orientation happens so be prepared for some 8AM.</p>
<p>Oh and don’t get breakfast at the dorms, its really expensive. I got some grapes an OJ and yogurt and it was like $6-7 or something.</p>
<p>Donna - I JUST printed the expensive Bloomington shuttle tix - LOL! Your info was great, but I wish I had known and went to read this thread first- (you know us parents need to save all we can for tuition!)</p>
<p>Twigman - LOL, I can just see myself wandering mindless if I don’t find someone to hang with. So is there a grocery store within walking distance to get stuff like grapes and yogurt? Thanks for the free t-shirt tip. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone - this really helps what to expect.
Do you have to bring a calculator?</p>
<p>Orientation was a lot of fun. The placement tests were pretty easy, although I had actually taken the placement exam in my calc class at the beginning of the year (I live by IUB) and I did better on it at the beginning of the year than I did when I took it for real. =/ Not a big deal though; my scores didn’t matter. I get kind of stressed in new situations, so the beginning of the day was really long, tiring, and boring. I actually almost went home. It’s definitely worth it to stay after dinner though, the musical is hilarious and it’s cool to go to the SRSC and meet people. 2nd day is just scheduling/advising. Some classes may not be available this late.</p>
<p>And calculators are not needed (and probably not allowed ;])</p>
<p>My daughter went by herself a few weeks ago. She called the first afternoon and said she thought she was the only one without a parent there (guilt, guilt, guilt), but she ended up meeting some nice new friends which has made going to IU for good a little less intimidating. She thoroughly enjoyed orientation despite some boring moments. The second day she lucked out with an early adviser time which meant she was completely done scheduling by 1pm. Classes were already filling up so it helped that she had plenty of alternative options. Her flight home wasn’t until the next morning, so she had lots of time to kill. That just meant she came home feeling ultra-familiar with campus, so it was all good.</p>
<p>Pros -
Everything was even better than expected. I made some parent friends and the orientation people did a great job. The students running the orientation were friendly and helpful beyond expectation. The campus is gorgeous, we saw lots of bunnies, chimpmunks and some really rare looking birds.</p>
<p>I really liked the TIS bookstore. They gave parents and kids free t-shirts - but you had to go to the Reade Parking garage to get the coupon that they were handing out in the newspaper. The bookstore told us we can order our books and they can be picked up on arrival. If you do that you get a guaranteed 50 percent buyback first semester only. CUrrent students chime in please if you think this is a good idea.</p>
<p>Cons - The cafeteria food was really terrible. Perhaps it is better when the students are there. Three people in our group has queasy tummies (one was a student)</p>
<p>Another con, the cute town with tons of resturants has no CVS, no dollar store - there was a 7-11 Store called Village Pantry that had some toiletries but way pricier than a CVS. Some of our group walked to one on 3rd, but they said it was a super long walk. The prices in the dorm stores are marked up triple, so a 99 cent bottle of Suave shampoo is a whopping $3! </p>
<p>Also no close brand name supermarket. You have to ride the bus to College Mall or there is a Kroger somewhere, but you are not able to walk there from the campus. It is a free bus for the students and only a dollar, but I guess if you want less expensive sodas and goodies for the dorm, it is not just a hop to a close brand name store. </p>
<p>Something I learned, you don’t need a printer. Each student gets a paper allowence.</p>
<p>Anyone want to add?</p>
<p>TIS seems nice first semester (I had the same impression after orientation), but after that they are evil. They will pay back pennies on the dollar for books after the first semester, and half of the books you buy from them they won’t buy back. </p>
<p>There is a CVS by college mall and one on 14th and College (just north of downtown).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info about TIS! Will use them first semester only then when we get the deal.</p>
<p>The best place to buy/sell your text is the classifieds section on onestart.</p>