<p>Hey guys,
I'm a new transfer for Fall of 2013, coming from California (with two years on my back from a LAC in Minnesota). I'll be flying in for orientation/move in, and am not convinced my parents should come with me. It'll be my third year moving in and by now I've done it successfully alone.
Even though it'd be nice for my parents to drop me off at Rice, it doesn't seem like there's much planned for parents other than carrying their kids boxes into the dorm.
Is there a compelling reason for them to come with me for Orientation week? Or will I be totally fine on my own? Right now, we are leaning towards me moving in alone, and either or both parents coming out for parents weekend.</p>
<p>I think waiting for parents’ weekend is a much better idea. There’s very little involvement of parents during O-week, and parents don’t get many activities and certainly not enough to justify a long trip.</p>
<p>Parents week is very worthwhile. I only attended parents weekend when D was a freshman (after that I just went when it was convenient for us). I strongly recommend attending at least one parents weekend. I enjoyed sitting in some of D’s classes (was very impressed by the profs she had teaching her), enjoyed the football game and pregame BBQ. It was also nice to see D after a few weeks to see how she was fitting in, who she had met, meet the masters,…</p>
<p>Finally, congrats on attending Rice. It’s a special place.</p>
<p>I also recommend waiting for family weekend. When we dropped our owl off freshman year, we left right after lunch. There were a few more things that parents could do, but nothing with him so we didn’t really see the point. O-week is entirely for the students. I attended 3 out of 4 family weekends and always looked forward to the activities for parents. It’s also a great way for parents to see what Rice has to offer our owls.</p>
<p>As long as you’re comfortable coordinating the move-in yourself, then go for it. I was a sophomore transfer and my parents helped me move in. I probably could have done the move in alone, but was happy to have them there; but they are definitely not necessary for orientation.</p>
<p>Move in help is always welcomed. </p>
<p>I am surprised colleges even have parent orientations for adult children. But this is the generation whose college grads bring mommy & daddy to a job interview.</p>
<p>Actually, the orientation on drop-off weekend can be very helpful for parents, and I am looking forward to the one at Rice. When I attended at another university, the speakers included the dean of students, engineering deans, and the university president. The speeches outlines all sorts of information about the university’s different divisions, academic support, career counseling, and so on. This is important for parents to learn, too. For example, one dean gave parents a list of 10 questions we should ask our child each week and they were wise and not at all out of line. They included: Are you going to class? Are you keeping up? Are you eating? Are you sleeping? Are you getting out of the dorm? Yes, students are adults but brain maturation is ongoing into the mid 20s and college (like any major change in life) can be a vulnerable time.</p>
<p>I should add that I’ve never been to the drop-off at Rice, that this will be my first. So I don’t know how good their program is, but I hope it is good.</p>
<p>As a mom of a sophomore, I would chime in that if I had to choose between orientation or parent’s weekend, I would choose parents weekend. We did also attend orientation, but our daughter was an incoming freshman. We are from California, and these trips get very expensive, i.e. airfare, hotel, car rental. I would choose parents weekend, from a parents perspective, because you get so much information from all the planned events. I especially enjoyed the meeting at the Master’s house where you not only meet the Master and RA’s, but you also meet a lot of the new parents who are going through exactly what you are. You also get information on the academic and career advising support that is available to your student. That being said, I am answering in this way because you have experienced moving in before and seem to feel confident in doing so by yourself. A new freshman that isn’t so confident in that may have a bigger need for their parents in getting help moving in on move-in day. So maybe, if you have to choose between only one of the two, I would probably choose orientation for a new incoming freshman, and then the next year choose parents weekend. Congratulations on your admittance to Rice! You’ll have such a Fun time at O-Week!!!</p>
<p>Hey guys, thanks for your responses. I left it to my parents to decide, and my dad decided on coming with me to orientation. He wants to check Rice out, and see why I decided to transfer. I hope either parent can come down for parents weekend, but if not, there’s always next year.</p>