<p>Do parents go to the student orientation for incoming freshman in August? Can't seem to find anything on this anywhere...do you drop 'em off and go, or stay for a few days? Also, anyone fr either coast - did you drive to Grinnell with all their stuff? Fly with it? Buy some things in Grinnell? Ship it to the dorm? Not anxious to make an 18 hr drive, but not sure what's the best way...</p>
<p>We live in VT. Our son signed up for the pre-orientation canoe trip, so we drove him out for that, moved him in to his dorm and then hung around in the Midwest for a week visiting relatives before returning for orientation. There are separate activities for students and parents during orientation. We found them quite reassuring (the presentations for parents). We did pick up a few extra things for him after seeing his dorm, but he'd have been fine without them. Ours was a 20-plus hour drive. We turned it into a vacation and had fun with it. With current fuel costs, you can figure out the costs of flying versus driving. It was really fun to help him move in, but the students help each other A LOT--a very tight community. There are many ways to do this right. You might decide you want to visit for family WE instead. And, of course, there are lots of interenational students who can't go home much or at all or have their parents visit. It's a great school. You can relax.</p>
<p>Waxfam, my son will also be a freshman this Sept at Grinnell. . .
I read on last year's orientation schedule that parents said good-bye to the kids in the late afternoon on move-in day. Looks like there were some joint programs and some seperate parent/student programs thru out the day. But, I assume most of our day will be taken up with getting him settled once he sees his actual dorm room and makes decisions with his roommate, getting last minute things, etc.<br>
I think move-in starts at 8am, so, we plan to get to Grinnell the day or night before and pick up things in town that we didn't want to ship or pack in the car (ie laundry and cleaning supplies). I'm told there is a Walmart not too far from campus. I think we'll also visit a local bank to set up a checking acct.<br>
We live in Chicago, so, we will drive, but, I intend to ship some stuff ahead of time. The college will accept boxes starting sometime in the summer and hold onto them until move-in. Not sure when that starts, tho. My daughter attends college in Maine and we have never driven that distance. . . We shipped boxes, pre-shopped at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and then came home and ordered what we wanted online and had stuff sent directly to the college once they started accepting packages.<br>
I think this first move-in is the hardest - now my daughter stores the bulk of her stuff at a public storage facility near campus for the summer, and only brings her clothes and personal items back and forth - which is still alot :) I think my son will choose to do the same, even tho he won't need to fly to and from Grinnell.</p>
<p>My son just graduated from Grinnell, but I do remember that the parents were "dismissed" at the end of move-in day freshman year, so that the students could begin to bond with roommates and floormates and not worry about the awkward presence of Mom and Dad. If you are staying overnight at one of the local motels, make your reservation early--they do fill up quickly (especially during Family Weekend). Yes, there is a Walmart in Grinnell, although it's not within walking distance from campus. The store is huge and well-stocked--it came in handy when we needed to pick up a few forgotten items.</p>
<p>I think we returned to campus the next morning for brunch or breakfast before driving off. We had a van on move-in day so we took about 5 freshman who didn't have parents in attendance to Walmart with our D.</p>
<p>S just finished freshman year. To the best of my memory, on the first day we moved him into the dorm, went to hear a few speakers, and by about 3:30 said our goodbyes. All the freshman leave their families at the same time and are subsequently occupied with meetings and events. We saw him briefly the next morning but that was the extent of seeing him until family weekend a month later.</p>
<p>New to the forum but just wanted to let everyone know how helpful these posts have been. Our M is starting Grinnell this year and is our oldest. First one to go and I have been really anxious. Reading these posts has made me feel much better</p>
<p>My son got comfortable there really quickly. He is in love with his college and really can't wait to get back for his sophomore year. It is everything we could have hoped for.</p>