Parents of the HS Class of 2017 - 3.0 to 3.4 GPA

Target and Walmart get their college accessories (shower caddy, garbage can, twin XL sheets and comforter sets) out during summer. There is plenty of time.

Great ideas for what to bring. I’m also not sure what we’ll realistically be able to fly with. Most of this stuff (first aid kit, office supplies, toolkit) I will buy when we get there. I figure I’ll look at the room first, see if there is a place to put bins under the bed, etc and then buy containers. Maybe I should bring a measuring tape in my suitcase to measure for what size bins to get!

Luckily all of the bed sheets/comforter/towels are provided by the school but we will check out the quality or see if she might need extra blankets or something.

There are a couple of threads out there on this topic:

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1769222-checklist-for-parents-of-incoming-freshmen-p1.html
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1934327-the-forgotten-necessities-of-college-what-did-you-forget-at-home.html#latest

Daughter was in a car accident Friday morning on her way to school, so it was a rough weekend of anxiety for us. Car was totaled and she said it was the most terrifying experience - airbags deployed, etc. I drove her to school today and she seemed ok but then the insurance adjuster called and asked her to recount what happened all moments before her calculus test!!

We did have a bit of fun last night putting together a list of who we should invite to her graduation party (which I haven’t even begun to plan and it’s about 7 weeks away!! Also, her prom is next weekend. This year is FLYING by.

Oh no @Fishnlines29! I hope your daughter is OK! Thank goodness the airbags went off and protected her.

@Fishnlines29 I am so glad she is ok. Horrible timing on the recount, I can only imagine the anxiety for all, how stressful. Glad you could find some fun in there. I started a similar list yesterday but S17 is too busy for the next 2 weeks due to the HS musical to do anything other than address the 5 announcements that need to get out asap and even that he is going to growl about.

I’m in the same boat, will get to the room, see what fits and buy accordingly I think. We are flying to it’s going to be tricky all around I think.

The fun begins! Can’t wait to start buying the dorm stuff. Target is my jam. But maybe we’ll spice things up again and roadtrip it to Ikea (only about 25 miles away, but that can take up to an hour to get there, depending on traffic). Need to start pulling together all these great lists of what to bring and how to pack. Glad we’re able to drive to the school as opposed to having to fly–makes things simpler (but I think I may need to get some sort of rooftop carrier thing before August).

@Fishnlines29 So sorry to hear about your daughter’s accident. Glad she’s ok!

@MomStudent2017 Yes… some private company seems to get contracts with schools and send out this bedding information. I wouldn’t go with it.

We are NOT worrying about what DS needs for school this month. My son leaves in a month to go to his job at camp. he will be about ~10 weeks. Then come home for 3 weeks before starting school. (It’s a quarter system school doesn’t start till later Sept.)

He is stressed enough by what he needs to get done this month. Finish schoolwork, paperwork for his job, packing for his job, testing, room selections, and figuring out orientation/class registration stuff for school. THUS we are doing nothing about packing for moving to school till he is back at camp. We already have XL bedding if he is willing to take his sisters purple sheets. (He might be OK with that.) It’s just not the top of our to-do list this month.

Plus moving to school is a lot easier than for my D. She went 3,000 miles away and we had to fly. We will be driving him and will have a small SUV to hold his stuff.

@curiositycat333 D is also working at summer camp. So wont worry about what to bring to school until afterwards.

As a matter of fact, we have years and years of stuff accumulated from summer camp, and many things can probably be reused at college. D likes to use bins a whole bunch. Tons of bedding in my house, some of it never opened, including XL.

D is done. Finished 2nd semester as duel Enrolled. Is not attending graduation, as working at a camp for underprivileged kids at the same time. (memorial day weekend). Also is not having a grad party, but helping her BF with one.

Has only 2 more weeks left at PT nanny job.

Oh, no, @Fishnlines29 - Hope all will be okay for your daughter!

Re: Dorm decor - Grinnell, where S16 attends, has a rummage sale of all the items left behind by the previous years’ students. Great place to get lamps, a shower caddy, extension cords, etc. for just a few dollars!

Most dorm rooms are so small, and shared, so S16 packed light and kept the decor simple. After moving in, we bought them a large inexpensive rug to cover the linoleum floor, since winters are so chilly in Iowa. He and his roommate did some decorating and re-arranging together, as the semester progressed I like 3M Command removable plastic hooks, and a 10-pocket/shelf Hanging Shoe Storage Organizer is great in the closet, only 6" wide and folds down to practically nothing. Good for shoes or other personal items. Most warmer clothing and jackets aren’t really needed until Thanksgiving. We are lucky to be close enough to drive, and just used Rubbermaid containers to transport bedding and clothing. Once he moved in the room, we realized there was plenty of room under the lower bunk, so put 2 under-the-bed plastic boxes down there, for extra bedding, etc.

As a special grad gift, we sent a bunch of old t-shirts, from S17’s various theater productions/Boy Scouts/music events etc., to have them made into a cozy colorful memory quilt - large throw sized.

I’ve thought about doing a t-shirt quilt, I’m just not sure if he’d be into that or not. He’s tough to call that way. I did order the backpack he wants today as if he wants it in a different color, he can exchange it while at orientation as they have a store there and he will have several hours to kill before he can check in.

@Fishnlines29 - Oh no - so sorry about your D’s car accident. Glad she’s OK, and it was only the car that took major damage. So glad that you already have some fun planning for the grad party.

I’ve gotten way behind, but I did have fun with the NY Times accent test, which placed me in New York City as the primary location (where I wear sneakers,and drink soda), but gave me a secondary location near Philadelphia (I picked “hoagie” even though I eat “subs” now). So the survey captured me perfectly! (Although I’m glad to know Newark actually puts NJ on the accent map, even though my profile shows that the big metro areas are either Philly or NY

Here’s hoping the long IB/AP testing slog is almost over for all of your kids. CoyoteSon’s last one is tomorrow: AP Calculus. I actually got CoyoteSon to agree to one extra tutoring session after school today; it’s not that I care so much how he does on the exam as far as credit - I would advise him to retake Calc in college anyway - but I think it was worth it to practice putting in that much time to study (since he wasn’t studying the Calc on his own, though I was pleased that he did study on his own for AP Government last week).

although, he can’t completely coast - his school will have a final exams the last week before Saturday June 17 graduation, and given his teachers, 4 out of 5 will require serious study.

@eandesmom - very, very cool that E1 already has Thanksgiving plans with an “old” friend from home before adding “new” friends from college.
Ugh, CoyoteHusband and I are still trying to decide whether we should do the long 12-hour drive (DH’s plan) or the short flight to Chicago and the bus (my plan - right now, the round trip flight is $156 for August, though I haven’t dared to look at the Thanksgiving prices yet). Hence, I’m not shopping - hoping to buy it all there – though I have appreciated all the med kit tips!

@MSU88CHEng - awesome that your Son got the tux and went to prom - that’s definitely not happening here - indeed, I’m gearing up for the fight/discussion about what will be acceptable for CoyoteSon to wear to graduation. He will want to wear basketball shorts and a T-shirt, "I’ll be wearing a robe Mom 8-| " as if it were a Jedi robe down to the floor… (Ha ha - if only CoyoteSon actually knew the Jedi mind trick to convince everyone that his idea of clothing was socially acceptable “these aren’t the droids/dress code violations you’re looking for” . And the school hosts a lovely reception in the graduation venue where most men, including hisDad and both grandfathers, will be wearing ties, if not suits…All I want for graduation is CoyoteSon in khakis and shirt with buttons…

Sigh, I have a few weeks yet to figure out how to approach graduation…

@CoyoteMom About flying at Thanksgiving, I haven’t looked at the upcoming academic calendar, but last Thanksgiving Beloit was only off Thursday through Sunday. Not much time if there’s traveling involved. But they do get a week off in October for midterm break.

@Fishnlines29 -

So sorry about your D and the car. I hope she is doing better.

We are not giving Techson17 a graduation party. He doesn’t want one. I am hoping that my D and her boyfriend can come out for graduation and we can all go out for dinner afterwards - it’s a Thursday night. Prom is the next night.

@Fishnlines29 I missed the comment about your D’s accident. Glad to hear she is OK even if the car is totaled. Not at all fun to go through.

My older D had a fairly big accident her first year of driving. Didn’t totally the car and no one was hurt. But the front axle was broken in the car & the car had to sit in the middle of the street during rush hour because of the location. By the time I arrived (it was at school) there were 5 police cars. Seemed excessive but they were needed to direct traffic around my poor car. Very traumatic for her & it took years to get her to make an unprotected left turn again.

@techmom99 Prom is after graduation?? That makes sense but so many schools have prom in February/March these days. We have prom in less than two weeks. Then there is a very late night grad night the night of graduation. But there is lots of time to go out to eat with the relatives that arrive in town in between.

@curiositycat333 -

Until 3 years ago, graduation was at 10 AM on Friday and prom was the same night. After the 2014 graduation, where it was so hot that some people needed medical attention, the decision was made to move HS graduation to Thursday at 5:30 PM. This made some middle school parents angry because that graduation was always held on Thursday morning with the party that night so for parents with kids in both years it was potentially problematic. However, after the 2013 8th grade party (for Techson’s class), where several kids were caught drinking, the decision was made to have that party immediately after graduation so the 8th graders are now loaded on buses straight from the ceremony and are home by 5. It’s a crazy system run by helicopter parents.

Good luck today - Struggling Sons of Calculus (and daughters)!

@CoyoteMom A 12 hour drive does make the drive or fly decision tough. In our case it would be a 30 hour drive so that made the decision to fly a no-brainer. For Thanksgiving, you could book tickets on Southwest since they let you change dates or receive full credit toward another ticket. I tried to broach the topic of graduation attire with D17 and I got the same response as CoyoteSon-that since she would be wearing a gown, she planned to wear whatever the heck she wanted underneath. Sigh. It was a pretty stong response, so I backed off. In our case, there’s nothing planned after the ceremony though, as far as I know. The ceremony is at 8 pm and I think everyone just goes home afterwards.

Also, you may already be aware of them, but this is a bus company lots of WI students take to get from O’Hare to their college: https://web.coachusa.com/vangalder/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=South+Beloit&s1=IL&c2=Chicago+O%27Hare+Airport&s2=IL&resultId=8145&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=&nt=&cbid=975629285683

And here are 2 nice places for you and DH to stay when you visit CoyoteSon:
http://ironworkshotel.com/
http://copperstoneinn.com/

@Fishnlines29 glad your daughter is okay, that must have been scary!

Really impressed with the organizational skills of those among us who are shopping for twin xl sheets and putting together office and medical supplies. I need to bookmark all these posts for later this summer.

I don’t know what my son might wear under his gown but at his school kids go straight to grad night from the ceremony so makes sense not to get too dressed up. I think?