<p>As a parent of a rising freshman, about to head to campus in 3 weeks, I wondered who are my compadres out there? I truly relished the friendship and collegiality with the parents I got to "know" on cc of students at my older s's university. He has now graduated, and I look forward to a new set of "friends" to share ideas and experiences. I apologize that I have not searched diligently through past threads to find you, but I know you are out there. Tulane 2012 parents, where are you? And definitely, the parents of the current sophomores, juniors and seniors, please, PLEASE share your wisdom and experience!</p>
<p>well, jym, you already know I'm here, but welcome also to new Tulane parents. D1 is a rising sophomore. Feel free to ask any questions -- I'll answer as best I can. Initial words of advice -- send them with an umbrella, and don't judge NOLA weather by when you drop them off. It's HOT in August, but just ask them in February when they're talking to their friends attending LACs in the Northeast!</p>
<p>Thanks, ivoryk!! Yes, you have been a gem and I am most appreciative. Didn't want to post any names,though, without permision. Hoping to see more on the list soon!! And I hope I don't overtax you with questions!</p>
<p>Parent of a rising sophomore who absolutely LOVES TULANE. Took the Tulane economics program in Chile this summer, 2 classes (Latin American Economics and Spanish) lived at a homestay, all expenses (except airfare) was $3,500. They had organized trips over each weekend, the total trip was 5 weeks, a Tulane prof accompanied them on the trip. There are tons of opportunities in NOLA, the area where the school is has a safe reputation, the campus police are very protective of the students and the campus. Ditto on the umbrella. S got off the plane for Christams in shorts/flipflops, forgot how cruel Cleveland weather can be!</p>
<p>Move-in day--either line up 30 minutes early or wait until 2 PM , no lines at either time. In between it's a bit of a madhouse.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips roamingcooks!! I grabbed 2 umbrellas and will bring up again the importance of arriving early (not to mention the fact that he's onthe 11th floor of Monroe!! UGH!)</p>
<p>S moved into Monroe as a freshman. Arriving early was key particularly because of the weather in August. Although there are elevators, there aren't many so that can also really delay your efforts. </p>
<p>There are plenty of current students on hand to help out too. We were in the "early line up" and were so glad because S was able to have everything in place in time for the first "event" of the day. </p>
<p>The 11th floor will be a pain to move in BUT the views your student will have are likely to be fabulous, fwiw.</p>
<p>We just returned from there today....took furniture/stuff to soon-to-be senior son. It truly felt like the tropics....93 and so so humid. Luckily we only have to go up one flight of stairs!</p>
<p>I'm not really complaining though as I totally love NOLA and a few sultry days are a small price to pay. Go back Parents Weekend and you will LOVE the weather. And the people there...</p>
<p>Thanks curiouser. Are there and elevators that arent right in the main entrance area that might be less "busy"?</p>
<p>As I recall there were only 2 elevators. We observed them being used primarily for carrying larger items up to the floors. That said, S was assigned to the 4th floor so it could be that the elevators are designated for higher-floor residents and the heavy items. Our experience was in 2005 so don't know how much things have changed.</p>
<p>It wasn't really all that chaotic for us...seemed to be fairly well organized in my opinion. The big difference was that the later it was the hotter it got. Not so bad when just strolling around, but when you are in a hurry to get boxes and bags hauled up multiple floors, the heat does get to you.<br>
My incredibly fit husband was pouring sweat and we started within a half hour of the move-in time early in the am.</p>
<p>Each car unloads all the stuff right out in front or on the side of the building, very very quickly. Then the driver is sent off to find a place to legally park it to get it out of the way so the line of cars can keep moving. In our case, we parked in a garage which was a bit of a walk away from Monroe. So H wasn't available to help haul things until he found his way back to the dorm building.</p>
<p>Your student's stuff is basically sitting in a big pile out in the front of the building. It helped us to have 3 of us...one to watch everything so it wasn't unattended while the other 2 would take things up to the floor. Plus the student welcome teams are friendly and very helpful, but they just grab stuff and you hope it makes it up to the right room....</p>
<p>IT IS ESSENTIAL TO HAVE A MARKER AND SOME TAPE ON HAND TO MAKE SURE ALL YOUR ITEMS ARE MARKED WITH STUDENT'S NAME AND ROOM #.</p>
<p>Thanks, curiouser! Wouldn't have thought about labelling all the boxes and stuff!</p>
<p>And, definitely volunteer to be the person who parks the car. Everything was up by the time I got back (we went very early also). I only had to haul myself up the 4 flights! :)</p>
<p>LOL jersey44. Only I know my H and S- they'll leave half of his belongings behind on the sidewalk and totally forget about it. I'd rathe stand sentinel onthe sidewalk!</p>
<p>Great advice. We'll be there early for the move-in to Sharp. I'm expecting lots of sweating but only have to go up a few floors. We don't have that much stuff so it should only take a couple of trips at most.</p>
<p>Re: I'd rathe stand sentinel onthe sidewalk!</p>
<p>Another excellent plan!</p>
<p>Another Sharp parent here. There will be 5 of us helping, so I'm hoping it will be quick.</p>
<p>Unless it has changed, only the students belonging get to ride the elevator; the people get to walk the stairs. Did I mention the stairs are not air conditioned?? My son was on the 10th floor facing downtown; he had a great view of the Super Dome. While the view was great, the walk up the stairs was not. We had left a few things in the car that I didn't want to leave for the students to take up; what a mistake that was. I had enough trouble walking up the stairs, forget doing it with items in my hand. </p>
<p>Mark all your boxes and items with your child's last name and room number. The movers did write in chalk on the items that did not have a room number, but I didn't like having my hanging bags marked with chalk. A piece of tape and a sharpie would work great on items that are not boxed. Also, see if you can pack in sealed book boxes; that way items can be stacked in the hall until you make your way up the stairs. </p>
<p>A cooler with some cold drinks would be nice also. I promise, when you get to the room you will want that cold bottle of water or soda. By the end of the day you will want one of those nice cold frozen New Orleans drinks :-)</p>
<p>Say whaaaa????? You mean that the 18 yr old kids get to ride the elevator and us old geezer parents are expected to walk up 11 flights of stairs??? No way!! I am going to write my self a doctor's excuse so I can ride the elevator (jk)!! Thats nuts!</p>
<p>Sorry, I meant to type only the student's BELONGINGS get to ride up; no humans! They had students helpers load the elevators in the lobby and student helpers on the floors unloading. </p>
<p>I am sure if I had said I couldn't walk they would have let me up on the elevator, but I thought I could do it. After the second trip up I realized I was older than I thought!! Later in the day the elevator was available for people, just not during the mad rush of move in.</p>
<p>Remember this was several years ago, so they may have changed how they handle move in.</p>
<p>Snowball, elevator move in was done as you described in the Fall of 2005 and in the re-move-in post-Katrina January 2006.</p>
<p>I'd forgotten that they allowed only belongings up. As several of us have shared, the student helper team grabs items and puts them on the elevator.
Even when they're marked properly, things didn't always make it to the right rooms as experienced by S's new roommate. He eventually found his box but it was on another floor!</p>
<p>Anyway, you increase your chances when things are marked before you even arrive. As soon as your car pulls up, it's like ants descending on you to help you pull everything out really really quickly, ready or not!</p>
<p>There is no way my aged body can hoof up 11 flights of stairs. I am pretty small and will request to squish onto the elevator with the boxes. I imagine many of the boxes will be bigger than me! Maybe I should just climb into a duffle and label it with S's room #!</p>
<p>Moving day just got a lot easier for us. My son's car was broken into (unlocked probably) and his IPOD,phone and other electronics were stolen. Then he checked the status of his laptop order only to discover that there is no order (forgot to hit the final submit button I guess.) He told me he doesn't need us to buy him a fridge when we get there because he drinks his water warm (I'm thrilled he's not thinking about beer) He asked why he would need a rug, and I didn't offer a TV. He tells me he's not bringing a lot of personal items, and he should have about 2 suitcases. </p>
<p>So if you see a family of five helping to move in 2 suitcases and a shopping bag from linen's and things that will be us....... However, the way things are going I fully expect the airline to lose our bags, so we will be the family all pitching in to carry up a set of sheets.......</p>
<p>In all seriousness, I do have a few quick questions</p>
<p>Now that we have to reorder his laptop, I was wondering if there is someone at the mailboxes to sign in for deliveries if needed. I'm guessing that this isn't a problem and that kids get these types of packages all the time. </p>
<p>My second question is about land line phones. Of course we are replacing his cell phone, but Should I increase our family minutes to the max or do most kids get land lines as well??</p>
<p>WHat hotel is everyone staying at? We got an incredible deal on La Pavillon on orbitz - $105 a night PLUS free parking - this was a better deal than the Tulane discount.</p>
<p>I'm beginning to have doubts about how my son is going to survive. He always seemed so self-sufficient, but I'm beginning to see how naive he can be.</p>