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<em>faints</em> Omigosh, you’re ancient!</p>
<p>@intparent: We plan on flying with either American or Virgin. We’re frequent flyers, so we should get a huge discount. And, I’m sure there are student discounts if we ask. And yes, we’re shipping some stuff.</p>
<p>@oldfort: The previous Friday, or it was on a Friday? Arriving a day before sounds like what we might do now. And we’re also doing the whole buy with BBB and pick it up at the local store thing. Oh, and I’m not worried about. I’m just a very organized person. I want to make sure there won’t be any bad omens, if you know what I mean.</p>
<p>@i<em>wanna</em>be_Brown: Wow! Brown? That’s cool! I applied to only two Ivies: Columbia and Penn. But, I’ll be pretty happy if I go to my other options, as well. I wish move in days were practical and simple like back at '05, then. Sounds so much better than the whole circus performance that seems to be now.</p>
<p>We arrived the day before move in day. We stayed 3 nights.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, how do you plan on picking up all of your BBB stuff without a car? I know in NYC, they’ll deliver for a fee, but not sure about other cities. Other than NYC, unless your parent could get a hotel room right next to your dorm, how would she get back and forth without a car? Most cities do not have very good public transportation. Your parent maybe spending more money on taxi than if she were just to rent a car. If you are that organized, you should book a hotel room as soon as you know where you are going school.</p>
<p>There are no discounts for students on airlines.</p>
<p>You are over thinking all of this. If your mother doesn’t bring her dog, she’ll save enough to afford a hotel for the night. Flying SFO to NYC and back in one day is too much for your mother.</p>
<p>@oldfort: I forgot to mention that the chauffeur is all day. And, we’ll only use the BBB thing if we have to. I bet I won’t be missing anything important, since I’m very organized!</p>
<p>@twoinanddone: I’ll make sure she don’t bring the dog. And she can handle it, you have no idea how many times we’ve traveled. Also, it depends if we’re schedules to move in the morning or in the afternoon. For example if I go to school in NYC, we’ll leave around 2 am, arrive in NYC around 7-8am, arrive at the school(s) at approx. 9am. Finish, unpacking, setting, decorating, listing other things we should get, etc. by 1-3pm. Quick lunch at the school at 3:30-4pm. Then goodbye at 6-7pm. See? Very easy! And, yes there are student discounts for airlines. There are so many types of discounts you don’t even know. You just have to call an agency, instead of booking online. And yes, she can handle it!</p>
<p>I thought from your initial post you already knew what school you were going to… how could the “car issue” be solved if you don’t even know what city you are going to be in? I will say, it is MUCH easier in most cities if your mom was able to rent a car (but I get that not everyone is comfortable with that). And without a car, it is hard to do the BBB pickup thing at a lot of schools. I think you should:
- Wait and see where you get in, then review the move in dates/time and parent activities that are available.
- Check flights as soon as you know that information and figure those out. If your mom is on the west coast and your school is on the east coast, do NOT try to have her go both ways in one day… go by yourself rather than subjecting your mom to that.
- Once you know that, figure out the transportation and lodging – hotel? taxi? rental car? bus? limo? SuperShuttle (reserve in advance, but it can be a good way to go and less expensive than a limo).
- Really… no matter where you go, just don’t mess around with the dog. For instance… if you do have a way to get to BBB to pick up your stuff, the dog can’t come in. The dog can’t stay at most hotels, or in your dorm if your mom crashes with you for one night. You can’t eat in a restaurant with the dog.</p>
<p>As twoinanddone said, there are no student discount fares on airlines. And tickets without a weekend stay can be pretty expensive, too. </p>
<p>Hmm. Ok, I am going to break it to you, you don’t get to schedule your move in. You are informed of your move in time. Why would you need your mom there? Why couldn’t you move in by yourself? I bet you won’t be able to carry everything you need in your 2 or 3 suitcases. We arrived at my kid’s school in a mini van (filled). We then proceeded to buy more stuff.</p>
<p>@intparent: 1. We already solved the car issue because I only applied to schools in major metropolitan areas where there will be chauffeur services. 2. I’m not subjecting her to anything. 3. Flights are easy to book. At least for us. 4. The dog’s not coming!</p>
<p>uhh, this is getting frustrating! </p>
<p>Thank you guys so much! Everything everyone has said, has been fruitful! Thank you so much, this thread/discussion is over. I got the answers to my questions. On move in day wherever and whenever I go, will be what it will be, and we’ll be prepared! Thanks so much, again! Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine! </p>
<p>I thought money was an issue from your initial post (did I get it wrong that you don’t want to pay for hotels)? Do you expect the chauffer service to take you to BBB, etc.? You pay while they wait… I am really just saying you are putting the cart before the horse when you don’t even have any acceptances yet, let alone know what the move in and parent activity schedules are. And anyone (even an 18 year old) would find it would s*** to fly coast to coast and back in a day, especially given typical transfers, security checks, etc. Plus the time spent going to and from campus… it isn’t a good plan.</p>
<p>I cannot believe you couldn’t get a rental car for far less than what it would cost to take taxis or have a chauffeur service. Have you <em>really</em> looked into the cost of what a chauffeur service for a day would be? You’re paying a person for his time. That’s more expensive. You can get a rental car for < $50.</p>
<p>It is possible to move in in a day and turn around - we did so for our daughter going from Chicago to Boston. Took a 6 am flight, there by 9, on campus by 10, did the unpacking and went to the various parent events, said goodbye to her around 4 or 5, had dinner and took a late flight back home. I recognize the OP is talking about west coast to east coast, not Midwest to east coast, but honestly it was doable and we weren’t rushed at all. </p>
<p>Not to be a Debbie Downer, but with our air travel now, flights are often cancelled for no good reason. Few years ago, we had an early morning flight from NYC to Detroit to attend D2’s ballet recital. The recital was in late afternoon. Our flight was cancelled with no available flight until next day. Two years ago, D2 also missed her older sister’s college graduation because last leg of flight was cancelled due to weather. For any important events now, I like to arrive a day early.</p>
<p>That’s true. Part of it may be whether you’re doing a leg where there are always flights available so if you miss one, there’s another one shortly behind. </p>
<p>I live on the east coast and travel frequently to CA. No way would I want to fly out and back the same day. I came back last week, departing flight was at 6:30 am and I didn’t arrive into Philly until after 7 pm because of delays at my DFW layover. Plus the only way you can get back east early enough in the day to actually do something is to take a red eye flight. Doable, but they always wipe me out.</p>