<p>Went to freshman one and really enjoyed it. D. had a single, so I amazoned myself an inexpensive inflatable mattress and slept in her dorm. Plane ticket was doable and no hotel costs made for a cheap vacation.</p>
<p>Son is the oldest and went to school about 160 miles away. Never went to a Parent’s Weekend. In fact, we rarely went to visit him. He would come home for visits a couple of times a quarter but was usually quite busy with school. When he came home he could also hang with his HS buddies that were still in town.</p>
<p>Daughter is in school on the opposite coast. Went to her freshman year Parent’s Weekend. She wasn’t in to it very much but did enjoy seeing us, to a point. Being able to stay at my sister’s made it easier than the usual overpriced hotel although we weren’t that close to campus. The football game stood out. A Saturday evening reception where we had a more relaxed visit with other parents stood out. Rest of the weekend wasn’t too exciting. She is a sophomore this coming fall and we are not planning on going.</p>
<p>Never went to parents weekend for either of our sons. They didn’t care. It was always during football season so they were happier hanging out with their friends at the game.</p>
<p>We went last year for our S’s freshman year, but won’t be going this year (and likely not in the future, but deciding a year at a time.) We do plan on going up a different weekend in the fall, but like many others, one main reason is the hotel prices. Near campus, it is not just full price, it is (and I’m not exaggerating) nearly three times the normal price with a 2 night minimum, payment in full when making the reservation AND NO REFUNDS FOR CANCELLATION. I really hate being gouged.
S said he would like to see us, but didn’t care if it was over Parents Weekend or another one. And it is so crazy busy over that weekend that a quieter one might be better and would also give us some time to get to know his friends better when they don’t feel obligated to their own parents.</p>
<p>When DS#1 had finally made his decision about where to go to school, it turned out move-in was one of the two days out of the year I cannot miss work. I was a little devastated but immediately made plans to go out for PW (about a seven-hour drive). This is the only time I see him during the semester other than Thanksgiving. </p>
<p>I also made a point to visit one weekend in the spring (with one of his younger brothers). These trips were partially about seeing my kid, but also became a nice break for me–pleasant drive, some alone time in the hotel room, and I like that I’ve gotten to know the school, the town, his friends. I really look forward to these trips. I’ll be attending his fourth this fall. I go to a hotel that’s a teensy bit farther from the school but does not increase rates. I’ll miss DS#2’s first PW (same weekend as DS#1’s), but have already made plans to visit him another weekend.</p>
<p>You can make your decision based on if your kiddo really cares, how often you get to see him otherwise, if it’s financially feasible, . . . .</p>
<p>We went all 4 years for our older S - we got to know his friends and the parents of his closest friends at football tailgates (we cobbled together our own tailgate freshman year), and had a great time going out for big group dinners each year with boys and families.</p>
<p>For our younger S, we also have gone all 4 years. It’s a bigger school, and parents’ weekend isn’t as organized or well attended as it was at my older S’s LAC, but we’ve enjoyed going to Big 10 football games and getting to know S’s friends.</p>
<p>Our grown twin daughters and I spent two nights during Parents’ Weekend last year (freshman). My husband was working and didn’t attend. Since it fell a few days before Halloween, much of the time was spent driving all over town looking for accessories for her costume. Then her sisters helped her put it together. It was definitely about Hallloween! So, this year I decided we’re going to go for Homecoming instead, a couple weeks sooner. It will include the same Tailgate BBQ that Parents’ Weekend has. We’ll stay just one night this time.</p>
<p>We went when my son was a freshman, and we enjoyed it. But he was in some of the groups that performed, and we are both alums, which made it more fun. Last year we didn’t go, but went when he had a performance instead.</p>
<p>We went every year, and enjoyed it thoroughly. We liked the activities the college planned for us (it took pressure off our kid having to keep us entertained all day). We had meals with her friends and their parents – and liked meeting them. She just graduated, and we’re going to miss those weekends.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it’s a lot easier visiting during parents weekend than a non-parents weekend. There are other parents around, there are planned activities, parents are expected to be there. Other weekends, visiting parents are an anomaly and it can be awkward for the student to have to entertain them when there may be things to do with their friends. Obviously based on the comments here a lot of people disagree with me, but we much preferred visiting during parents weekend.</p>
<p>We’re close (90min) so we’ll leave it up to our son. He may choose to come home. Otherwise we will go for the day if he wants us to come and treat him to a nice meal and restock dorm snacks. We will have just been the weekend before for a football game, although we will have only seen him long enough to say hello. It is a luxury to be close. You can see them without being in the way too much.</p>
<p>We’re within a couple hours of D1 and didn’t go last fall, instead she came home to avoid the crowds which she may do again this year. We do visit a decent amount and it wasn’t worth the full price hotel to go that weekend but we imagine we’ll head down for a sporting event instead.</p>