Parents weekend?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
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<p>S is a 2010. We’re Midwesterners, so most transportation to Boston will be by air. Airline we use most is running a fare sale thru 5/2, so we’d like to book as much as we can foresee needing thru 11/20.</p>

<p>So, tell me about parents’ weekend. H & I are graduates of lg state u., and we don’t recall ever having had one. S #1 is at a st. school, and I don’t think we’ve ever been invited to one either. What type of activities go on? Do a sizeable number of parents (particularly of freshman) go? My only frame of ref. is a school mom whose S is a 2009 at Penn – she went last fall, but said never again. Too crowded, didn’t get to spend as much time S as planned. She’ll opt for an “off” weekend. (I realize I’ll probably find all the answers to my questions at orientation, but I’d like to reserve tickets by 5/2 if I can.)</p>

<p>Also, what about move-in? H is not a fan of long road trips. He wants to pack as much as the airlines will allow, ship the rest, and hit Target (or whatever) when we arrive in Boston. Is this feasible? I’ve been accused of being a little rigid in my thinking, but somehow the idea of flying your kid to college just seems…unusual. If we do fly, how much time do H & I plan on? For you normal people driving your S/D down, do you plan for just a few hours, then taking off?</p>

<p>Appreciate the input! I hate to bother the BC staff with stuff like this; they’re probably a little busy trying to put together a freshman class.</p>

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<p>amdgmom~Congratulations on having a S going to BC in the fall!!!!!! We have a D who will be a senior, and we LOVE BC!!!! (and so does she, of course!!!!!!) My sister's S will be a soph, and they live in the midwest, too (we are east coasters). We have been to 2 parents' weekends (D was abroad this year, so we did not go to parents' weekend at BC :( ) </p>

<p>I'll try to answer your questions. About moving in...You can fly, and bring as much of your S's things as you can. There are plenty of stores (Target and Costco are ones we have been to for room supplies, etc.) within good proximity to the campus, and BC will provide you with directions to those stores during move-in weekend--just ask the check-in folks!! If your S is doing the last orientation he will arrive before the actual move-in weekend and be able to live in his room during orientation. That will work nicely for beating the melee of all the other freshmen moving--although we did it the regular move-in day (D had orientation in July) and found the student helpers (upperclassmen) were absolutely wonderful. Everything went very quickly, then we moved the car to the garage on the lower campus and could hop a shuttle to her dorm. If your S is having that last orientation you should plan on staying for that time because they run a great program for the parents. We loved meeting other new BC parents, had many of our questions answered, became more familiar with the campus and surrounding area and the programs at BC, including the study abroad info--which has been great!!!!! </p>

<p>As for Parents' Weekend--we have LOVED it! We have already made our reservations for Pops on the Heights, which is the Boston Pops playing in Conte Forum with the BC Chorale, on Friday evening. There are several levels of seating, that include a box dinner and some of the beverages. We have usually done the lower priced seating, and really enjoyed the whole evening--the program is terrific. Take note: This event always sells out first!! Conte forum holds about 9,000, so act quickly if you think you might be interested.</p>

<p>On Saturday there is a football game, and usually a buffet "tail-gate" lunch in the "plex" (Flynn Recreation Complex) right next to the stadium. We have tried to go to as many BC football games as we can--fun crowd, good team and we just love college football! They are playing U. of Maine this year, so it might not be as exciting as some (who knows), but they try to have a game that won't sell out before parents have a chance to buy tickets. </p>

<p>Dinner Saturday is always with our D. This year we are doing everything with my sister and bro-in-law, as it will be the only year we'll have our kids there at the same time--really looking forward to it. We will take out D's friends if their parents aren't coming, but that's rare. We usually hang out with other parents at the dorm, the tailgate lunch or the game. LOTS of parents come for the weekend.</p>

<p>On Sunday they usually have a Mass in O'Neill Plaza (outside the main library--O'Neill) and a buffet brunch in Conte--but that may have changed this year, not sure about that yet. We usually do some shopping for supplies sometime during the weekend, and then we're off!!</p>

<p>Feel free to pm me with other questions--and Welcome to BC!!!!!!!</p>

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<p>BTW~does the amdg refer to having a S at a Jesuit school now, or that he is going to one??</p>

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<p>Both. He's had such a great HS experience that we looked to the Jesuits first for college, too.</p>

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<p>Our Ss have gone to a Jesuit HS also--absolutely a great experience!!!! You will find that atmosphere at BC, too!!!!!</p>

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<p>about orientation... does going to a later one put you at a disadvantage in any way?</p>

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<p>Pongo~it shouldn't. The orientation program is set up on different dates throughout the summer to ensure that each of the freshmen are in a relatively small group (I think it was about 8-10 or so) with an upperclassman as orientation leader. They then have an opportunity to ask lots of questions, learn about the many aspects of life at BC, etc. Our D loved her experiences during orientation, and it made her even that much more excited about starting her freshman year. </p>

<p>The only way you would be at a disadvantage would be in terms of registration for courses. This is done during your orientation, but they made a point of reserving spaces in typical freshman courses for each of the orientation dates. If you want to take some upper level courses they may be closed out by the last orientation due to the fact that all upperclassmen have registered before the summer, and they don't reserve spaces in them for incoming freshmen. (although they may in some of the soph courses that some freshmen tend to take--not sure about that) The counselors are all on hand to help you--and you are assigned an advisor. You can change advisors during your freshman year if you want (or later, depending on your major). Also, if you are shut out of a course professors may still let you in during the drop/add period at the beginning of each semester.</p>