@MaineLonghorn great advice, especially for large schools. I just labeled the totes and IKEA bags!
Everyone: It’s almost move-in day! Please share your move-in experiences. Can’t wait to hear.
Re move in, he does not really need help but the bean bag chair needs its own vehicular transportation, so my wife is going with him. I suspect she will also be buying cleaning supplies and other things they’ve not thought about for his off campus apt.
Eastman move-in in the books! It’s been a roller coaster of a few days and I’m still recovering, but wanted to check in.
We arrived in Rochester the night before and spent a night at a hotel. Pulled up to Eastman at 8 am as the doors were opening, which I would recommend if at all possible. (Note: they recommend moving in by letter of your last name, eg A-F at 8, G-M at 10, etc. But they don’t enforce or even seem to expect this, and in fact, the person moving us in told us that it’s much better to arrive either very early–especially first year, when kids are in doubles or triples–or very late in later years, when everyone has a preassigned single and there’s no jockeying for bed position.)
That said, because only 125 freshmen were moving in, things were relatively easy – no issues with parking, tons of upperclassmen to bring and load the carts, no long lines for IDs and photos. But by 9 am or so, things were getting a little bit hairy. All carts must go up through the elevators, and there are only two of them, so there were some long lines (kids take the stairs to the houses and tower except for the top floors, as a general rule).
The next thing we noticed is that rooms are HOT. There is no A/C in the bedrooms, though the first floor (dining room, offices, lounge etc.) is air conditioned, and on humid days it’s sticky. My son was assigned a top-floor triple (in house D, that’s the 4th floor) with a window as well as a large skylight. It was bright, pleasant – tile floor, peaked ceiling, no cinder blocks – with furniture that was a little shabby but sturdy and looked decent. Once we had two fans going and the clothes put away, there was some floor space and it seemed pretty pleasant.
Freshman get lofted beds for the most part, with desk and dresser underneath, but in a few cases there are bunk beds as well as a third, lofted bed in the triples. There are wardrobes rather than closets, but they are big and have a few additional drawers. We’re told that some of the doubles are tiny, but they have lofted beds as well. All upperclassmen get singles with regular beds, so only the freshmen need to tough it out.
After unpacking, getting IDs, finding your mailbox (all in the same building so super-easy) and the inevitable errands, parents are invited to stay for lunch in the dining hall. The food did NOT impress, sadly, but there were lots of choices other than the traditional grill and sandwich bar so it’s definitely possible to get a decent meal. My son’s new ID didn’t register his meal plan, but everyone was chill about it. We quickly discovered that the student life and front office people (by the front door) were incredibly helpful, responsive and go the extra mile when things don’t work. So I suspect he’ll be counting on them a lot these first few days.
Before lunch, we walked to the YMCA (half a block away, on the corner) and signed him up for a student membership. It costs $41 a month, including classes and a pool as well as equipment, but it’s so much more convenient than the free gym at UR that he’s much more likely to use it. They are flexible with Eastman students and let you suspend membership for winter break, summers and so on with no penalty. It’s a bit run-down and some of the local residents are clearly just there for the free coffee, but tons of students use it so that’s something to consider.
After lunch, parents were invited to an orientation session (I didn’t attend as I had a long drive) while kids went off to meet their RA’s, team captains and others who will be looking out for them. There were ice breakers, an ice cream social, and singing the alma mater by candlelight in the courtyard to mark the first day.
Parents were asked to leave no later than six, so it felt like a bit of a whirlwind. Placement tests started the next morning for the kids, with 4-5 different tests over a two-day period – very different from my older kids, who experienced orientation at other, larger schools as a pure carnival.
Net-net, my son felt basically good but tired and a little overwhelmed when we spoke this morning. Everyone was nice, he slept well, but I think it’s also getting real that Eastman is a place where you work really hard and he’s feeling intimidated.
Will keep you posted. How did everyone else fare?
We moved S in at UNT this past weekend. My other kids went to small schools, smaller than UNT’s freshman class, so I was expecting this move-in to be chaos by comparison and it wasn’t at all. We followed the assigned route to his dorm, not at the assigned time because we couldn’t make that work with our flights. We showed up around noon. No traffic. An easy parking place in the unloading area, and two trips between the car and the room and everything was inside. We didn’t have help (there may have been some available) but there were four of us and we didn’t need it. Everything did have to traverse one flight of stairs but we had packed light and compact due to the plane travel (and didn’t buy a fridge—roommate brought it) so it wasn’t a problem. He’s in a standard double room with a hall bath. It’s a “vintage” dorm, ca. 1942, and shows it’s age in places, but generally in a good way. Wood floors, ceiling fan, built in dresser with sticky drawers, I’m less worried about getting charges for minor damage when he moves out ?. Everyone we encountered was nice, and helpful. It was a hot day. Room was nice and cool.
We spent most of move-in day with him, leaving him to unpack for a while while we went shopping, went back and took him to dinner, and left. We had ice cream and pizza on the square in Denton. Yum! We stopped back by the next day to take him to lunch and one more Target run before saying our goodbyes.
He’s been pretty communicative so far. He likes the roommate, likes the food, and seems to be getting out and meeting people on his terms. This week he has already had choir auditions, piano placement and proficiency exams, theory and aural skills placement and still has orchestra audition and potentially some sort of callbacks for choirs. He’s missed a fair bit of the welcome week rah rah because of it but doesn’t seem to mind. He passed the piano proficiency so can drop class piano and “only” have 17 credits his first semester, pending results of the other placements and negotiating scheduling conflicts with ensembles.
All’s well so far, y’all. Best wishes.
@akapiratequeen Sounds like your move-in went smoothly, overall. Thank you for sharing your experience! Most would not expect AC to be a must in Rochester but it’s been a hot summer in that area so I can understand the discomfort! Soon enough, he’ll be freezing!
We had such an early move-in at Loyola University (on August 13th!) so the speed of the summer really took me by surprise and I didn’t feel ready.
Our move-in experience went very well. We traveled to New Orleans by car (long 19 hour trip split over a few days) with a packed car despite the fact we relied on Amazon to ship most items. Her move-in day was just for transfers and any Freshman who could not do the June orientation (we opted for August to avoid extra travel.)
So Tuesday 8/13 move-in was scheduled for 9am-6pm. We decided to sleep in and arrive around 11am, thinking it might be crowded at the start of the day. That seemed to work out well as there was no wait to register and it was easy to pick up Amazon packages and get the elevator when needed. My daughter was pretty much organized by 4pm but we had to do a Target & Bed, Bath and Beyond run for some last minute things. Her roommate (one of the students she met at Accepted Student weekend) moved in Thursday so it was easy to give her some space to get her own things organized. We got along great with her roommate’s parents. We went to dinner and for some drinks with them Wednesday night, which was fun.
We had student & parent orientation Wednesday 8/14 & Thursday 8/15. Some programs were together but many were separate so we didn’t see her as much as we hoped. For lunch, on day 1 she sat with some friends she met at Accepted Student weekend and on Day 2 students had to sit with departments so we didn’t even have lunch with her which was a bummer, although we were happy to see her getting along so well socially. Also, I guess it was good prep for our transition to life with her so far away. We were impressed with the dining options. Pasta bar, wonderful salad bar, many veggie options, delicious pizza, etc.
It really helped to have those 2 days of orientation because:
- At least we could see her a little before the dreaded goodbye
- We were very impressed with the informative, reassuring info sessions which reinforced our confidence in the decision to choose Loyola University. She’s definitely in good hands!
- Everyone-students, parents, staff-were so friendly and welcoming. It felt like a great, supportive college environment and was very diverse, something that was a must for her!
We headed home late afternoon Thursday (the university made it clear parents didn’t need to stick around after Thursday.) I thought it would be a sob-fest, but I just cried a little as I hugged her goodbye and my daughter cried when she saw me cry. Dad somehow made it through tear-free. I think I was able to keep my emotions in check (more than I expected) because I had a lot of little cries throughout the summer and during orientation days so I guess I got some of the tears out of my system in spurts over time. It also helped to see my daughter so happy and looking excited about this new adventure.
She has always been so independent so it didn’t shock me that she seemed ready. Part of me wished she was clinging to my leg, begging me to stay a little longer, but the more rational part of me realized it was time to let her fly and that she will find success in this new chapter!
After we left, Loyola had a full weekend schedule of fun social activities for the students and workshops on things like Diversity, Sexual Harassment, and Campus Security. They also had a full opening week schedule set up for students including info sessions on clubs (over 100 clubs!) study abroad & work study opportunities.
I didn’t expect her to call or text much since she had such a busy agenda that first week, but she’s been connecting at least twice a day by FaceTime, calls or texts which is welcome. She started classes on Monday and said she really likes them all. She tested out of music theory and piano so she gets to take a songwriting class and opted to get a math class out of the way (not her favorite subject.) So far, so good. She definitely doesn’t seem homesick but does miss our dogs a lot (and maybe her parents and brother a little? Lol.)
It’s been a weird adjustment since we’ve been home. She was always so busy with school, theatre and music commitments over the past 4 years that we rarely saw her anyway but it is still a strange void that we feel without her. But I’ve been emotionally stronger than I thought I would be and haven’t shed too many tears in the past week, so I’m proud of myself! I just know she is feeling really good about her decision and very happy so it’s hard to be sad thinking about that.
Congrats to the other parents here who survived move-in day and best of luck to those getting ready for that big day! Can’t wait to hear everyone’s experiences and how your kids (and parents) adapt to college life!
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Congrats @Parentof2014grad. Sounds like a great college home for your son!
Temple/Boyer move-in: DONE! Crazy times with six (!) checked suitcases, a snare drum, mallet bag, backpack and two suitbags carried on. The flight crew were fantastic and happy to accommodate all of kid’s stuff.
Stayed overnight in Philly - had a ‘farewell’ dinner and woke up bright and early for a 9:40 move-in time. Temple definitely has done this before…loading zones set up in front of all the different residence halls, carts ready to borrow, folks everywhere helping direct students and parents in. We arrived right when his roommate did so we all started to rearrange furniture, unpack when…the fire alarm went off. Total dorm evacuation of two 11-story residence halls…and kid is on the 8th floor! Excitement.
Got mostly unpacked and carried a bunch of stuff over to the music building which, luckily for my kid, has special big lockers for the percussionists in a locked room. It almost fit all his stuff…some might have to migrate back to his dorm room. Had a nice chat with the department head who let kid know he’s one of two performance major freshmen in the studio (others are MusicEd, Tech or Therapy) so they are each slated for private lessons with BOTH the department head and the lead timpani instructor for fall semester.
Ensemble auditions are next week, so lots of practicing ahead - but there are a lot of fun welcome activities (inflatable axe throwing anyone?) throughout the next few days. All classes start on Monday. Kid is definitely ready and super excited to be there…definitely the right choice.
We flew back right afterwards - same flight crew who were nice and friendly to two sad parents…now just cleaning out his room as we move on Monday. Glad to hear others are having good experiences too!
Ahhhhhh…I’m so excited for all of you! Your kid enters as one artist/musician and will exit as another.
Two unsolicited comments:
Overwhelmed a bit? Yes my D was…and worked hard to hide it. It seemed some kids were “cool” while my kid was a big worrier. Still she enjoyed herself and graduated. So if you do get some “overwhelmed vibes” or “everyone here is really good” or “I don’t know if I belong here” in the first semester, that can be normal. I will hope that your kids are all “cool”.
My D still contacts me nearly everyday…and I still try to avoid my parents a bit. I remember being surprised at how much she contacted me. It wasn’t for advice usually…just silly updates or mundane questions. Some kids contact parents a lot. Some don’t. It doesn’t always mean much…except that’s your kid’s personality.
Good luck!!
S reports that weather has cooled down, food is very good (he discovered the grill area where they made his pancakes to order), kids are super nice, piano test easier than expected, and there’s a barn dance (!) tonight. So thumbs up so far from Eastman!
All done for us. Move-in was very smooth but no time to get emotional. All Amazon shopping (mostly beddings) were perfectly arrived at our hotel. Dragging suitcases from our hotel to dorm twice (3 min walk) was easy. My son has many good friends at a small conservatory from an intensive summer program, including both of his roommates. We got to meet with other jazz parents at the family social evening event by school. Additionally, we went out with other families to have breakfast, lunch and / or dinner with kids. A double-occupancy room has 3 jazz students to share with a big discount on housing cost to all 3 students. 3 sets of desk / drawers and a single bed and a set of bunk bed (all raised from floor for extra storage) plus one good size closet. So, it seems a little tight with instruments & equipments but no complains! A mini fridge was purchased to share (cost was divided in 3 ways). It’s all basic but good.
My son sent me a very short message that class registration is completed today. He must have done with all assessment tests but mentioned nothing. I am a little worried about him since NO WORDS from him. But I have to let him go. He may be more ready than I think. I just hope so…
Congrats to all of you on such smooth transitions to the next phase!
We flew home yesterday after a successful drop-off at USC/Thornton for our daughter who is starting her studies as a drummer in their Popular Music program. This was new territory for us because both my wife and I went to a small LAC within driving distance of where we lived and got BAs. So flying across the country to a large university to pursue a specialized degree meant we had little experience to guide us.
Fortunately, just as this forum was super helpful during the application process, the USC Facebook group for Parents was invaluable. We ordered most of her dorm stuff via Bed Bath and Beyond, as they have a program at USC (and many other schools I think) where they hold the order and deliver it to you on move-in day. Other stuff we ordered from Amazon and had delivered to an Amazon locker that is right on USC’s campus. So that was all pretty simple.
We got “even more space” tickets on Jet Blue so we could each check a full size bag along with our carry-on. So that meant 3 full size suitcases with her clothes. And her cymbals and snare were carry-on. So that went smoothly. We stayed at a hotel downtown near campus and rented a car so we could bring it all over easily.
Move-in day was very smooth. As somebody pointed out in the Temple post above, clearly they have done this before. I would definitely recommend going early. Limited bins and a queue at the elevator is less of an issue if you are in the first wave. Or you can go late. We arranged with her roommate to get there at 8 and be done by 11 so she could arrive at 11 and unpack and settle in without us being on top of her. Between the two of them, the room looks great and I’m glad my D chose to room with a girl she met at accepted students day in the Spring. Removed a variable and any stress.
The next day, we went back to campus for “convocation”, kind of a reverse graduation ceremony where the students march in wearing robes under a banner for their school. Really nice tradition, and I’d recommend staying for it. Then we ran out and picked up a few last items we hadn’t been sure she would need (printer, keyboard stand, bluetooth speaker) and then joined her at a reception for Thornton kids/parents. We mingled for a bit but kept our distance from our D as she was deeply enmeshed in conversations with her musical classmates, and it was obvious to us that she had very much found “her people” within 24 hours of being on campus. So we said our goodbyes and headed out.
FYI: Like most music majors at other schools, Thornton students have a very busy schedule starting the very next day. They have many departmental meetings ensemble auditions, placement tests, etc. So there would have been no point in staying any longer and it likely would have just created a more stressful exit.
Anyway, that’s it. Felt great about leaving her at her new home. Feel free to ping me with any questions related to the application, admission decision, or move in. It’s the least I can do after all the help you gave me over the last 18 months!
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Sophomore year is off to a good start. S18 is cast in his first FSU opera: Der Vampyre. He will be in the chorus. He is taking 15 credits: French Grammar & Composition, a course about the birth and death of languages, Men’s Glee Club, Music Theory III, Sight Singing III, Piano, and Applied Music-Voice.
Thanks, @vistajay. At Eastman, the kids take a LOT of classes – S has a double major (jazz performance/music ed) and he has a whopping 22.5 credits, but even those with single majors are typically in the 18-19 credit range. These include, in S’s case, one freshman writing course as well as intro to music ed; jazz theory; classical theory; ear training; piano; saxophone (primary instrument); voice; and flute (will change to a different instrument each quarter, for music ed). He is also in two for-credit ensembles, large and small, for which he had to audition. They each meet weekly.
Note that he only has one non-music course. Later he plans to continue French, but this term there was simply no time.
The classes are tiny – an average of 4-6 students, with only one (humanities – S calls it his lecture) at 10. Lessons are private or semi-private. They get a ton of support, but there’s also nowhere to hide.
In other words, it is hard-core. This is either heaven for your kid, or it’s hell. Mine seems very happy so far!
Sophomore year at NEC is off and running! I went by myself to move her in (last year the whole family went and we made a vacation out of it plus parent orientation). So this year was nice and intimate. Got her unpacked and settled, shopped in thr crazy zombie-apocalypse type Target (empty shelves, millions of people) and had some wonderful meals together. Hard to leave her but so glad to see her greeting her good friends (and the awkward hug from the ex-boyfriend haha). She had her first lesson yesterday and it went well. Orchestra audition on Friday.
Wishing the best for all our kiddos!
@akapiratequeen eek that’s a lot of credits! He must have excellent time management skills. S18 took 18 each semester last year, but he took 4 credits over the summer and wanted to lighten his load a bit this semester as he will have more performance opportunities.
@vistajay I LOL’d at your comment! He has the time management skills of a typical 18-year-old boy, which is to say, he’s in development mode. I have no idea how these kids manage such heavy course loads – plus practice time! – but the school assures me that they do. It’s not just the double majors, either – a dad on this board recently told me that his kid has 19 credits for one major. Tiny classes, lots of advisors, peers in the same boat (study session, anyone?), and a true commitment to the motto of “Eat, Sleep, Music.”
I told S he needs to treat this like a full-time, 40-hour a week job: get your hours in and you’ll have time for other stuff. He did join a jam session at a local Italian restaurant last weekend, and found time for the gym and some late-night games of Cards Against Humanity. While he can be lazy and devote endless hours to video games, S is also a kid who rises to the level of the people around him. So if everyone is working and practicing and all in, I believe he will be, too.
So for him, I believe this is a great fit. Kids are so different – my oldest S would be like “No WAY,” while my middle D might do it but stress every step of the way. This S is loving it so far. How’s everyone else doing?
@akapiratequeen that is a hefty schedule! A music ed friend told us she once had 19 credits and eleven classes one semester, for just one major. It seems time management is a must for these kids.
My son caught strep the first week of classes! That was not awesome but he managed to get through the week, add in a trip to student health for diagnosis and an antibiotic, finish one last placement test, get his schedule finalized and seems to be happy with everything. The antibiotic had him making a miraculous recovery within 24 hours and the long weekend to rest has him back to normal this week.
S is a choral music ed major but is working towards the requirements for a strings emphasis as well. He ended up testing out of all the group piano, and the first semester of aural skills. He is in a choir, but not an orchestra. The only orchestra that didn’t conflict with the choir he auditioned into is the top orchestra, which was not a realistic place for him to start. So for now just lessons on cello. I think he’s at 15 credits, after dropping piano, aural skills and strings ensemble. He has a freshman writing class, English diction, woodwinds methods (also learning the flute, @akapiratequeen ), theory 1, another music history-ish class, voice lessons, choir. There’s also a music ed choir that’s not a class but definitely expected for choral music ed majors, and it’s the only thing he’s complained about so far, which may settle out once things get rolling. He seems to like all his classes, all the teachers. His classes all seem small. Smaller than I expected at a large university., he described them as smaller than high school.
Wow @akapiratequeen! That’s a crazy number of credits!
My son is moved in at JMU and is on week two. I think he has 18 or 19 credits but is constantly running. From Monday thru Friday, he has four orchestra rehearsals, private lesson, bass studio lesson, jazz combo rehearsal (one with instructor, probably one student-run), and a jazz combo performance at a club, plus the usual three to four hours of practice per day, freshman writing, another Gen Ed, theory, ear training, piano, recital attendance and some random seminar required for his Arts living learning community.
He has a very, um, . . casual . . . attitude towards his non-music classes so I’m a little worried about that. Most semesters, I think he will only have one non-music class, but he had to take two this time. I wasn’t expecting him to do jazz this first semester (he might do a jazz minor, but he only needs to be in an ensemble for 3 or 4 semesters total for that). He definitely struggled a little bit figuring out where he was supposed to be and when last week. and he definitely noticed that the kids with “normal” majors are not nearly as busy.
He has access to a practice room in the basement of his dorm, but the secure storage for basses is in the performance hall, and his lessons are in the music building. So this weekend, we are going to be taking his old bass to live in his tiny, tiny room so that he can practice at any hour. He’s been dragging his $$$ bass all over the place.
Thanks for your comments! Sounds like they all have crazy schedules, not just my S — which makes me feel better!
S has started his junior year at UNT for jazz bass. He has only had between 13 and 15 credit hours for every semester, but is still quite busy.