<p>So much good advice! Thank you!
I was trying to be economical because we still don’t know how much we’ll end up borrowing. I think we’ll buy him a refrigerator and decide later if he needs other things.</p>
<p>We received the Approaching Stanford book in the mail today in Northern CA. It comes by US mail, priority. It’s a lot to absorb and think about!</p>
<p>We haven’t received the book yet, but can see it online. Lots of forms to fill be the June 5th deadline!</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the proper attire is for commencement? D is graduating in June and we’ll be participating in most of the events both Saturday and Sunday. Between the commencement at the Stadium and having to walk over a mile to the diploma ceremony, comfortable shoes are a must. Is Stanford’s graduation weekend more of a casual event, rather than a dressy one? The brochure says dress for heat, wear light clothing, hat, etc. As much as I’d love to wear a dress and heels, I doubt my feet will tolerate it. 
Any info, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>D is graduating as well and we just discussed this today. (We have moved her this same day for the last three years from her dorm to summer housing on campus) it has been very hot in the past so she recommended a light skirt and blouse with flat sandals for me and nice shorts and a collared shirt for H. Hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. She doesn’t anticipate shade anywhere. As far as any other events on the days preceding graduation, I was thinking casual dress for me and polo and dockers for H. D will be wearing a sundress and sandals under her gown. </p>
<p>I’m reminding my relatives to be sure to allow sufficient time to park and get seated in the stadium. If it’s anything like going to a football game, it’s going to take awhile!</p>
<p>I can’t wait to get through this process. I am also looking forward to never cleaning a dorm room at move out again!!!</p>
<p>Thanks so much!! I was thinking along the same lines - blouse, capris and flats for the graduation and a dress with flats for Saturday’s events. H will probably wear a nice shirt and his dressy jeans. </p>
<p>And congrats to your daughter! That’s great that she was able to find what sounds like a dream job. Her hard work has truly paid off. You must be so proud of her. My D is a GES (Geological and Environmental Sciences) major and decided to continue on to get her Masters through the GES Coterm program. So, we’ll be moving her out and moving her in a few more times. She did get summer housing, but was unassigned after the first round lottery. She’ll be looking at off campus housing options while she waits for the second round lottery in July.</p>
<p>Enjoy the graduation weekend. Can you believe four years have already gone by? We can’t!!</p>
<p>Ballerinasmom, how does one get unassigned from summer housing? That sounds a bit unnerving.</p>
<p>From what I understand, you can cancel your assignment before the contract begins, for a fee. Once the contract begins, it looks like you can file a Termination of Occupancy form, but you either have to pay a fee or you may still be responsible for the remainder of the contract. Here’s where I found the info:</p>
<p>[Cancelling</a> Your Housing | Student Housing](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/cgi-bin/drupal/housing/node/721]Cancelling”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/cgi-bin/drupal/housing/node/721)</p>
<p>Yup, it was pretty unnerving to find out she was unassigned. But, D said it’s pretty common. Depending on what happens with the second draw, if she decides to try to find something off-campus, we’re looking at a $250 - $350 fee, assuming she finds new housing by August 23…ouch! She’s going to look around the area during the summer and if she gets her last choice - willing to live in any graduate housing space, and it’s something she really didn’t want, like a four bedroom, one bath, she’ll consider off-campus.</p>
<p>D had several friends that were unassigned after the first draw, some in Sophomore year, others Junior year. Everyone of them was placed in housing. None had to go off campus. I’m sure it will work out.</p>
<p>Thanks!! We’re keeping our fingers crossed. :-)</p>
<p>New Stanford parent here…we are all very excited that our son will be a part of this amazing community. A question about insurance: has anyone here signed up for Cardinal Care? We have a local HMO which only covers emergency treatment out of area. Son will be an athlete there so injuries that happen on the field will be covered, but wonder how covered we are if he gets sick with more than a cold/flu. Thanks for any advice.</p>
<p>I finished up one of my degrees via long distance while working and living in Southern CA. I was able to use Stanford’s health care program while hundreds of miles away from campus. As I recall, there are higher fees when you charge to medical providers that are out of county than ones on campus, such as a higher maximum out of pocket cost. However, even with the increased fees, it was often lower cost for me to go through Stanford’s medical plan than to go through my workplace’s plan.</p>
<p>I believe we will be receiving information very soon on Cardinal Care. You will probably find your answers then.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to information on Cardinal Care:</p>
<p>[Vaden:</a> Cardinal Care - Stanford University’s student health plan](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/group/vaden/insurance/cardinalcare.html]Vaden:”>http://www.stanford.edu/group/vaden/insurance/cardinalcare.html)</p>
<p>My daughter uses Cardinal Care and has been very happy with it. She hasn’t had anything major going on, but she was able to get her prescriptions refilled at a really good price and I think office visits are $20.</p>
<p>eek - cardinal care seems v expensive - $4000 a year? maybe i’ve been living in the land of socialised medicine too long - but that seems very dear to me. does anyone have any info about alternative policies that would be acceptable but not as pricey? (D. is UK resident/US passport holder)</p>
<p>verylumpy-- I agree, Cardinal Care is very expensive. I have another son at a university on the east coast and we pay about $2,000 for their school insurance. I think it’s because it’s California. We live in CA so we should be able to get the waiver, but even with US insurance, we still have to pay for my other son since it’s a different state. I don’t really think there is any other option than Cardinal Care. Even most out-of-state students will have to pay it.</p>
<p>thanks Greekmana - gulp guess we will just have to man up!</p>
<p>I just read that there is a summer mailing going out to parents. I am out of the country until August. Once you get it can someone please tell me if there is anything actionable in there? I already bought tickets for the parents dinner with the provost on move-in day… is there anything else? I’m guessing once it comes out there might also be an online link. If anyone comes across that, that would be great too.</p>
<p>Many thanks!</p>
<p>Here is the info on waiving Cardinal Care:</p>
<p>[Vaden:</a> Using Your Own Health Insurance](<a href=“http://vaden.stanford.edu/insurance/using_your_own.html#waive]Vaden:”>http://vaden.stanford.edu/insurance/using_your_own.html#waive)</p>
<p>We had no problems waiving it for my D’s first three years. She switched to Cardinal Care her last year, because of the doctor she started seeing in the area. Since she’s now a grad student, Stanford will be subsidizing her Cardinal Care.</p>
<p>GreekMana ~ Not sure if you saw this, but here is the calendar from last year’s New Student Orientation, which will give you an idea of what goes on during move-in day.</p>
<p><a href=“https://stanford.box.com/NSOParentCalendar2012[/url]”>https://stanford.box.com/NSOParentCalendar2012</a></p>
<p>Plus, you can continue to check the NSO Parents Events site, which says the calendar will be posted by September 1.</p>
<p><a href=“https://undergrad.stanford.edu/advising/freshman/new-student-orientation-nso/nso-parents-events[/url]”>https://undergrad.stanford.edu/advising/freshman/new-student-orientation-nso/nso-parents-events</a></p>