Stanford Parents Thread

Yes, your student will meet their roommate on move in day and can sleep in the dorm from the first night. Note that if they live with an international student, their roommate will have already moved in. I reccomend renting a Minivan or SUV to fit all the stuff in. Good luck!

The kids have enough time to say goodbye to their parents after convocation, and then NSO begins. There is a parent dinner with a dean or provost that is optional. Do not plan on seeing your kid again once you say goodbye to them after convocation. They will be jump into NSO and won’t have time for you.

Ha, I mixed up admit weekend and NSO.

We helped him move in, had a little extra time to pick up some odds and ends, then attended the convocation. The end-point was a presentation at the dorm after which parents were politely asked to say our goodbyes
 A memorable day.

We found the move in for NSO to be pretty hectic. My DD was on a spot trip, so she flew to campus early and went on her trip and we drove her stuff to campus and met up with her on move-in day at 8 am. The orientation team is great! They unload the car and carry everything to your kid’s room. From there, it was pretty much non-stop trying to get her settled in and then run out and get the missing items. Oops, more storage is needed so off we go to Target.
Her roommate was doing the same, but had her whole family with her. Eight people in one room is pretty crowded!

Anyway, if you have a kid that doesn’t have much stuff or isn’t as particular about the set up (likely a boy–my son was a piece of cake to move in!), you’ll have plenty of time. Otherwise, expect it to feel pretty rushed. But it we did get it all done and made it to Convocation. The dorm had a short reception for parents and kids after Convocation, but then you say goodbye and head out. The kids are busy with activities from here on out, so at this point, go put your feet up and enjoy that well-earned glass of wine!

Ha, great observation on boy move-in. Our son’s move in was pretty easy. He actually had time to help the girls across the hall get situated.

And hats’ off to the orientation team - from shouting out the name of our son as he walked up to the table, to helping carry boxes, and helping with directions. Bravo.

So let me get this straight. Assuming we drive up to Stanford from Southern CA, should we just drive up on 19th and sleep, wake up early on 20th (which is the Move In Day) and help move into the dorm in the morning, do some Stanford activities, attend Convocation on the same day, attend the dorm presentation on the same day, and then leave on the same day? I would like to because I am the type of parent who likes to let my kid be and not stay at Stanford longer than necessary although I am sure my wife will shed some tears. I guess I am trying to decide how many nights I should reserve at hotel. Maybe for the night before the Move In Day and then for the Move In Day night? Then return home or go somewhere?

There is a designated parking spaces next to your kid’s dorm for you to park your car to move stuff from the car to dorm room? Or do we park at Galvez Parking and carry stuff to the dorm? Thanks parents.

@websensation From a schedule perspective, that’s exactly what we did. We stayed at a hotel right next to Levi’s stadium. They were extremely helpful with storing boxes overnight and moving them out to the van in the morning. That way we could move around freely the night before.

Not sure if this is the same for all dorms, but we pulled up to the front of the dorm. While our son walked up to the registration table (to the sound of staff chanting his name in welcome) we unloaded the car (with help from volunteers). While our son and volunteers moved boxes to dorm room, we moved car to Galvez parking and walked back to dorm. By the time we arrived, all boxes were in the dorm room and we started un-packing.

@Rivet2000 Thanks for info. What time is the earliest time in the morning that the dorm allows your kid to move into the room? Since we will be staying at the Stanford Guest House on the campus, we would like to finish moving into the dorm as early as possible. Thanks again. Good thing you remember what you did so you can tell me. lol

I’m not 100% sure about the time. I think the dorms opened at 9AM, but I recommend you check the NSO pages to be sure. I do know that we were there 15 minutes in advance and there was already a line (and we were at one of the smaller dorms in Governor’s Corner). Luckily, the weather was great, and the staff very helpful.

@websensation we also live in Southern CA. We drove up two days before move-in day so that we’d have a day up there to get any last minute things at Target and spend some time on the campus before move-in. My son was very nervous, so we didn’t show up first thing in the morning so that it would be more relaxed for him and for us. We were able to drive right up in front of his dorm (FroSoCo) to unload everything. Then my husband took the car and parked at Galvez while I helped my son make up his bed and unpack. Once my husband got back we ate lunch in the dining hall and wandered around the campus. After the convocation, we went back to the residence hall where we said goodbye to him after a brief welcome meeting and reception there. His roommate was international, so he had already moved in, but we didn’t get to meet him until that afternoon when parents said their goodbyes. There was a dinner with the Provost that evening for parents and families, but we didn’t attend that since my younger daughter was with us. The three of us went to dinner on our own, stayed overnight that night and then drove home the next day. You certainly wouldn’t have to go up there as early as we did, but you might consider staying over the night of move-in day. We really didn’t want to drive back in the late afternoon/evening after the Convocation and the Residence Hall welcome reception. It was a long and emotional day.

@Mom2jl Thanks for the info. We plan to arrive at Stanford hotel the day before and will stay over after the move-in. day because I don’t want to drive that night. If you are from Southern CA, we might have met at the receptions last year. Lol

@websensation, my son graduated last year after getting his master’s (he did a co-term), so I’m sure we didn’t have the pleasure of meeting last year. His freshman year was in 2012.

@websensation move in began at 8 am. There is a 30 min time limit for parking your car in front of the dorms.

Thanks all. Very helpful. Now I will look like I know what I am doing in front of my family. Lol.

@websensation Let us now how it went


@Rivet2000 I sure will even if you don’t want me to post how it went. lol

I would like to add that when my husband and I attended NSO in 2016, there was a social/mixer for the parents during the late afternoon in Arillaga Alumni Center (where you check in for NSO). We are so glad that we didn’t skip this because the admission officers were there as well. It was one of the top highlights of the day for us to talk with the admission officers who read our daughter’s application!

@slushy Yes, we already met the adcom people last year at receptions. Very nice people. I thanked them for accepting our kid even if they made a mistake. And now, can they help with giving a fat scholarship also? lol

My daughter is a freshman at Stanford. Just wanted to say, as others have, how welcoming and helpful the dorm staff are for move in. (They have a book with photos and names of freshmen in the dorm that they memorize so they can greet all the new students by name when they walk up to the dorm!) It gets a little crowded, but it’s well organized, and there’s plenty of help. After you unload your car, you will park in a designated lot and can take a shuttle back to the dorm to help your student set up the room.

We flew in from the East Coast, so it was a different experience than driving in with a loaded car from home. For anyone else flying (or driving but not having enough room in your vehicle), I highly recommend Bed, Bath and Beyond’s program where you shop in your local store ahead of time and choose items (like a registry), and they have the items you select waiting at the BBB near Stanford (the Mountain View store). You don’t pay for anything until you get to the store at your college and can change your mind if you decide you don’t want something. The Mountain View store really had the whole process down to a science for pick up and were very helpful!

RE the schedule, your student will get a big “Approaching Stanford” packet over the summer (in the mail and also online) that will give all the details of pretty much everything. On move-in day, there are also open houses for assorted resources and departments on campus before convocation, which happens later in the afternoon. There’s a meet-and-greet/Q&A for parents in the dorm, and then the students are off doing their own thing.

@VaMom123 Totally agree on the BBB service. It made picking up basic supplies so easy.