@cloudysmom Thank you so much for all that very useful, practical information! Helps me tremendously. Was planning to leave at the beginning of freshers week–and assumed I’d have some time to explore (I mean, I’m going to England! Have to do a little tourism, right?)–so it’s very helpful to know that that timing works out. I certainly don’t want to hang around unnecessarily (we are not very clingy people at a baseline–she told me years ago that she would laugh at me if I cried when I dropped her off at college lol), but I didn’t want to take off if my presence would be appreciated for some reason. Thanks also for the travel tips!
@collegemom3717 Appreciate your comments too! Re dorm rooms: My daughter spent the spring semester at Univ of Burgundy and lived in the dorm there and has visited her friend at UCL, so she has a pretty good sense of European dorm rooms. And she scoffs at the hyper-decorated American dorm rooms anyway–not her style at all. Looking forward to experiencing Primark!
@ThreeToCollege You may not want to hear this but I think you could leave right after you have dropped off your daughter! The colleges seem to do a really good job of welcoming the new students. There will be plenty of “freps” (freshers’ reps - returning students who have signed up to help the new students) and activities for the students to get to know each other. Regarding getting things your daughter needs, she’ll probably do that with others who are in exactly the same boat, and make some friends along the way.
OK, I’m not really suggesting you really leave immediately as I’m sure you’ll be wanting to satisfy yourself that she has indeed settled in. But you probably won’t see too much of your daughter anyway as she’ll be far too busy making new friends, at least if my own experience is anything to go by.
My child has absolutely loved her first year at Durham and somewhat to my surprise settled in almost immediately despite being very nervous about the whole process. Your daughter sounds independent and I’m sure she’ll feel at home very quickly indeed.
The kids really do watch out for each other- and the bond that forms is incredibly tight. In a way they kind of ‘grow up’ together as they all learn to navigate university life. The UK students have been raised to assume that they will have to fend for themselves (ie, w/o adults). It’s not a coincidence that British children’s novels (from Arthur Ransome to Famous Five to Harry Potter to Lord of the Flies etc., etc.) feature essentially adult-less kids making their way in the world 
At St. Andrews we arrived the day before hall move in and set up her bank account and did some last minute shopping. 10 am Saturday morning was move-in. We had everything in her room and my husband and I were out doing our own thing by noon. We took her to a farewell tea Sunday afternoon and left. We could have left Saturday afternoon, but after coming all that way we enjoyed seeing the sights on our own. Her schedule was jam packed after move in right up until classes started with department, hall and student union activities.
@HedgePig My DD just finished her 1st yr there as well, what college is she in & what is she studying? Maybe they met during International Days? Mines studying history & is in St Cuths on the Bailey.
@HedgePig Thanks for your input as well! I of course want to make sure she is settled–but I’m really not worried about her finding her way, and if I were dropping her off at a college in the US, I would probably be there for 1 day. If I’m coming from so far away, though, it would just seem stupid to plan on leaving immediately and then find out I could have been helpful if I’d only stayed another day or so. Plus, I blocked my schedule to have the week off–I might as well enjoy myself in England for a couple of days! I"m sort of hoping that she will be off doing her own thing and I will be touring around northern England…lol!
Another question for all you experienced parents: do kids leave immediately after term ends (like the next day)? We don’t have plane tickets yet (oh, the stress–long story), but will be buying very soon.
Thanks, everyone! So helpful to hear your experiences.
Ime, yes, except for some ECs, the kids high-tail it out as soon as term ends. For first years, that first winter holiday is pretty much a bolt for home!
And yes- I’m with you! stay on and have fun sightseeing. There is so much to see, the weather seems to weirdly works against students in the UK and Ireland and is almost always nice during exams and back to school, and it’s kind of great getting to do the things you want to do 
The Oxford colleges can be quite aggressive with bringing outside groups into their space once term ends, so there may not even be an option to stay past the end of term time. My son had 9th week exams this past year and he said that it was a ghost town. He goes on the Varsity ski trip at the end of MT and gets out of Oxford pretty much immediately after HT/exams are over.
Our drop off was a two phase operation - we arrived London on Friday am and went straight to Oxford to pick up all the paperwork he would need to open his bank account (visa, school certificate). Be prepared to have to make an appointment for the bank account opening process (we managed to score the last one of the day). We killed time by buying subfusc and a few other odds and ends and then headed out to see family for the rest of the weekend. International students at my son’s college were allowed to move in that Sunday (before everyone else on Tuesday), so we had an easier time with that and got him all set up before he wanted us to go so he could meet up with his other international friends. Did international student orientation on Monday and Fresher’s week started in earnest on Tuesday.
@cloudysmom She’s at Van Mildert and is studying English Literature. Her corridor and her building seem to have a particularly high concentration of international students - not sure if that’s by accident or design.
@ThreeToCollege Same answer as the others - yes, the students do seem to leave pretty quickly (except for one of my daughter’s friends whose British Residence Permit got lost in the mail and had to spend her Christmas holiday alone in the college. Ouch!)
Definitely make use of your time in the UK and I think there’s quite a bit to see and do in the general area. Even Edinburgh isn’t that far away (2 hours by direct train.)
Definitely make a bank account appointment, those can fill up in university towns. Getting that set up a day for two before Freshers starts is nice. They will need paperwork from the university showing they are a student, as @HazeGrey says. St. A allowed us to do that the Friday before Freshers as well. We also realized at the bank appointment she needed her US social security number, which we did not have readily available.