@pjweatherman It is totally personal preference. Coming from a parent and the logistics, I would have had my son stay with me in the hotel or I stay in the dorm/apartment (personally, I would do the hotel). There was too much driving on my part and trying to find a place to pick him up/park/eat breakfast and walk to Rudder Tower. It was a hot and very humid few days (so fun and worth it) but it is easier if everyone stays together.
Make sure to go to Pre-Conference Day and go to the Student Memorial Center and participate in all of the activities.
@fivsmajor or you can just read @RMNiMiTz short response - ha ha. I did not read further down to see the response before I replied with the essay!!
EDIT: I just saw your post on review admissions. With a 27 ACT, you would not qualify for academic admit. You must have a 30 with minimum sub scores. While a few review admits will receive admissions this year across majors, the majority will be Jan-March.
Thank you @Thelma2 ! Appreciate the tips!
NSC lodging is really a personal choice. We did hotels both times. My kids wanted some down time & a familiar environment to relax in for sleeping (we stay in a lot of hotels ).
It is a very packed schedule, you go non-stop with tons of information, not much socializing time outside of the NSC activities, so you are really picking a spot to sleep. There isn’t an ‘ideal’ for either situation, hotels or dorms. Some do student dorm/ parent in hotel, both hotel & both dorm. Given that there are lots of parents in the dorms, you aren’t "missing out’ of a student experience should you elect to go the hotel route. There is no matching or grouping that goes on in dorm assignments. Sessions start early & end late, some are mandatory, some are optional. The hotels are also filled with NSC families, so you run into people in the halls & at breakfast there too.
I highly recommend early reservations - ‘big events’ here fill up hotels, although it is getting better as more & more hotels are being added in College Station. Of all the decisions you make, where to stay for NSC is not one that you need to think too hard about. It is a no impact, no regrets kind of thing. It is cheaper to be in the dorms, but you’ll get a better bed at a hotel.
The pre-NSC day is highly recommended, so it is a two night commitment for most people. The afternoon of the last day you sign up for your courses & when you’re done, you can go. It is a ready-set-go sign up on assigned TAMU computers all over campus - it can take minutes or over an hour depending on your prep & ability to type fast. Parents do not participate in that part, you just wait for the students to exit assigned rooms. Your student is in charge of setting up their own schedule, but you will get information on day 1 from advisors & you can self-research online. So in between Day 1 & Day 2, you are figuring out your potential schedule options to be ready for sign ups. My oldest took more time as her classes were taken when she hit submit & had to re-shuffle. My youngest was done in seconds, prepped by his older sister to type FAST & hit submit ASAP 
@fivsmajor To go along with the other moms, you also have to have graduated from a Texas high school to be eligible for automatic/academic admit. Your course work your senior year is impressive. Try not to worry too much at this point. Just hide and wait, but you do have great stats and appear competitive for admission!
@pjweatherman That’s really cool that they are opening up White Creek for NSC family housing. These are great little apartments on the shuttle route. Kind of seems like the perfect option. But there are plenty of hotel options and NSC does not get overbooked since it’s not like a game day or other Aggie event. We’ve had so many new hotels pop up lately as well, so lots of space to accommodate the conference.
@Thelma2 OMG, you are a wealth of knowledge. I love it. Also loved your “essay” and then repost. Great information. Do you concur that you have to be Texas res to fall under auto and academin admit?
No you do NOT have to be a TX resident to be an automatic admit - there are two types: top 10% is for TX residents only & Academic admit is for everyone (TX residents, Out of State & Internationals). Both of my OOS students were academic admits.
@fivsmajor you can try to re-test with the ACT or SAT & update your application before the cutoff date (Dec 1, although they take document updates a week later). IF you improve to academic admit status, they will move your application to the automatic admit pile & only consider your highest score. Khan academy online is a free site for SAT review help. Good luck!
@pjweatherman I stayed with my son at White Creek apartments on campus for his NSC and thought it was very nice and convenient. It is an apartment so it has a full kitchen which was handy for quick breakfasts/snacks but it is an empty un-stocked apartment aside from the small package they give you when you check in. That package contained sheets for the beds, pillows,blankets, towels,a couple of Styrofoam cups and a garbage bag. We went to a nearby HEB and bought some paper products and some food/drinks. I would recommend bringing your own pillows and sheets if you have some for full size beds. There was provided internet in the room and it was extremely fast, which helped my son to look up teachers and plan his schedule. There was bus service directly to where you needed to go or you could drive in and out of campus with your own car (White Creek is located in West Campus). White Creek is only a couple of years old so everything seemed very new. There was several options of apartment size, we stayed in a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom so had more then enough space. Besides the bedroom/bathrooms and kitchen, there were laundry machines and a tv room with a couch and chairs, however, there was not a tv in the room.
@AGmomx2 My husband doesn’t plan on joining my son & me for the NSC because of his work. Do you think he is missing out on a memorable event? He seems to think it will be like the college tours informational sessions and then our son doing his schedule. If it is more than that, I’d hate for him to miss something special.
@trish02 I know you didn’t ask me, lol, but I worked the conferences last year. We didn’t see a whole lot of moms & dads. Typically one parent. It is a lot of informational sessions on day one. Day 2 is with your college and then they register. What he would be missing out on is hanging out afterwards touring aggieland in general, keeping you company when you and your son aren’t together, etc. If it’s a work thing, I would say he goes to work. There will be so many opportunities for things leading up to college to build memories (like move in day!). That’s my opinion. It’s an exhausting 2 days because there is so much info and it’s quick paced. Tons of people too. Just an overwhelming time but exciting as well.
@YourCollegeMom Thank you!! You have helped so much explaining what happens for parents during NSC. It sounds like it will be fine for him to miss it. Whew…
When my son went to NSC he didn’t tell me there was a parents’ part to it. I was so embarrassed when my sil stopped by the house (my niece was also a freshmen that year) on the way home from her daughters NSC and asked how I liked it when I went. I still tease my son that he made me look like a bad mother. Knowing parents are invited I insisted on going when my daughter was an upcoming freshmen a few years later. There really wasn’t anything necessary for a parent to do.
Huhu
Thank You @YourCollegeMom @AGmomx2 is one of those who helped me and my son through the process when going through it for fall 2016. Now, there is a wealth of info.
Thank you so much @YourCollegeMom, @AGmomx2, and @Thelma2 for all of your help and information!
I probably won’t retest since my score may not be sent to A&M by December 8 and I’d rather not waste my time and money. Hopefully that does not ruin my chances of being admitted.
Also, I know A&M says that they don’t consider major when reviewing applications, but if you are applying for a non-impacted major, do your chances of being admitted increase?
@fivsmajor That is a great question. If you talk to ANYONE in admissions they will say your major doesn’t count when applying. You get admitted first and then they look at your major. I tend to believe this, but have heard others (not in admissions) say that major could persuade them to accept you if they need more students in said major. I would say that could be the case for bubble applicants (of getting in or Blinn Team) vs non bubble (getting in or not at all).
I went twice to NSC, my husband did not go either time. There are split offs for parents/ students - so I just went to those alone & struck up conversations with other Aggie parents (some are generations deep - you can learn a ton!). Everyone is very friendly & helpful. He wanted the rundown when we returned, but it was not necessary for both parents to be there. I do highly recommend at least one go, so much information is better to be heard by at least two people. Parents are very welcomed at this school - both by the staff & the students.
For the housing application, am I reading the instructions correctly that as part of the application you have to electronically sign the housing contract? So there is no deposit to get in line then signing the contract later after the final decision is made to attend?
@YourCollegeMom @Thelma2 So my son is accepted into TAMU but still under review for engineering for the early notification in December. He’s still waiting for the recommendation letter from the teachers. If these are sent after 10/15, is he still considered early application?
@LilyWu I would check with admissions counselor but I believe everything has to be in by deadline for consideration. But double check. And I would take it a step further and email teachers from you so that they know how important it is to hit the deadline. Teachers are sooo busy that it can get lost in the shuffle. Have your son try first and then step in. It’s too important.