@ErRnMom, We will be driving in also, we live about 5 hours away, though still in Texas. I have booked a hotel room for Sunday night the 18th. Per TAMU academic calendar, first day of classes for Fall 2019 is August 26th Sooo, historically move in and Howdy is the week before, starting on the Sunday. I guessed that to be the 18th. I can always move my reservation, but, since rooms fill up quick, and prices get more expensive, I went ahead and booked.
If Iām reading maps correctly, FISH camp is in Palestine, ~100 miles from CStat. While ds is at camp, what are some must sees my family should do? And my second question, once we move him in, am I free to begin crying or do I have other obligations as a parent to do during that time?
@SlimJim005 my daughter received BH packet/invitation on Nov 4.
If moving into most dorms, itāll be the weekend before Howdy or Gig 'em week (itās been called both-not sure what the real name is any more). If moving into White Creek, you can move in even earlier. The last fish camp ends the 18th.
@errnmom feel free to cry as soon as you leave. Parents have no obligations during howdy week and I doubt youāll even see your son! May be best if you come down the a day before he leaves for fish camp and then leave the Monday or Tuesday of Howdy week (once heās moved in and settled). Itās really a great time for students to connect, find their classes, acclimate a bit to surrounds, rush if heās going greek, etc. Not much parental time.
Lots to do in Cstat/Bryan. Or you can go down to Houston or even Austin and explore. When we get closer, reach out to me and Iāll try to give you some ideas or answer any questions.
@ErRnMom If you are dropping off for Fish Camp (which is a must) and hanging around for move in when he gets back,This is a neat place to visit. Stop off at the shops at the turn off to the Village. dried pressed fruit that is SO good, and other neat homemade things and lots in the village. about an hour and a half from CStat https://www.homesteadcraftvillage.com/ and of course you could visit the Silos and Magnolia Market in Waco. And the Bush Library in CStat.
@Thelma2 thatās what we are planning on. Dropping him off at camp and the rest of us sight seeing Texas until camp is over and we move him to Cstat. Once heās moved in, and settled, weāll hit the road back to Pa. 
:((
@ErRnMom Later this Spring, they will publish a Howdy Week schedule. My son missed the first three days his freshman year and we moved him in on a Wednesday. He was on a trip to Monterrey Motor Week in CA. So, if yall wanted to hang around a few days after move in, you could and he wonāt miss much or if he does do stuff, yāall could do the Bryan/CStat touring at that time and see him later in the day. We hung around an extra day or two when moving my daughter out of state.
Also, when he gets his dorm, they will send him the roommate contact info, if it is a random assignment and sometimes you can coordinate the same NSC so they can meet.
While my sonās roommate and he got along well, they didnāt mesh as friends but his parents and we did! They are both Chem engineering from Romania (been here 20+ years) and dad is quiet nerdy like my spouse and his mom is a outgoing, gregarious hoot. So fun.
Take a few days with him. It will do you both good. And know that there is a HUGE network there for him, university wise as well as parents.
If you can get the flu shot for your child before you get to FISH Camp or at least for move in for CStat, that could be a good thing. They will be in very close contact with a lot of people from all over. We sometimes have a hard time getting the flu shot early but CVS has been the one with an early supply.
Your child will do a LOT of yelling at FISH Camp. Send cough drops or hard candies or packets of honey, etc! LOL My older daughter did not go to FISH Camp so we didnāt know about the yelling practices. Our younger daughter came home without a voice! She didnāt go to the very last camp, but it was towards the end. And afterwards, she was so exhausted that she slept for ages, then had to hurry up and pack for the Semester! Too bad they canāt harness all of that teenage energy output at FISH Camp, they could power something big with all of that expended teenage energy!
Looking for guidance on residence hall selection. We (parents) are not Aggies and have visited the campus only once, so we have ZERO insight about what our one-and-only kid will need to be close to. Where is a good resource to help narrow down residence hall choices? What would you say are the top three things to consider when looking at TAMU residence halls? Major would be Recreation, Parks & Tourism Science. Kid is an introvert with a big heart, timid, and a follower (even with 12 years of Scout leadership training, LOL).
As a freshman @daleNchip he will be close to nothing so it doesnāt matter. Freshman classes will be all over the place, so expect to walk, ride a bike, take the bus, skateboard, etc.
When did your son get his university admissions decision?
The 3 choices he will list on the housing application are for university purposes only, in the event that your son neglects to self select his room during his assigned time, the university needs to know a cost preference of where to put him. Also, if he gets temporary housing, which some do at first, they know a price preference of where you are comfortable.
So, all in all, specific dorm doesnāt matter, unless he plans to live on campus all 4 years, which most students move off campus after freshman year. The price of the dorms, broken down into styles, is what you need to consider where you are comfortable.
Then, since students self select their dorm and specific room during an assigned window of time, he needs to make a list of every dorm in order of preference, so that when it is his turn to select a dorm and room, if his first choice is full, he can immediately move to his second choice dorm and on down the line. If he waits to make a plan during his window, rooms will be disappearing by others with the same window, while he is formulating that plan.
@Thelma2, still in review. Iām following the Admissions thread here closely. 
Where is a good resource to do the research to make that list in order of preference? Not at all sure how to prioritize once we have determined price point and style preference. Iām trying to get him ahead of the curve so we donāt run into the exact scenario you mentionedāheās formulating a plan while his options are disappearing.
Appreciate this forum so much. Great info and kind reassurances for the folksālike usāfor whom this is our first rodeo.
This link will give you an overview of residence halls and as you scroll down, it will have the different style of halls. https://reslife.tamu.edu/options/halls/
This is a better link once you get an idea of each dorm https://reslife.tamu.edu/apply/rates/
Hulabaloo is by far the most popular hall, being the newest and is the first to fill up. The Commons (made up of 4 dorms) and Modulars (made up of 11 dorms) are all double room and are the same cost per semester. Balcony style are made up of 4 dorms and have single rooms, double rooms, and apartment style rooms with pricing accordingly. so forth and so on.
Make a list in order of preference. For example: Say, the modulars are what you like best. He would have to exclude Rudder and Underwood, as they are female only. And letās say he prefers to be on the northside of campus. Appelt is male only, so that may or may not rank higher on the list.
A list could look like this:
Clements
Haas
Hobby
Lechner
McFadden
Neely
And if he prefers being on the northside of campus over specific style, then he can list the balcony halls on the northside. Or if heād rather stay with style, he can then list the Modular dorms on the south side followed by the commons on the south side etc. The second link shows the location and if they are co ed by floor or room, single sex, etc.
Here is the thread on housing
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/2125363-housing-move-in-tips-2019-p1.html
Thanks, @Thelma2. Wasnāt sure if there was an unofficial site with reviews somewhere I had missed. Iāll point him to the official ones.
One more newbie question:
Would someone please differentiate the following events: NSC, Fish Camp, Howdy Week, Gigāem Week?
We went to NC State in the late 80ās. We had a two-day orientation during the summer, then there was move-in day and classes started a day or two later. Thereās a world of difference between our experience and our sonās! @-)
@dalenchip my daughter just graduated RPTS. So heāll be on west campus which only has one on campus housing choice. My son actually lives there now. Itās called white creek. Itās apartment style. Kind of pricey but not any more than hullabaloo or modulates if choose a 4 bedroom. But they have 2 bedroom 2 baths as well. So he can have his own room and bathroom with shared living room and kitchen. Itās a great place and they just opened up white creek community center. Like a small MSC. My son loves it. Easy shuttle access as well to main campus.
Howdy week is the same as gig em week. Itās the week before school starts and they have a bunch of activities for students to get involved and acclimated. Great time!
Fish camp has 7 or 8 sessions. Itās 3 nights at an offsite camp. Itās a blast even for the most introverted. Do not let him miss this. He will make friends plus have upper class man that will look out for him when school starts. Great program!!! The dates are up for each session on the website. Google fish camp 2019
NSC is mandatory and is 2 days with a pre conference day (starts late afternoon). 1st day is a long long day of learning all about tamu. Also break out sessions for students and an event that night for them. 2nd day is when youāll meet with department advisors and then make schedule. Get acquainted with the process of looking up claaaea when you are able to log onto howdy for it.
Truly the internet is your friend. I have you a brief description as Iām typing on my phone in a car at night lol (Iām not driving). So google these topics and I promise you will be amazed by the info!
Best of luck!!! And when yāall get down here, let me know and Iāll give intel on places to stay and eat etc.
Hi! My engineering son is split between choosing a north side or south side modular room and wonāt be participating in any LLCs or honors. So now we are wondering about foodā¦is one dining hall generally a lot more crowded (ie no seats available) than others? Any insight regarding choosing north over south, even if it doesnāt have anything to do with food, is greatly appreciated!
@Eggscapgoats First, donāt stress about this because the chance of actually getting the dorm you want is very slim in most cases. All modulars go pretty quickly right after Hullabaloo. So heāll be scrambling just to get one and location wonāt matter much at that point. TAMU has countless eateries of all types. From dining halls like the Commons and Sbisa (and small one in MSC) to chick fil a, smashburger, sandwich shops, smoothies, pizza/pasta bars etc. all over campus. He will not lack in finding food and decent food at that. So all Modulars are pretty much created equal.
If he wants Apartment style, White Creek is great and has itās own little MSC with amazing food options.
Oh another reason not to stressā¦ once they are up and going about their day, where they sleep is irrelevant. They will navigate campus based on classes, library and food. Does that help or muddy it up more?
@ErRnMom we are in the same boat! OOS family here, from CA. Following! I have family in Texas so when we do all the summer things, I will likely be visiting relatives. But any info is helpful!
@AggieMomhelp Oh no, we are not stressing about this just curious if there is a big difference in the dining halls during the week since we have only been on the weekend. Yes, thereās lots of places to eat, no doubt! If I was going, I would want to try everything =P~ , but he is more of a convenience/quantity person.
lol @Eggscapgoats Then I would say northside for sbisa. Yes, it can get busy during peak times, but with there being other options right there like Smashburger, bagel place and a mexican restaurant like Chipotle, there are alternatives if in a hurry or if place is packed. And now Iām hungry, = )
@Eggscapgoats The kids tend to eat near their classes, so that could be anywhere on campus. Iāve eaten at 2 of the dining halls and didnāt notice any difference in quality or how busy they were. If you arenāt doing an LLC or honors, then Iād check the online floorplans (https://reslife.tamu.edu/options/) and try to get one of the dorms with more floor space.
Also look at parking if your student will have a car. The Southside parking garage is a short walk from the Commons. You can check the transportation website to see where Northside kids park (http://transportmap.tamu.edu/parkingmap/). Keep an eye on this website for parking permit updates (http://transport.tamu.edu/Parking/faqpermit.aspx)
Hereās a parking permit tip for out-of-state kids: when they go to register for a permit, one of the questions asked is if you are a resident or not. My student selected ānoā since he is OOS, but the question is really asking if you are an on-campus resident (will be living on campus full time). We learned of our mistake when transportation gave a presentation at the NSC. Thankfully he was able to change it online and still got our 1st choice parking.