<p>Well, my son is definitely attending Tulane so now I'm trying to figure out travel plans for August. (Obviously, I'm a plan-ahead type!) Freshman move-in is Saturday, August 21. I'd like to fly in on Friday the 20th and stay over but may not be able to get a flight that arrives till the evening. So will the full day on Saturday (the actual move-in day) be enough time to head to Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc.? Or would you recommend that we arrive Thursday night so we'll have all of Friday. I'd appreciate perspective from any Tulane parents. Thanks!</p>
<p>Also, Hampton Inn vs Best Western?</p>
<p>The best thing about getting there the day earlier is that it is not quite such a zoo at the stores. A lot of people arrive on Friday, as you say. Either way you really shouldn’t have any problems getting things done, but it will feel rushed if you try to do it all on Saturday. Next year is different because you have the morning to yourself. Upperclassmen don’t move in until afternoon.</p>
<p>I personally prefer the Hampton Inn, but both are fine.</p>
<p>thx. My understanding is that there’s a freshman week that begins the 21 while everyone else moves in the following weekend. So that should make the stores less crowded for freshmen, yes?</p>
<p>I think you are talking about the NOLA experience, which only a small number of people participate. Otherwise, unless my memory is completely gone (always possible) most people come down the Thursday or Friday before move-in. Those within driving distance might even wait until Saturday.</p>
<p>For move in weekend transfer students move in on Friday, Freshmen Saturday 9am and returning students Saturday at 4 pm. Classes start the following Monday. There are many freshmen events during the first week of school and I believe the river boat cruise is the first Friday of classes. </p>
<p>Given the option I would choose to have most or all of Friday available for shopping, banking,ect. By Saturday the stores will be pretty picked over(unbelievably so my D’s freshmen year target had no paper for example) Having the extra time in New Orleans with your son will help you both feel comfortable.</p>
<p>There is alot that goes on the move in day. Moving in takes time and then there are things to take care of on campus, like picking up books, attending open houses etc. Chances are you won’t want to be leaving to go to Bed Bath and Beyond because you will miss out on things you want to attend. Don’t under estimate the amount of time it takes to get your stuff at BB&B. Last fall, they had over 700 orders being picked up by the Tulane students on Friday. While they are very organized, there are still lines to stand in. If you are coming from a far distance getting in late and don’t plan to ship anything, I do have a suggestion that worked well for us. We took 3 large duffles of clothes and bedding on the plane and shipped nothing. We picked up our pre-ordered BB&B items early, then hit the Target for the remaining toiletries, etc. The earlier you start, the smaller the lines will be and the less picked over Target will be. BB&B seemed to have an endless supply of stuff. And carries toiletries which is much different than we have at home. Be sure you have lots of coupons because they will take all of them even if expired. Our last stop was Lowes where we picked up large Rubbermaid tubs that I ordered on line the night before. Took them out to the SUV, loaded the tubs with the items we had bought, and took the excess tubs back in and returned them. Then back at the hotel, labelled everything with masking tape and we were ready for move-in and waterproof to boot. If you read through old postings, you will see that several people had items damaged by water who have shipped boxes to the school. We were done by 2 pm. with this and free to enjoy NOLA. My S was then able to easily move in the next morning. I was surprised at the number of people who did not have their items boxed up. Since students take them from you to help with move in, it increases your risk of losing something if it is not contained. Once everything was unpacked in the room, we stacked the containers and place them under his bed so he can use them to pack this spring and store his belongings over the summer.</p>
<p>wow thx for all the great advice!</p>
<p>I too vote for Thursday. Between waiting in the line at BBB, navigating Target, traffic, etc. I believe you will be more relaxed if you fly in on Thursday and can hit the ground running on Friday morning. We did ship boxes and we picked them up on Friday so all D’s stuff would be in one car at unloading time. No need to go back to the line to wait for more boxes on move in day. Fedex line was really long on Saturday and it was hot, hot, hot. Freshman convocation was also on Saturday afternoon so you want to be around for that.
I vote Hampton over Best Western if it has availability. If not, Best Western is fine.</p>
<p>Has anyone stayed at the Quality Inn Maison St. Charles? Is it any good?</p>
<p>People have posted about it before:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/886842-orientation-accommodations.html?highlight=Quality+Inn#post9974766[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/886842-orientation-accommodations.html?highlight=Quality+Inn#post9974766</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/1063582-where-stay.html?highlight=Quality+Inn#post11797870[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/1063582-where-stay.html?highlight=Quality+Inn#post11797870</a></p>
<p>and there are others, but that gives you the idea. You would have to check to see if they still do that parking deal.</p>
<p>FC: Thanks for the link. We booked this hotel for the honors weekend in March. I can’t wait to go back and see NOLA. This time my husband will be coming and we’re renting a car. So we can really see the sights while our S is enjoying his time on campus. Can’t wait. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>Your welcome. That is really fun, sharing New Orleans with someone for the first time. Since you have a car there are of course many additional things you can do, but one in particular is to go out and see a couple of the big plantations. If you think this is of interest, PM me and I can share some of my favorites, along with a couple of other local flavor things to do you might like.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Quality Inn Maison St. Charles twice. Really liked it. Nice accommodations (nice enough, anyway)–located kind of halfway between French Quarter and Tulane. An Emerill restaurant directly accross the street. And the price was right.</p>
<p>We too stayed at the Quality Inn Maison St. Charles last year for move-in. The hotel is just okay and the breakfast pretty bad, but convenient to Tulane. The deal was awesome to stay there last fall. Cheap rates and free parking. Be sure to watch their facebook page if you are interested because they are not so friendly on the phone and won’t volunteer the facebook rates. The best part for move-in is that you can park your car pretty close to your room which helps with packing your car for the morning of move-in. I was not comfortable leaving anything in the car overnight and it would have been a pain to re-pack it at a hotel with inconvenient or valet parking.</p>
<p>Freshman move in day is Saturday, August 27th 2011. Upperclassmen move in later that day and first day of classes begin August 29th. One week later this year?</p>
<p>Whats nice about Tulane and its location is that if your son forgets an item there will be plenty of time and easy access to get it even after the semester begins. Remember this is a campus within a city. He will get the benefit of local students knowledge of where to go and how to get it. Administration and also upperclassmen are also very helpful. So don’t sweat it and just have a great time. Oh yeah, I’d vote for Thursday night also.</p>