Is it recommended for my parent to attend the freshman orientation? Will my mom miss anything important if she decides not to go?
there is no need for your parent to attend. When you start college you will be an adult and consequently the school is actually prohibited from releasing information w/o your consent to a parent. Nor will your profs want to get a phone call from a parent. Really it is all going to be on your shoulders to make good choices at college, and kids that still need a lot of parental direction to succeed might not be ready to go away to college.
Don’t know if it’s recommended or not, but most kids had one parent there during the orientation session we were at last year. It’s probably overpriced and nothing the parent learns will be earth-shattering, but it’s still valuable to hear from the administrators (who are very good) and you learn a little more about what the student will need to do so that the parent can be aware what to expect. With that info, the parent might be able to understand, give a nudge, or point the student in the right direction (from a distance of course) if needed. Plus it’s a good excuse to spend a couple of days by the beach.