<p>Anyone flying out to UMich for orientation this summer? D is flying alone (from New England) and a bit nervous about it.</p>
<p>They’ll take good care of her at the orientation so tell her not to worry 
There are shuttles you can book that are very familiar with all the dorm locations, etc. Detroit Metro is reasonably easy to navigate and if she has a smart phone she can map it.
Best wishes!</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about UMich, but my son is on his way back (driving) from orientation at another school. </p>
<p>They also had a parent orientation, but it costs $$$ plus I would have had to take a day off from work which I really couldn’t do because I have coworkers on vacation, and several people have told me that the parent orientation isn’t very important.</p>
<p>Anyhow, so my son is in a music program this summer, so he had to leave the program at about noon yesterday and drive three hours to the college for his 4pm foreign language placement test. He called us just before he left, said that a bug had flown into his ear. Then he called again at 3pm, he was at the college, but he was panicking because he couldn’t find the building he was supposed to go to. He eventually finds it, but they told him he was supposed to go to another building first to take the test. He eventually found the building and took the test, but not before he calls us a half dozen times, again panicking. </p>
<p>Then he goes back to the first building where they give him a room keycard to the dorm that he was staying in for one night, and they tell him to park in the dorm parking. He calls us back, said he had been at the gate to the parking lot for an hour trying to figure out how to get in. Eventually he moves his car, goes inside and asks someone how to open the gate, they tell him to use his keycard. He drove back to the gate, but still couldn’t get in. Eventually someone else told him that the keycards don’t work for people just staying overnight and they told him to park on the street. So he parks on the street, but all the spaces are metered, so he calls us back because the meter will not take enough coins to park all night.</p>
<p>A few hours later he calls us back, said that he just got “arrested” at the mall. Turns out that he decided to see a movie, we have a theater in our mall at home, so he went to the nearest mall, just before closing, walked around the mall looking for a theater, went into the restroom, and when he came out security grabbed him and threw him against the wall and handcuffed him. They accused him of busting out a window (50 feet up above the front entrance) and climbing in. </p>
<p>He told us that they just kept asking him how he got in, he kept saying “through the door right there”, they kept saying that he couldn’t have came in through the door because it was locked and he kept telling them that “it wasn’t locked ten minutes ago”. He admitted that he looked suspicious, walking around a closed mall with a mohawk (everyone in his section in the music program got mohawks). Anyhow, he must have talked his way out of it pretty quick because the mall closed at 9pm and he called us at 9:30pm.</p>
<p>Then at 10:30pm he called again, he said that his “bad day” wasn’t over yet because their was no hot water in the shower and the bug was still in his ear.</p>
<p>We haven’t heard from him today, so I assume he is having a better day.</p>
<p>Anyhow, I am sure that your D will have a better trip. Even if she doesn’t, it is a short dose of reality that she will have to experience sooner or later.</p>
<p>My D will be flying alone to the Michigan orientation in July as well, from New England!
She’s done that for her scholarship interview once, so even though there’s a plane change, I’m not worried about it that much.
Usually, she’s very nervous and worried about making good friends, but this one she is not… Because she thinks she can surely make friends with people at Music School.</p>
<p>She will be participating the one start at 7/13.</p>
<p>@imagep</p>
<p>What an awful trip for your son. I hope he makes it home in one piece…minus the bug!</p>
<p>LGSMom, he ended up coming home to go to the doc to take care of the bug issue.</p>
<p>Anyhow he was very excited about the adventure, being detained by the police gave him something to “brag” about on facebook, and he got free stuff from the college and some tips from current students. There was also a book he is supposed to read over the summer and they will be having a discussion class on the book the day he gets back from his summer music program.</p>
<p>The second day was very un-remarkable, no arrests, no getting lost, no standing in front of the entrance gate for an hour trying to figure out how to open it.</p>
<p>His advisor insisted that he enroll in 18 hours of credits, which was a bit more than the schedule that I made out for him, but he was excited to find out that he was through with math - we thought that he would have to take 2 more math classes, but apparently they allow music majors to substitute computer science for math. He also exempted out of one of the foriegn language classes.</p>
<p>He found out that they had already registered him for the performance certificate program (based on the recommendation of the trumpet professor) in addition to the BM Ed degree, and that he wasn’t going to have to take quite as many credit hours in his instrument studio than we thought he was going to need to get the performance certificate. </p>
<p>They gave him the music required to audition for the top wind ensemble in August, which he is really excited about since they will be going to China in Febuary - unfortunately, due to him having to return to his summer program tommorow, he will not have time to practice it until just 3 days before his audition.</p>
<p>Thansk but imagep your story does not make me feel any better!!! My D is going July 13 also and elliethecat I will PM you. Thanks!</p>
<p>Minty, are you concerned about the flight and getting out of Detroit Metro to Ann Arbor or are you concerned about the actual experience at the university? Or is your D anxious about registration and advising?
UMich is a very large school but the school of music is quite intimate and attentive to students. The size of the UMich population actually means they’re pretty clockwork organized on running their orientation and guidance events, and there are well established security parameters and services such as airport shuttles for students and free campus bus transportation.</p>
<p>If you have specific questions, please feel free to PM me. My son attends UMich and we’ve both done the orientation. Some of his friends have remained on campus this summer and if you need a “go-to” person I can certainly ask him to assist us. I know, for example, that his roommate (who I’ve met several times) is on campus, is a real gentleman, and would assist anyone in any kind of trouble. Another friend of his is one of the counselor/guides at one of the residences. So let us know the nature of the nerves and maybe we can help you out ;)</p>
<p>@kmcmom13… D is nervous about flying alone and navigating the aiport transportation to/from the University. She is excited about the rest. Called the UMich Orientation Office and they told us to use a cab, and didn’t mention anything about airport shuttle companies, so if you have suggestions I would appreciate the info. Thanks!</p>
<p>I realize this is pricey, but we used Amazing Blue Taxi 734-846-0007 and the driver met us right at the baggage claim with a sign with our name on it. They also will take your cell number in case of delays. It was about $50 as I recall. (each way). They might have a student discount. I wonder if it would be possible to ride-share.<br>
They were very nice and I would use them again.</p>
<p>minty19 I can understand your D’s nervousness. Just make sure all arrangements including phone numbers of any service providers such as shuttles are set before she leaves. Take a look at the airport website and view maps so she can be comfortable with the layout. And reassure your D that all she needs to do is pay attention to the signs which will lead her to baggage claim and ground transportation.</p>