<p>Probably I am just looking in the wrong place, but I can't seem to find anything that indicates whether classes meet on the first day (Friday) of Family Weekend. Also, if you are going to visit your student in the fall, is there a good reason to visit over Family Weekend rather than over another weekend?</p>
<p>Whether to go to Family Weekend is a tough choice. Pros for going include tons of kids in each dorm in Commons are going to have their family there, and its hard to be the kid without anyone there. Second, there’s a football game, great camaraderie, and a lot of events if you want to take advantage of them. (You can certainly pick and choose what you wish to participate in.)<br>
Cons for going that weekend include very high hotel rates, lots of people on campus and around town, and its hard to get a good dinner reservation. Restaurants are crowded, bookstore is crowded, etc.</p>
<p>Some people have better success going another weekend (there are plenty of home football games to choose from) and spending a less expensive, quieter weekend with their child. </p>
<p>I would recommend you talk it over with your student, think about their temperment about being left alone on a heavily visited weekend and make a decision. We had decided not to go, then at the last minute went anyway. We stayed further out (Brentwood Marriott Courtyard is great) and did not obsess about going to super nice restaurants near the school. At the end of the weekend, our D said, " I am so glad you came, I would have been very sad to see all the parents here and be alone." </p>
<p>BTW, I think this is a freshman, possibly sophomore problem. By the time they are juniors, they are so busy that they will probably give you a schedule of weekends they could see you or other family/friends.</p>
<p>ditto for us moving to Brentwood hotels during sell out weeks where the cost ratio for our preferred hotels no longer was tenable. (Do factor in the convenience factor of walking to campus before giving up on the West End/Broadway area hotels.) There is a nice Hampton Inn and Suites at the Opryland exit, too. I agree with Vandyswim that the appearance of parents is most welcome freshman year and less so afterwards…with any luck, your student will be abroad at least one fall term for starters. Our son was not keen on the football games…perhaps some of the Greek orgs have “family” events where parents have a welcome mat out in the upperclassmen years. I know that is true at UVA where parents are entertained a bit by the Greek orgs. Guess one of the biggest adjustments for us was realizing sons only had time to see us in 2-3 hour increments during our visits. They always had rehearsals and deadlines on classwork, but loved those meals out. But prepare to entertain yourself happily some of the time.</p>
<p>Students are in class on Friday of parent’s weekend. There are a lot of things going on and a lot of parents are there. We enjoyed it and are going back this year. Since a lot of students have parents for the weekend, they are are busy with family and there is less draw to get back to friends until later in the evening.</p>
<p>We already have the hotel reservations. We bite the bullet and stay near campus. Since we’ve flown in, it saved us renting a car.</p>
<p>Another option is to go Fall Break when the students have 4 days off. Living on the west coast, you give up two days traveling. You may have more time and flexibiltiy then your student does. Campus will be quite. Most freshman went home last year, but there are some that can’t make it home.</p>
<p>Do most parents leave on Saturday or Sunday?</p>
<p>We are planning to drive (about 8 hours) and are trying to decide whether to stay Saturday night. In looking at the Parent weekend scheduled events, It looks like majority of events are on Friday so we will need to drive in and check in to our hotel on Thursday. </p>
<p>On Saturday, it looks like after 1pm, most of events are related to tailgates and football game. On Sunday, it’s buffet and religious service. Since the students don’t sit with us at the game if they use their free ticket, we think we will probably skip the football game. In that case, if we leave on Sat around 1pm, we will only miss the game, and the buffet and religious service next day, right? The buffet looks fun and we can mingle with other parents but we will have to stay for another night for it so not sure if we should do it. Would we have a chance to mingle with other parents if we leave on Saturday at around 1pm?</p>
<p>What are other parents planning on doing?</p>
<p>We are flying in on Friday morning and should be at the campus by noon. Our flight leaves on Sunday at around 6:30 pm so after the buffet, we will spend the day with DD or, if she is busy, take in the sights of Nashville before heading to the airport.</p>
<p>We also fly in late Friday morning and will stay until Sunday afternoon. Is the football game definitely set for 11am on Saturday?</p>
<p>Kick off is 11:15 AM according to the Band Parents Weekend invite I received today.</p>