<p>I’m still deciding on whether to bring a guest or not.</p>
<p>Guests and students are separated and have their own different programs. Guest programs are parent/guardian oriented and will deal with separation issues from their unique perspective and what they can do to support the students while they are in school.</p>
<p>Basically, now that your kid is gone off to college what will your life be without him/her and what will your role be to support your kid without being an overbearing parent. Parents learn to limit calls and text more often. They are also instructed to leave the students alone so that the students can navigate their own way. One of the most beneficial things that I learned was about financial aid and how it works at Cal Poly. I was able to avoid a lot of problems regarding refunds and application processing at SOAR that I would not have gotten anywhere else. It was educational and not a waste of time or money for our family.</p>
<p>Additionally, there are more tours and the lunch out on the lawn was excellent. We got to meet a lot of other parents from all over the state. One interesting couple we met were both engineers originally from Hong Kong. The husband and wife both graduated from Berkeley and the husband got his masters at Stanford. They were very proud that their son was going to Cal Poly for engineering. The husband remarked that after he graduated from Stanford with his masters and got his first job in industry, he was hired along with a Cal Poly grad. He said that it took him a full year on the job to catch up with the Cal Poly grad even though that guy only had an undergraduate degree. He said that he never forgot Cal Poly after that experience and learned to respect the hands on teaching methodology just by watching his colleague’s early performance. No lie – true story form SOAR 2011.</p>
<p>My younger daughter and I just attended SOAR (July 23/24) and definitely found it worthwhile. I had previously attended SOAR in 2010 with my older daughter, but still found the parent/guest sessions to be informative and interesting. It was good to be reminded of some useful parent tips (e.g. don’t call so often), and learn about all the wonderful resources available to both parents and students. We stayed in Poly Canyon Village, which was nice and convenient, with complimentary Einstein Bros bagels and other snacks provided daily. There were shuttle buses to downtown SLO where we experienced a nice lunch and walking tour, and a delicious BBQ dinner on campus later. My daughter will be living in Cerro Vista in the fall which is similar to PCV’s apartment-style housing, so this gave her a preview of what to expect. One of our highlights was complimentary use of the new Rec Center - wow! I highly encourage all students to take advantage of this wonderful facility, especially after hearing that exercise was the #1 stress reliever!</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful replies. As an older student, I don’t think I need to bring a guest.</p>
<p>Can a guest accompany the student rather than go on their own if they wish?</p>
<p>At SOAR, there are separate programs for the student and guest, where the topics of discussion are specifically aimed at students and parents/guests. It might be awkward if a parent attended the student sessions, however, if your guest were a younger sibling/potential Cal Poly student, maybe it would be ok for him/her to tag along with the student. The guests and students do meet several times/day for lunch, dinner, and various campus tours and activities. I would ask a SOAR representative just to make sure. For questions about SOAR: <a href=“mailto:soar@calpoly.edu”>soar@calpoly.edu</a> or (805) 756-2233.</p>