<p>Hey guys, just some suggestions on anything that I should bring to CI other than the usual luggage stuff - clothing, hygiene products, etc. and my phone (will I be able to trust my temporary roommates? That is the question..)</p>
<p>Is anybody bringing their laptops? Yes, I'm a bit insecure about my valuables.</p>
<p>Hey, definitely bring your information from First Class (ie, mock schedule, placement exam forms, etc). I would also bring maybe a sheet and a pillow, just in case the ones they give us aren’t perfect (: I’m not bringing my laptop - I don’t think we’ll have time for it, with all the socializing going on, lol.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t bring my laptop either; it’s too much to look after and we won’t have enough time to use it anyways. I’m waiting for the students in CI one to get back so that they can give us more information as to what we need to/should bring(on the Facebook Class of 2014 page).</p>
<p>my D is flying home from DC right now - will ask her what she needed and didn’t need!</p>
<p>(don’t bring sheets/towels, that much i know)</p>
<p>PS: she said she had a GREAT time! lvoed every minute of it!</p>
<p>1sttimemom - that’s awesome to hear! Can’t wait to get some help from your daughter and can’t wait for my CI now :)</p>
<p>awesome! alright i guess i wont’ be bringing my laptops either…</p>
<p>ok - she got home really late and was totally exhausted (in a good way) so she fell fast asleep a few minutes after getting home, but i did get this out of her on the way home:</p>
<p>sheets - don’t bring , they’re provided, BUT, if you’re a person who gets cold, you may want to bring an extra blanket. one is provided, but it’s a lightweight blanket.</p>
<p>towel - one is provided, but it is on the small side - she said, if you have room in your suitcase for a towel, you may want to bring one.</p>
<p>camera - definately - take pictures of your dorm-to-be to show your parents! (D didn’t get to see her exact room, but did get to see one of the same “tier” in her building, which was very cool. </p>
<p>more after i grill her a little more!</p>
<p>Just a question for the CI thing…Did anyone who attended/who has a child who attended got to stay in your assigned dorm? Or does everyone has to be on the FB campus?</p>
<p>i’ll check with my D, but to my understanding, everyone was on FB… and in Thurston i think. </p>
<p>D said Thurston was nice.
It’s a bit of a hike from Thurston to all the events tho… but that’s from a FL girl who drives everywhere! ;)</p>
<p>I talked to some other people, and they said they were staying at Thurston, as well. </p>
<p>Thanks 1sttimemom - especially for the tower rec. I’ll be living in MV campus so I might as well get used to a hike to all events right now early on.</p>
<p>thank you for the tips 1sttimemom. i’ll keep the towel thing in mind since i always like to use big blankets.</p>
<p>she travelled alone? my parents still treat me like a child, want to drive me down there (although they say they want grandma to see the campus and thats why we are all driving down there)… but i’ll be taking the new greyhound bus home :)</p>
<p>To hjungj21o: I am taking the bus/ train home too 
My parents want me to learn to navigate home by myself…Thank you all for the insight :)</p>
<p>I’m travelling on my own as well, both ways 
Still have to figure out whether by bus or train… But mine’s a personal decision, since I’m sort of an independent mind. I told my parents they can see the campus when they drop me off in August lol.</p>
<p>Here’s an Amtrak travel tip if you’re traveling to DC from anywhere on the Northeast Corridor. If you book at least two weeks in advance most trains are discounted. Sample fares to/from DC:
Philadelphia, PA $35
Baltimore, MD $11
Trenton, NJ $47
Wilmington, DE $32
Metropark, NJ $49
Newark, NJ $49<br>
Boston, MA $68</p>
<p>There are Blackout days and times. If you can’t book one of these discounted trains then use AAA and get a 10% discount. We need to save $ where we can.</p>
<p>Another train thing to look into is getting a Student Advantage card. You get a 15% discount on all Amtrak travel. It can be used for discounts on other things too. it costs about 30 dollars, so in a few trips it pays for itself.</p>
<p>CI?
10 char</p>
<p>sure - hope the tips help!</p>
<p>D did not have an umbrella and it rained nearly everyday! </p>
<p>yes - D traveled alone.<br>
last year she flew up to AU for an audition - up and back on the same day. she was also supposed to fly up and back for a GWU audition too (the following weekend), but that’s when one of those snow storms hit that closed the city, so she sent in a DVD instead (couldn’t afford another flight).<br>
i figured that, if she was accepted and would be going to school there, she may as well fly it alone to see if it was overwhelming - it wasn’t. she did fine.*</p>
<p>*for her first solo trip i way over did it with trying to prepare her. she had an stack of about 8 stapled together index cards - one for each leg of the journey (“check in at the airport”, “security to tram to gate”, “landing in DC: taxi”, “connecting in Charlotte”, etc.). each card had any information she’d need to have on hand for that “leg” - confirmation numbers, address to tell the cabbie, money notes, details about that leg, etc. as she used each index card, she ripped it off and threw it away. preivous to leaving we looked online at the maps of the airports, just to give her a birdseye view of navigating her way to the cab lines.<br>
hysterical.
it really did help her though - this was her third solo flight and she was liek an old pro!
(just thought i’d share all of that in case any students want to use the cards idea to help get their parents comfortable with the idea of traveling alone)</p>
<p>taking a cab from Reagan to GWu is easy. eventually, when she’s more comfortable with the city, she’ll save the cab fare and take the metro instead.<br>
babysteps tho.
:)</p>
<p>Anyone take Bolt Bus or MetroBus from NYC??</p>
<p>what should parents bring??? how was it for siblings??? any info. I’d like to hear from you.</p>
<p>So I just wrote a huge novel and college confidential spazzed out and I lost it all. So here it goes again…I just got back from CI a few days ago and here are some tips from a student’s point of view:</p>
<p>Traveling I would recommend against taking a taxi, unless on a serious time constraint because public transit it easy as pie…</p>
<p>How to get from DCA (Reagan) into DC:
<p>How to get from BWI (Baltimore) into DC:
<p>2) Metro Bus from BWI to Metro Train bus costs ~$3, train costs about ~$2.35.
Metro offers direct BWI Express Metro bus service between the BWI airport and the Greenbelt Metro Station. The BWI Express/B30 service runs every 40 minutes to the Greenbelt Metro Station, which is located on the Green Line of the Washington Metro System. Use metro map above for metro directions.
<a href=“http://www.wmata.com/bus/timetables/md/b30.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wmata.com/bus/timetables/md/b30.pdf</a></p>
<p>How to get anywhere from Union Station:
<p>How to get from IAD (Dulles) into DC:
<p>That finishes it off for traveling. </p>
<p>Now you have done the hard part and you have arrived at GWU. </p>
<p>This should answer a bunch of questions. </p>
<p>1) Soap is provided but not shampoo or conditioner.</p>
<p>2) There are sheets and a really flimsy pillow and blanket. If you care and have space bring your own.</p>
<p>3) Go to skits.</p>
<p>4) There is a pretty sweet chocolate bar, suck up a little and give it to your parents, it is pretty nifty and make sure to read the label.</p>
<p>5) You will not see your parents much besides in passing.</p>
<p>6) Go to skits, they are hilarious and awesome.</p>
<p>7) I brought my laptop but hardly got the chance to use it. I did not feel like i had to keep an eye on it though mainly because my roommates at CI were actually my roommates for the school year.</p>
<p>8) You will be staying in Thurston, for CI 1 they at least grouped us by floor based on our dorms in the fall. </p>
<p>9) Socialize in the hall during the late night. Even if you are tired there is tons of time to sleep this summer. It will be nice to know people in the fall. Best part is you are actually socializing with people in your dorm in the fall.</p>
<p>10) Go to the student org fair, it was pretty cool.</p>
<p>11) Make sure you go to skits, it really is the highlight of CI.</p>
<p>12) Don’t drink, again the Colonial Cabinet will tell you not to and they are not kidding. Rumor had it some people got in trouble during my session and will not be with us in the fall. </p>
<p>13) Bring an umbrella or at least a rain jacket/Hoodie. The Southeast has almost guaranteed showers every evening and it will rain for about an hour or so then be beautiful but it is nice to have the umbrella because you walk everywhere.</p>
<p>I hope this addresses everything, I did not think I could be any more excited about attending GW, but the Colonial Cabinet was awesome and I am more excited than ever.</p>
<p>Go Colonials!</p>
<p>Zach</p>
<p>P.S. GO TO SKITS!</p>