New Student/Family Orientation

investorscooter · 06-14-2009, 05:46 PM

I would like to hear from an experienced student or parent about the advisability of attending the family orientation. I totally understand necessity for student; how vital is it that parents attend? It looks like a $150 fee if both parents attend, and I'm not into nickel and diming from the get-go. But if it's well worth it, we will consider attending. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

clarabella · 06-14-2009, 06:39 PM

are you talking about the welcome reception? because i don't think theres a cost for that

investorscooter · 06-14-2009, 10:01 PM

No, I believe there's a family orientation for two days/nights concurrent with the first two days of the students' orientation (August 25 - 27th?). The cost for the students are covered in tuition, but the fees for the parents vary, depending on whether it's for 1 or 2 days.

corky · 06-14-2009, 10:22 PM

If you are talking about attending the parent orientation attached to move in, I thought it was well worth it....last year, we helped move our son into his dorm room on the Tuesday move in day....then we each picked up our registration packets over at Argyros Forum....our son had info sessions to attend that were for just students and we had a different schedule of events for just parents....On Tuesday night after dinner there were 2 or 3 info sessions, one of which was a meeting at his dorm to meet the head of the dorm, the RA's and to learn about dorm policies, etc which was very informative....On Wed. the various info sessions for parents included topics of money/aid, health issues, letting go, etc....we enjoyed them all....the students had other topics....basically the money goes for meals....Tuesday dinner, Wed. lunch and dinner....all meals were served outside buffet style and the food was pretty good....maybe a bit pricey but all the tables,.chairs, linens, etc. had to be rented for at least 2000 people so that is part of the cost....Wed. night ended with a very nice closing ceremony which included some speeches, the history of Chapman, etc.....we said goodbye after the ceremony and flew home the next day....I wouldn't have missed it for anything....if you are helping your child move in, you want to stick around and attend the family orientation sessions....

investorscooter · 06-14-2009, 11:21 PM

Corky: your info was very informative, I appreciate it. Thanks.

littlegreenmom · 06-15-2009, 09:31 PM

Our whole family went for the first day, but only I went for the second day of the orientation. I liked the orientation for the most part. Son wouldn't partake of the candlelight ceremony, though. He thought it was bordering on lame.

I had been warned by another friend who has a child there that most of the sessions were separate from student and family. Most of them were good. One was a little hokey. I loved the keynote speaker in the auditorium the first day and while there received one of the best text messages from my son thanking me for sticking by him and helping him get to college!

I will warn you that if you do live in the dorm, to get there early, so you can all decide who gets what bed and how to move the room around. Otherwise, you may get the leftovers in the room! (It's better if you can all figure it out, together, I think.)

It is a long couple of days and the idea is to bond the kids together, and provide a gradual separation from the parents. I would have liked a little more down time throughout the day. Not much down time, truth be told, unless you skip the designated activities, which is not a great plan. We had to jam in a quick session to get his books between one activity and another.

I think if I had stayed for the whole second day, it would have been very overwhelming, but of course, different strokes. I had just checked in an older son to another college the previous year, so there seemed to be a bunch of crossover in the types of seminars and activities offered to the families.

littlegreenmom · 06-15-2009, 09:32 PM

I wish it had been held over a weekend, by the way. Midweek was kind of tough...

investorscooter · 06-15-2009, 09:36 PM

LGM: thanks also to you, for your information. We'll fly in the day before so my son attends his housing contract/key receipt appt. on time and gets to his room.

littlegreenmom · 06-15-2009, 09:39 PM

Long Beach Airport and John Wayne are the closest airports, but LAX is only about 40 minutes away.

investorscooter · 06-15-2009, 09:53 PM

Your comments remind me that I spent time with Parents Orientation emails about the way that the kids go to and from the airport. They gave me a link to the shuttle services, and the metrolink/amtrak info.

We either have easy, inexpensive flights and long shuttle rides (LAX), or expensive connection flights and quick shuttles (John Wayne & Long Beach). We'll figure it out...

It would be cool if any of the kids have a reasonable shuttle business taking their fellow students back and forth to the various airports! I think that would be a good business opportunity. Entrepreneurial Argyos students?

edthegurl · 06-15-2009, 11:08 PM

Haha, that's a great idea, and my mom does have a minivan...
I wouldn't think of charging my collegeconfidential friends though!

corky · 06-16-2009, 12:05 AM

Investorscooter....you are right....cheap flights usually non stop to LAX from here but then the 45+ min drive to Orange (and going home after parents weekend, it took us 90 minutes to get to LAX with morning traffic and we almost missed our flight)....we have given up on LAX and use John Wayne, even tho the flights might cost a bit more and we have to connect somewhere on the way to CA...but it is only about a 20 minute drive to campus... my son found all sorts of friends with cars willing to give him a ride to the airport and pick him up for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring break.....I gave him all the info on Prime Time Shuttle but he never had to use it....since there are so many CA kids with cars, it was so easy for him to find a ride to John Wayne.....

As for movein.....we were given a specific time slot to be able to park close to the dorms and unload and check in....just hope you get an early time slot because it is a hectic day and you need the time to unload, move stuff in, get the room organized, run out and buy stuff no one thought of for the room and bathroom (toilet paper, bath mat, bathroom rug,) etc. before the activities start that night....

investorscooter · 06-16-2009, 08:03 AM

corky: you bring up an excellent point about the move-in. Is there time in the kids' schedule to eyeball the room, THEN go out and buy stuff? Since we're travelling from Miami, we thought we'd do all the shopping out there at Bed Bath Beyond, Target, etc. Since you went from far away, too, is that what you did?

I totally understand what you said about LAX. Now I will be checking all the flight info into Orange and Long Beach more seriously to see what makes better sense. He'll just have to manage connections! I DID see one flight that went from Miami to Seattle before it went to Orange! Craziness.

investorscooter · 06-16-2009, 08:08 AM

Also, I neglected to comment about how kind the students are to take their friends to the airport and pick them up, etc. The same friendliness happens for my daughter, who is at Occidental (up the road), but I didn't know if it applied at Chapman, too. Should have known better. ;-)

That was one of the reasons she found Oxy so appealing. She thought the students were "chill".

littlegreenmom · 06-16-2009, 09:36 AM

edthegirl,

With gas prices going up, you may reconsider your offer. My son asked his buddies for gas money every now and then, and they usually would give him a few bucks for a ride to the airport or Target or wherever they wanted to go. Believe me, his friends saw his car as an easy means to travel beyond Orange, and took advantage of it!. Cheaper than a taxi or shuttle, and I am not an unlimited visa, if you know what I mean.

You will get taken advantage of if you don't ask. They won't usually offer to help pay for gas, but would certainly be paying for it if THEY wee driving, right?