If you can’t visit your kid at college during Parents’ weekend, is it better to list them the week before or after?
It’s best to consult the student’s schedule. Since all Parents’ weekends aren’t the same weekend, there isn’t one answer. Consider if the week before or after has a football game, midterms coming up, is Halloween, is ‘leaf peeping’ season in some areas. Hotel prices can be more if it is Columbus day weekend but that might be more convenient for you. My daughter has a 4 day ‘mini break’ that weekend.
After, so you can reciprocate and take out to dinner those kids whose parents included your child on Parents’ Weekend.
From our experience, we enjoyed our visits more when there weren’t the big crowds; we really got to meet and interact with our kids’ peers.
I agree with @twoinanddone that it would be up to your student’s individual schedule and the campus activities for those weekends. Last year I visited the weekend after and had a great time getting to know my D1’s suitemates; they wouldn’t have been around during Parent’s Weekend.
After.
Let your child tell you what works best for him/her.
It’s best to name a thread with more specificity.
Just ask your kid.
Yes, ask your kid which one they prefer. H and I did head to Parent Weekend the first three years for both kids. The fourth year, they both requested to come home for the weekend. Win-win - only one airline ticket and no hotel! We also visited at least one more time during the year (a weekend of their choice, usually in the spring) and really enjoyed that time because the roommates / friends were able to have meals with us. My kids both went home with roommates / friends at different times. We often had visitors in the summer.
After it is. More votes for after. Everything is equal for now, schedule, preference, etc. It will change I am sure, when it’s too late to change the plan.
I would use both methods of asking your child and also finding out what other activities are happening in the area at the same time. For instance, if they go to school in a city ( two of mine were in Boston ) you would want to know if that could impact hotel prices. There always seemed to be the Red Sox playoffs , Head of the Charles or prospective student weekends at the numerous schools there.