<p>Is the Dump and Run sale a good place to get stuff like a floor lamp and mini-fridge that probably won’t fit in the car? I realize we could hit Target too but would just as soon buy used and avoid trying to hit the same Target as 3500 other freshman families ;-)</p>
<p>this past fall the dump and run sale started during the president’s address that welcomed students and parents. I really wanted to be there for that as this is my first kid heading to college. I think it was on Sunday morning if memory serves.</p>
<p>There is a huge line that develops for dump and run. We headed there right away but had to stand in line for 45 min before getting in. By the time we got in there, all of the floor lamps were gone. So we bought one at Walmart instead. All the furntiure and chairs were gone by then too.</p>
<p>I’m a student, but… Please, please don’t be a psycho. I know that you mean well, I know you love your kid and want him/her to do well, I know you’re nervous… But you need to back off. Let your kid talk for themselves, and make decisions for themselves (you won’t believe the things parents will say… Obviously the decisions thing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give advice or step in when there’s a major issue… Just don’t micromanage).</p>
<p>And LEAVE. PLEASE. (Preferably day-of, though obviously travel is a concern.) Do NOT be one of those parents who hangs around for days after they drop their kids off. For one thing, your kid won’t be making friends.</p>
<p>Thanks, rrxrnom 
It’s a good reminder. I do plan to let him go off on his own ASAP, though it looks like families are “supposed to” stay for some events on Saturday as well? But we surely won’t be hanging around when we are not needed :)</p>
<p>rrxrnom - notice the thread is “Cornell Parents.” It is always funny to me when kids try to make it sound like WE are the ones who can´t let go. My about to graduate college kid, complains that I have no time for her now, and she has a hard time reaching me (when she was 18, she complained I was calling too much). She wants me to go apartment hunting with her in NYC, I am telling her that I am too busy to come back for a weekend and she is going to have to do it by herself. </p>
<p>We moved D1 in freshman year, after that I was done. She wished we could be more helpful after that. It´s a good thing she has a BF now. Don´t be too quick about trying to get rid of your parents, get it while you can. We don´t always want to hang around. Hard for them to think we could have a life without them.</p>
<p>oldfort, rrxrnom is right to some degree – I remember from my own college move-in day that once my parents were off buying me stuff at the local Target (or wherever it was) I was much more able to get involved with the orientation activities and start making friends. By the time they came back with my stuff, I had places to go and people to meet and was ready for them to go; they got the message, and left. </p>
<p>Every young person and every move-in is different, but I hope we will also get the message at the appropriate time and give our S the space he needs to meet his floormates etc. </p>
<p>One thing I wondered about on these lines was that the Jewish Student Life group hosts a Shabbat dinner on the Friday night of move-in (with families welcome) – seems like a great way to get to know the other Jewish freshmen on campus, but I wondered if it would be awkward for S not to go to dinner with his floor, which I imagine is what would happen otherwise. And even if he goes to the Shabbat dinner, is it better if he goes without the rest of us? Or are we overthinking way too much :)</p>
<p>I only answer Asian related questions.:)</p>
<p>We had our farewell dinner Fri night and left Sat afternoon. A lot of kids had dinner with their parents then went out with their new friends.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to go some none parent or special event weekend.</p>
<p>There is a lot to do every weekend, outdoors and indoors. Rooms will be available and cheaper.</p>
<p>Check it out.</p>
<p>Cornell actually makes it VERY clear what parents are expected and not expected to do at Orientation. The literature about the weekend will tell you when you need to be gone, and they also schedule mandatory meetings in the dorms to ensure the kids begin meeting their classmates, RAs, etc. As long as you follow the guidelines, you will not be hovering, and you may even be helpful since this is the last time your freshman is likely see a car for quite awhile. </p>
<p>Don’t assume your kid will be dining with his dorm hall on Friday. He may be, but families are still around so dinner plans will be varied. The Shabbat dinner would probably be a great way to meet classmates. I have no idea if parents/families will be there. There are many affinity group activities (students from New England is one I recall) scheduled during orientation and it’s great for the students to take advantage of these to widen their circle of acquaintances.</p>
<p>Do parents/sibs stay within Ithaca during this weekend? The hotel costs seems exorbitant, and some are already full. How about a little further off, say Cortland (about 20 miles or so away). If you have a rental car, that should not be much of a distance.</p>
<p>We stayed over one night - just because the drive up was 4.5 hours.
And yes, we were late booking and ended up staying in Cortland.</p>
<p>We booked a room in Cortland for this coming move-in weekend. We’re staying over Friday night, so we can take part in some of the family events on Saturday after dropping the boy off on Friday.</p>
<p>The move in process is so smooth - the kids gathered around the car and had it unloaded and up in the dorm room by the time I came back from parking the car. I purchased the dorm trunk (think Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts kind of trunk). It has wheels and holds a huge amount of stuff, and fits neatly under the bed. </p>
<p>One thing that was touched on is cell service on North Campus - We have Sprint and it is great everywhere BUT on North - My d lives in Bauer, and her phone is always on roam when she is in her room. After many discussions with Sprint about what the unlimited plan covers, I think these issues have been resolved. Per d, Verizon seems to have the best signal there. I would surely check this out before getting a new phone or plan for your student.</p>
<p>D’s college (HumEc) hosted a nice reception for parents, and I’m sure many others do as well. It is a nice time to meet other parents. Some came wearing the clothes they moved their kids in while others were dressed up. You may want to take an outfit you would be comfortable wearing to such an occasion. I would say a business casual would be just right, not to dressy or to casual.</p>
<p>As far as hotel rooms, I personally love B &B’s, there are some lovely ones up in Cayuga Heights near North Campus called the Hound and Hare I and II. They are run by sisters. The William Henry Miller in downtown is also amazing. These do book quick. I booked th e same day I sent d’s deposit in, and was glad I did.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Parents, son got his financial aid today because we sent in our documents really late. We are happy with the financial aid. But I have a question about Health Savings Account contribution amount. Looks like Cornell considers that also as an available income. Is that the standard way to treat the HSA contribution? I couldn’t find definitive answer anywhere.</p>
<p>Yes, Cornell says they consider all untaxed income (such as that contributed to HSAs or retirement accounts) as available income since it is optional to contribute to those accounts. But they will also consider your medical expenses above a certain amount as an expense, so that may cancel out the HSA income. I <em>think</em> it’s ok to include the amount paid out of your HSA as an unreimbursed medical expense since they’re adding back in the income. On my CSS Profile that’s what I did, and just explained it in the additional info section so that they could use whichever numbers they really needed for their formulas.</p>
<p>Thanks, that makes sense. Our reimbursements from the account are close to $3K. We didn’t mention this on PROFILE. If they do consider the reimbursements, our EFC probably gets reduced by 1K. This is not holding up my son’s decision or anything. He has already decided to enroll at Cornell.</p>
<p>The money you spent on healthcare (whether through your HSA or not) only counts if it’s above a certain percent of your income, I think. So they want to know if your costs are higher than other people’s with the same income level, and if so they’ll give you a break for that on your EFC. If the 3K you put into your HSA is the only money you spent on healthcare, you probably won’t get any change to your financial aid for that.</p>
<p>mathmomvt, thanks for that information, then we don’t have to do anything else. The financial aid estimator asking to enter the health care expenses over 4k for us.</p>
<p>So would you recommend booking a room for the parents or not? We live 5hrs away. What are some of the events that the parents will have to attend?</p>
<p>Well, yes, we did. 5 hours up and 5 hours down is a pretty long trip.
I don’t remember any events parents HAD to attend. However, the convocation in the stadium was really very nice.
D is also in HumEc and the parent receptions were good. I have no idea if other colleges had them though…</p>