Current freshman--any questions?

ardenatwhitman
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:03:58 +0000

DadGummit, I’m so excited that your son will be joining us this fall! That’s fantastic, and congratulations to him on his acceptance.

As to numbers, I don’t really have a good estimate for you. I honestly didn’t notice whose parents were/were not there–I was just trying to figure out everyone’s names! However, I can definitely share my own experience on move-in day. First of all, you should know that moving in is a process which the college takes very seriously, and tries to help out with as much as possible. For starters, the RAs and SAs will already be in the building on move-in day, and will be giving directions to students, helping them find their rooms, walking them through the check-in process, and just being friendly faces. One of the things that I thought was the most amazing about move-in day was the help we got. When my family and I pulled up to my residence hall, a team of fraternity members unloaded our (large) car and carried 90% of my things up to my room, which was on the fourth floor.

Once the car was unloaded, I checked in with the RAs/SAs who were staffing the main lounge, who directed me on what to do. When I got to my room, my roommate was already moving in. I’d talked to her very little before meeting her, so we introduced ourselves and our parents, then started to unpack/move in. I had all my stuff unpacked, if not put away and organized, within the day. While I was unpacking, both my SA and my RA came and introduced themselves, offered to show me around, and asked if I had any questions. I didn’t at the time, but it was nice to know that they were there if I needed them.

I didn’t need any dorm supplies (I’d already bought most of the things I needed) so after unpacking my parents and I didn’t have much to do. All of orientation week is a bit of a blur to me, but I mainly remember that I didn’t see my parents much except at the large, communal meals which replaced the typical dorm meals. I moved in on Thursday and my parents left on Saturday, and I didn’t feel like I needed them too much.

In short, I think you and your son should decide whether or not you should go. If you don’t, then your son will still have a lot of help getting moved in and acclimated to Whitman. If you do, then he’ll have somebody to hang out with during orientation. I found that it was nice to have my parents around, but I think I would have done okay if they hadn’t been there.