Current freshman--any questions?

DadGummit
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:19:00 +0000

Ardenatwhitman, thank you for taking the time to shine some light on what sounds like a wonderful school. My son has also decided that Whitman is wonderful, and he’ll begin in August. I’ll ask you to recall your experience arriving at Whitman as a new student …

At this time we are planning for him to travel to Whitman on his own and do what needs to be done in the first several days without parents. I like this arrangement because it allows my child to immediately start making the Whitman experience his own. He visited Whitman twice (with a parent) and for friends has only the Whitman acquaintances that he made during his brief stays. My child is fairly competent and independent and I imagine that Whitman provides good support services for new students.
Another (not Whitman) parent suggested that parent support can be helpful during the first days of settling in to a college. The other parent’s child’s roommate was one of the few who had no family support in the first days, and the parent felt it more helpful than meddlesome to invite the roommate on a trip to the store to get supplies for dorm room, and just be supportive at some of the welcoming activities. The parent’s experience leads him to encourage me to accompany my child to Whitman.
From your experience, what is your estimate of the percentage of new students that arrive at Whitman on first day with no parent?