<p>Good morning Hanover! Thanks for the beautiful weather. Off to Lou’s for coffee and then to the Green to get good seats. Aloha, MPI</p>
<p>I am not mad at you MPI, because I did the same thing. I hope that you have good seats. Have an amazing time at graduation.</p>
<p>Thanks Sybbie. We’ve got sunshine and blue skies on the Green. Might get a tan today. Ha. Fun to watch the bleary eyed undergraduates who are saving seats for people. Wireless is spotty. Lou’s coffee needs to be hotter. Let’s get this show on the road! Congratulations parents and families.</p>
<p>Love all the updates Magnum! D couldn’t stay away and returned to Hanover for the weekend. I watched part of it live on YouTube. Safe travels back, and congrats to all!</p>
<p>Commencement was great. Canada gave an excellent speech, although I include myself among those who had never heard of him prior to being announced as the commencement speaker. Weather was great, but you needed sunblock for sitting in the sun that long.</p>
<p>I did see one puzzling scene at Commencement: About midway through the proceedings three college-age people, two guys and a gal, walked into the middle of the audience from the right side. They looked out of place because they were wearing caps and gowns but were not with the other graduates who were sitting together up front. They turned down the first aisle and walked up to the area where the new graduates were sitting, stopped briefly, and then turned around and hurried out on the left side wearing worried expressions, as though they were responding to some sort of emergency. </p>
<p>That was a little puzzling, but it got even stranger a few minutes later when the same three people repeated the peculiar performance. Walked in wearing caps and gowns, walked up to the area where the students were sitting, and then hustled back out again looking Concerned. </p>
<p>Then it got downright bizarre when the same three came back again and exactly repeated the whole sequence for a third time.</p>
<p>By this time I had concluded it was some kind of a frat prank. Either that or someone’s psychology experiment or something. It’s one of those strange things I’m going to wonder about for years.</p>
<p>And that’s a wrap from now eerily quiet Hanover. What a beautiful day for graduation. A bit hot even for me but I don’t normally wear a coat and tie to sit in the sun for 6 hours! Next year I’m just going to sit in the shady bleachers and watch the jumbo Tron. I agree with coueur that Canada’s speech was well done. I’ve noticed that Dartmouth emphasizes to it students the need to make a difference. If it ever shows up on YouTube the speaker at the medical school hooding ceremony was noted physician and author Daniel Verghause(?) And he was excellent. I am especially proud of the students who attend and take Dartmouth’s teaching seriously. It is a special place. I’m looking forward to what they do next. Of course I’m biased but hey this is a parents thread. It’s now on to senior year for my '14 and the new adventures of the class of 2017!</p>
<p>One more commencement note: the lemon cream scones that dining services was selling all morning out of Collis were absolutely delicious. And since my daughter still had money to spend left on her account, the scones, drinks, and other stuff all seemed “free.”</p>
<p>Canada’s speech was excellent. Folt’s valedictory was not. I actually thought most of the valedictorians’ presentations were much better than hers. Malkin’s was my personal favorite (granted, I may be biased in favor of Marines). I tried to persuade my wife to let us sit in the shade and watch the Jumbotron, but instead I have a nice Hanover “tan” to remind me of the day. </p>
<p>coureur, I was sitting right on the middle aisle behind the 63s and was equally baffled by the trio. I took it as a quasi-demonstration: we would say something but, oh no, we can’t, because we would be punished. I could well be totally wrong. It was very odd, but I was glad that the day went off without incident.</p>
<p>Good morning from a mom of a '17! Today my ds graduates from hs-woo-hoo! Here is a question for those experienced D-parents- I received in the mail a catalog from Dartmouth Residential, for linen packages. What are your opinions on just ordering these vs heading to Target and buying them separately? A belated congratulations to those who children graduated this week!!</p>
<p>Buy your own linen and save the $. </p>
<p>I was just telling someone yesterday about how I ordered the XL sheets for JCP D did not even use all of the sheets I purchased). </p>
<p>In a moment of madness, I paid the $5 for the monogramming (thought that I would be a step up from ironing in those pesky labels). I can happily say I still have the picture of my D wearing a monogrammed sheet to a toga party :D.</p>
<p>Thanks Sybbie!! That toga thing sounded kind of cool though :)</p>
<p>Hi ctmomtop3, Congrats on the HS graduation, seems like only yesterday for us. On the bedding issue we also purchased a package from that company for our '14. Primarily because we had no idea if we could get the Twin XL sheets locally, and it seemed convenient at the time. One less thing to worry about when you’re sending a kid from the tropics to the granite hills of NH. I was too busy shopping for winter wear and snow boots. However, now it seems every store around carries this size, and the styles and colors are much nicer. So I would let my kid shop and choose. Get ready for trips!</p>
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<p>They’re indestructible for a reason – small thread count. Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond et al have much better (softer) sheets.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>My son is a 2017 from Canada. He’ll need to get an U.S. plan/phone for his time at Dartmouth. Any advice re. affordable plans, good coverage in the Hanover area, etc. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>^^ A couple of answers (including mine) here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1520988-cell-phone-coverage-hanover.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/1520988-cell-phone-coverage-hanover.html</a></p>
<p>Looking for advice on most important items to send son to Dartmouth with for move in day. He will be freshman and we’ve heard a lot of different advice. I am sure dorms are small and don’t want to over pack. We are driving from Colorado. Also, we have reservations to stay at Baymont in West Lebanon, is that a good choice? If not…suggestions? Thank you!</p>
<p>Never stayed at the Baymont ourselves, but it was recommended to us by parents of a '12 who stayed there most visits and thought it was good value. Driving to the college on 12A/Main Street will take you past all the strip malls in the area, so it’s not that scenic. I might just get back on 89 to 91 north and come in across the Connecticut River. :)</p>
<p>Most important items? Sheets/blanket and/or sleeping bag/towel/basics. Not sure if you mean he’s coming in before you for Trips. Regardless, there’s almost nothing he can’t do without until you get there. I’d size up the room before heading out to WalMart or K-Mart or whatever. The main things that made D’s first room liveable were (a) floor lamp, (b) stacking plastic storage bins that could fit under bed, (c) laundry bag on a frame [toss stuff in & remove from frame to tote to washing machines], (d) drying rack for clothes [might be more of a female thing], (e) thingie for carrying shampoo, etc., to bathroom [also shower flip-flops], and (f) window fan [that should actually come first]. </p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>Thank you! Very helpful. 
</p>
<p>You can get virtually everything you need for a dorm room in West Lebanon. If Walmart, Kmart and Home Depot are not your cup of tea, My daughter (TDI '13) found fancier items at TJ Maxx near Kmart. Make sure your kid goes to the recycle sale at Collis, my son’s schmob all got mini-refrigerators for $50 or so and we had to help them haul it to the dorms. Within walking distance in Hanover is the True Value Hardware store and of course, CVS. For food items, the Co-op is fairly close by. I think some enterprising students run a buying service where they pick up the stuff you want and deliver it to your dorm for a small fee.</p>
<p>Keep us posted on your road trip out to Hanover because I may be doing the reverse next summer.</p>
<p>One more thought. What NOT to buy. No need for a personal printer. Mini-laser we bought? Not needed. Had I only known about CC in 2009. Sigh. I may finally get some use out it, however.</p>