<p>Starting to think about Freshman Parents Weekend. Any thoughts from other parents that have attended?</p>
<p>my husband attended Freshman parents weekend several years ago. he had a wonderful time. great opportunity to meet other parents and get to see ālifeā at Harvard</p>
<p>The schedule of options for parentsā weekend includes lectures by profs, concerts, museum tours, informational open houses at Health Services and the libraries,as well as social functions. Great fun, stimulating, I wanted to stay the rest of the semester.</p>
<p>Most importantly, DD was so pleased to show me her routine, and share her sense of ownership of the campus.</p>
<p>Freshman Parent weekend was fun for us also. It was nice to meet other parents, see our student with new friends, meet the roommates and see the room, and of course wear our parent t-shirt and proud parent buttons. Dads helped re-arrange furniture, Moms checked out the bathrooms, and the campus was very welcoming allowing us to sit in on classes and visit museums. We enjoyed it and would recommend it to everyone. Be prepared for rain and cold, as we had a real downpour while we were there. Hotels book early, so look soon for accommodations. We travel across country so we try to see Boston while we are there. I also try to go to NY if we can, its very easy from Harvard.</p>
<p>Highly recommended. It was great to have the sonās personal tour of the campus, to see how well he was adjusting and to meet his friends and roommates. Didnāt do the Library tour until Junior Parents Weekend, but enjoyed the lectures.</p>
<p>Tessa, I think freshman weekend is generally a good thing for most if the trip is feasible for you; however, the time parents actually spend with their kids can vary. Our S was is/ very involved with his extracurriculars and had two performances with different organizations that weekend which was great for us to attend; but he also had rehearsals, a midterm exam the following Monday, as well as a substantial writing assignments due. So he didnĀt have a heck of a lot of time to spend with us other than short dinners on Friday and Saturday night and lunch on Saturday. We certainly were okay with that and knew what to expect ahead of time. It is probably a good idea to find out what your kidĀs schedule is going to be so nobody is disappointed. The sessions for parents were informative; but we decided to skip the classes. You can see some large lecture classes but most likely not your kidĀs classes. We liked checking out the libraries, H museums, building architecture, doing the campus tour, talking to other parents, and generally taking in the whole atmosphere. Probably the most satisfying thing is just to see your kidĀs ĀplaceĀ in the H setting and environment.</p>
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<p>I thought these activities were great when I went. Plus the fabulous concert in Sanders Theater by all the campus a capella groups was wonderful.</p>
<p>Iāll jump on the bandwagon of recommending Freshman Parentsā Weekend if you can swing it. As ws59 states, your kid could be quite busy but we got extra time with ours by going to one of her rehearsals where we had the pleasure of meeting the choreographer and composer of the piece she performed as well as the other kids in the performance (which was not scheduled for that weekend, so we would not have seen it otherwise). We were able to attend one her classes on Friday, spend some time with her roomie, go to one of the museums, attend some of the other programmed activities and have some nice meals with her. We have already booked our hotel for Junior Parentsā Weekend this spring.</p>
<p>While I donāt imagine that my D will want one, we just got the mailing to order class rings. For the parents of upperclassmen, did your kids buy one and if they did, do they wear them? I know mine has stayed in a small box for decades.</p>
<p>Curious why there is no Sophomore parent weekend?</p>
<p>cltdad- My D and her friends bought class rings senior year. There are many advertisements sent out by the Harvard Student Agencies suggesting the āone ring programāāthis is a marketing ploy to keep the profits in the hands of that student group. those rings are sort of high schoolish-looking, very similarly clunky with many raised letters and symbols.</p>
<p>However, you also have the choice to order Harvard rings from another private company which offer elegant all gold (10k, 14k, or 18k) signet rings with a simple engraved Harvard insignia with no other markings. I donāt think I can list the companyās name, but you will receive a flyer from them eventually, or you can pm me, or just g**gle Harvard rings. </p>
<p>Because Freshman parent weekend is such an undertaking, and sophomores do not generally suffer from home sickness, those may be reasons sophs are not offerred parents weekend. (Or, maybe because too many sophs are running around getting very drunk from punch events for the final clubs?)</p>
<p>Thanks for the information on the rings, Fauve. We just got the ring ad yesterday, so weāll wait for the other one, although with the price of gold, we might have to take a mortgage on the house!</p>
<p>Weāve booked flights and hotel for Jr Parent Weekend and are really looking forward to it. Iām a little worried about the hotel being a way out (Marlowe), but I guess there are always taxis. Weāve always stayed at Le Meridien in the past, but it didnāt work out for us this time. </p>
<p>Does anyone know if JPW is substantially different from FPW?</p>
<p>And I am happy to report that my daughter, who has always put the brakes on studying French is in her 1st French class and loves it. Thanks Harvard!</p>
<p>^ Going to introduce her to Ronsard untranslated, R-m? :)</p>
<p>Our D2 took a class last spring that is essentially an intensive year of French condensed into one semester in preparation for summer study abroad in Cannes. She found it very valuable.</p>
<p>R-m - One of the principal differences that I noted was that JPW is geared toward post-graduation and the houses. There were panel discussions about graduate school and lots of information from the Harvard āemployment officeā (the real name escapes me). The college activities are a bit more āhouse-centeredā with a cocktail party with the house master and dinner at the house dining hall. The kids are much more relaxed too. The late Reverend Gomes remarked that Junior Year is the best year at Harvard. The kids are settled into their houses, they are used to Harvard courses and coursework, and they donāt yet have to worry about getting a real job. It was also a chance to meet the parents of your kidās blockmates as you probably didnāt meet them freshman year. We had a great time.</p>
<p>To the parents of sophomores and beyondā¦ did your students eventually adjust to more normal sleep patterns at Harvard, or do things go from bad to worse on that front? Iām worried at all the stories from fellow first-year parents about their studentsā crazy sleep (and lack of sleep) habitsā¦ and itās only a couple weeks into the semester! How do Harvard students learn when they seem so constantly sleep-deprived? Were any of you able to reason with your students on this front, or is it a losing battle?</p>
<p>^Losing battle. Sorry to say that, but what their peers are doing counts way more than what we say at this point. </p>
<p>I really think the sleep goes in cycles depending on what they are doing. Now the my daughter is singing in the Harvard Choir, she herself pointed out no more late Saturdays or she wonāt be able to get up to sing on Sundays.</p>
<p>My daughter took a host of French classes at Harvard and studied abroad in Paris - just loved French and still does!</p>
<p>crimson15mom: Sleep depravation is not a Harvard-specific issue. As Ronsard said, much depends on what the kids are doing extracurricularly. My daughter is heavily involved in theater, where rehearsals are from 6pm to midnight, so she gets most her work done between midnight and 3am and takes a nap in the late afternoon. My son is involved in baseball where practices occur in the morning, so he canāt stay up late and still function on the field ā although he has tried. No matter what college your kids attend, much of freshman year is learning to balance work, play, friends and sleep. And no you canāt reason with them, as they are off on their own as independent young adults. They have to figure it our for themselves.</p>
<p>How do you plan air travel in advance? For example, the final exam schedule for this fall isnāt posted yet though I know H must have it basically set in advance, so donāt know when S can return for break. And since the Optional Winter Week Activities wonāt be set until much later, couldnāt buy a return ticket either. This leaves no hope of getting a frequent flyer ticket and these days even regular fare tickets start getting scarcer and more expensive well in advance of the travel date. Itās a little frustrating for us.</p>
<p>snowonder- Iāve been none too happy about that fluid final schedule since we have to plan international flights ourselves. Freshman year I bought a ticket based on the exam schedule thinking it would never change, only to find it did! A hard lesson to learn. My daughter petitioned the dean to no avail.</p>