<p>My understanding is that it is suppose to be a bigger deal than the freshmen parents’ weekend.</p>
<p>We went to Jr. Parents Weekend in our daughter’s junior year. It’s usually in March. It has some similarities to Freshman Parents Weekend, except by then your kid is very much a savvy veteran of life at Harvard. It’s sort of to update the parents and to look ahead to graduation and jobs and school beyond Harvard. It has events, speeches, lectures, concerts, etc. just like the Freshman weekend.</p>
<p>There is life beyond Harvard? YES! Life beyond tuition!</p>
<p>We noticed that Columbus Day (Oct 13) is a vacation day at Harvard; it’s a Monday. We are thinking of flying D1 home for a long weekend rather than us visiting her in Cambridge for Freshman Family weekend. Partly thinking about expense and partly just wanting to have her at home for a bit. She sounds sort of neutral to this idea. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>It might be a tad early, as classes only just start today. The students are just beginning to build a rhythm to their lives, juggling meals, classes, homework, new friends and activities. That one day off can be a great time for students to sleep-in, or have a local adventure with friends (Boston, Revere Beach, etc.) </p>
<p>If she isn’t clamoring to come home, I wouldn’t upset her adjustment. (Though it is tempting to appease parents’ lonliness.) </p>
<p>Perhaps just send one parent to Family Weekend? The frosh love to show off their new home by then, once they see all the other parents on campus.</p>
<p>EAO - You live in Europe? In that case, fly to Cambridge in November and we’ll blow off Parents Weekend and stay at your place!</p>
<p>Thanks, fauve - yes the sensible thing financially is just for DH or me - not both of us - to go. But we’re both just sick with missing her! This is tough. I guess we’ll just hang in there until November. We have friends in Brookline but their place is miniscule and they have a toddler now - just feels like imposing to stay with them.</p>
<p>I feel your pain, Mammall! That emptiness is like a sickness. I guess we can remember our own advice to DDs when they went off to pre-school: ‘it will be over before you know it…’</p>
<p>This is a transition time for you & DH now…only you don’t have the excitement of Harvard and 1650 new potential friends (don’t we wish?). Maybe it is a good time to rekindle old friendships, start a routine of sharing movies, meals with other adults who are also emptynesters?</p>
<p>If adults don’t seem fun enough, how about volunteering as a coach, sponsor, for a teen team/group?</p>
<p>There is a B&B in Cambridge which is alot less expensive than the Cambridge hotels–try googling.</p>
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<p>That’s it exactly - every quick call or text message has her running off to something that sounds really fantastic and we always hear lots of surrounding excited voices - clearly, DD1 is not sitting alone in her room! We, on the other hand, are pretty much status quo here except minus her! And DD2 is feeling it terribly. Oh my. Didn’t realize this would be so tough.</p>
<p>DH and I have started a yoga class, though. And DD2 does seem to be enjoying (usually) the morbid amount of attention.</p>
<p>It’s the dreaded “thud.” We too. Sigh.</p>
<p>mammall, I really feel for you. I will tell you that it gets better with time. Last year at around this time, I ramped up my daily runs to five miles a day - and this really helped. </p>
<p>I second what fauve said about your DD coming home for Columbus day - it might be a much needed sleep break for her and it is kind of early for her to come home. </p>
<p>If it is any consolation, last year my DW did not go with me to parents weekend because of child care issues. I have to tell you that seeing DD during parents weekend made things better for me. By that time, she was well adapted to life in Cambridge and I was able to buy some items that she needed. I will add that meeting the parents of her roomies was also comforting for me - it seemed like we all had so much in common.</p>
<p>Hang in there - it gets better with time.</p>
<p>Mammall- you still have DD2…lucky you! What a great opportunity for one on one time, now that her high achieving sister is off to a new life. (I will gladly accept all lovely un-wayward daughters to fill our spaces!)</p>
<p>As much as we may envy all their fun, we are happy our students are not crying to come home, aren’t we?</p>
<p>How soon until the admissions maze begins for DD2?</p>
<p>mammall, I’m praying for you (and me). It’s been so hard on us as well. My son admitted to us today that he was about 5 min. from calling us last Sunday night and saying “come get me”. This has been a huge transition for him. His facebook status now says “having a great time”. this makes us very happy. He said it was very hard for about 4 days, then as he started to meet people and go to meetings for clubs things started to change 
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<p>I will continue to pray for you and all parents on CC who have kids in college for the first time. Very hard indeed.</p>
<p>Yes - it’s just one more version of labor pains, I guess. D1 seems well-integrated socially but having lots of trouble deciding on her class schedule. Wants to take some aggressive econ and life sciences but is afraid she’ll get overwhelmed. I think she’s overestimating how hard it will be - at least, hope so. I know it’s Harvard but the students are still mortals!</p>
<p>Fauve - I enjoy your posts so much. D2 is a rising high school freshman. Has lots of talent but a more laid-back approach than D1, although so far this academic year she is carrying a near perfect average in all her classes. DH says he thinks maybe the beast within is stirring. </p>
<p>I’ve been struck that we have at least two veteran Harvard parents on here with two daughters - GADAD and Coureur. Anyone else?</p>
<p>gadad, Have had that offer from 2 out of 5 of my daughters roommates, sounds like a good idea!!! One of them lives in NYC and swapped houses last year with people in Paris, neat concept. Of course during parents weekends husband will be here with at least 2 kids, may be a bit crowded!
Really though, As grand as it may sound I would do anything to be a little bit closer - at least on the same Continent. It was hard to get on the plane and leave that Sunday night. We have lived overseas for quite a while in various places and its been great but… Next year my son will leave for college (he is a senior this year) we will then have 2 gone and 2 still at home (we have 4 )and as the numbers dwindle over here I am pushing my husband to get us back to the US. Not that we would be visiting anymore than now but… </p>
<p>On that note Coureur and Gadad do you think having a sibling in Harvard helped your younger child get in? My son sure hopes so…</p>
<p>Guitars glad your son is doing better! And Mammall I second everyone else’s advice it’s early to come back and she may need the time to work on projects especially if she is trying to take an aggressive schedule.</p>
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<p>I’ll let you know on April 1st when D2 gets her admissions results.</p>
<p>Looks like we will both find out then!!! :))</p>
<p>Harvard admissions says that siblings do not a legacy make, and I’ll take them at their word that they don’t intentionally give an advantage to a sibling application. But it can only help from two points of view. First, a single member of the Admissions committee manages the apps from a particular state or group of states, and would likely remember the first sibling when the second applies. In our case, we have an unusual last name and an obscure hometown, so if the same Admissions officer advocated for D1 two years ago and was favorably impressed, she may have done the same for D2. There’s no way for us to determine, because D1 and D2 were not only equally credentialed, their resumes were so similar as to be virtually interchangeable - right down to GPAs, SAT scores, and major activities, honors and awards.</p>
<p>But the one way in which having a sibling enrolled clearly helps is in helping the younger sibling to craft an application strategy. What D1 did worked, so D2 went to school on it and followed the same basic plan. She arranged appointments with key faculty for her college visit, she recorded a CD of her vocal and piano work, produced a one-page photo-resume, picked two or three key themes to return to over and over in her app, etc. And now it’s worked twice, so the girls’ little brother will probably follow the same plan in a few years.</p>
<p>On another topic, we had an example of some cheesy satire from The Crimson a couple pages back. Yes, Crimson writers lapse into their post adolescent-pre adult form frequently as they aspire to be the next Conan O’Brien (who built his pop-culture humor and satire resume at Harvard before returning triumphantly to deliver the funniest and cleverest Commencement address ever rendered). But check out this analysis of the Palin factor from the current edition of the paper. Whether you agree politically with the writer or not, the thought that this was written by a 20- or 21-year old undergraduate is breathtaking. And, what’s more amazing, it’s not unusual - it’s quite the norm for Crimson prose.</p>
<p>Whoops . . . perhaps I should include the link:</p>
<p>[The</a> Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: A Pitbull by Any Other Name](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=524045]The”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=524045)</p>
<p>^ gadaad - thanks for sharing your D2’s strategy - when a plan works, best to stick with the plan. Wish my kids had some muscial talent . . .</p>