<p>Her room was on the 4th floor, the one just to the lower left of the big clock. John Adam’s old room was on the ground floor directly beneath hers.</p>
<p>When we lugged all her stuff up there and got it piled in the middle of the room, I was little dismayed at how small it was. And with the steep sloping ceiling, I could stand upright in only about 2/3rds of the room. I think it must have been servants’ quarters back in colonial times. </p>
<p>There were two bedrooms for two girls with a bathroom shared with the other two girls across the hallway. But one of the two bedrooms was much larger than the other. The housing people had put one bed in the small room and the other bed and <em>both</em> desks in the larger room, the smaller room being too small to fit both a bed and a desk. But the girls themselves soon sorted this out into a better arrangement. They put both desks into the small room, making it a study room, and both beds into the larger room making it a sleeping and dressing room. Cramped? Yes, but it worked out fine.</p>
<p>And after she had been in school for a week or two, one of the occasional great benefits of living on Harvard campus became evident. One of the guys in her entry way who lived a floor beneath the girls was a virtuoso cellist and was at Harvard studying to become the next Yo Yo Ma (and in fact the actual Yo Yo Ma is his mentor). And sometimes when his roommate was out this guy would practice in his room instead of going to a music room. And the whole stairwell was then filled with the most beautiful cello music, wafting up from under their feet. It was so beautiful that the entire stairwell, normally populated with chatty, noisy college kids, would fall silent in listening.</p>
<p>What a way to kick off your college experience - living with great new friends and surrounded by both history and incredible beauty.</p>
<p>OK, so I’ll be the ridiculous antithesis to Coureur’s sublime imagery. The frosh who I tend to feel sorry for are the ones in Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth is alongside Mass Ave. and the T runs beneath it, making it . . . well, . . . wiggle! My D used to go there to play pool with friends her freshman year, and if you didn’t like the options of shots that you had available, the strategy was to stall until the next train came through, after which your configuration of balls on the table would be somewhat rearranged. She assured me however, that the Wigglesworth residents quickly became accustomed. And it must be so, considering that Bill Gates, Ted Kennedy, Leonard Bernstein, John Lithgow, Robert Lowell, and Ben Bradlee all lived there and were none the worse for it.</p>
<p>^Well coming from CA where we often feel the “wiggles” and hear rattling windows, my D could be perfectly comfortable there, just like home lol.</p>
<p>Those of you who live a long way away from Harvard and whose kid will be flying to Boston this fall: Do you buy a round-trip ticket and pick out the date the student will be coming home at Thanksgiving/Christmas, then buy a second round-trip ticket for the return-to-Boston part of that holiday trip and the student’s next trip home? Or do you invest in one-way tickets? (Obviously I am pretty clueless about this.)</p>
<p>^^ I always bought separate one-way tickets for the trip to school in the fall and the trip back home in the spring. She could never know with enough certainty when her finals and year-end activities would be over to permit buying a round trip ticket. For Christmas break we bought a round trip ticket. For Thanksgiving she didn’t come home.</p>
<p>We fly out of a city that, like Boston, is served by AirTran, which is a cut-rate carrier. All AirTran tickets are one-way, which makes it very convenient to buy a ticket to campus for Sept. and not have to worry about return dates until Nov. I believe that Spirit Airlines is similar.</p>
<p>guitars - Sorry, missed that great link you provided till just now. The rooms look inviting. I feel better. We are sort of lucky in that we have close family friends who live in Brookline. A good place for us to stay when we visit and for our D to go for a home cooked meal and back rub now and then.</p>
<p>Mammall - That’s great! Thanks! Hey everybody, Mammall has a place in Brookline where we can crash for free during move-in. I’ve got some extra sleeping bags if you need to borrow one.</p>
<p>Someone posted a great question about airplane tickets for move-in day in september. Does anyone have any advise as to when to book them? now or later? Do airlines usually hike prices?</p>
<p>No one can really predict airfare prices with absolute certainty, but the folks at [Cheap</a> Flights, Airfare, Airline Tickets, Cheap Travel](<a href=“http://www.farecast.com/]Cheap”>http://www.farecast.com/) seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.</p>
<p>Hi, I am a mom of an incoming freshman girl and just found this thread and just wanted to introduce myself. We live in Europe but are American and my daughter will be attending a pre-session for “international students” so I will probably be flying with her then hanging out getting things done till move in day. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what banks are close to campus, I would like to try and get that set up before we come. Also any thoughts on cell phones-best company coverage etc. Last time we were in the states Verizon was the way to go but be interested in hearing your views. Probably sound like silly questions but being over here it is a bit more difficult logistically and I feel a little out of touch. Thanks!</p>
<p>Welcome! Bank of America has the most ATMs. Local banks do a brisk business around orientation, getting students to open checking accounts, etc… so your D should have no trouble opening an account.
For cell phones, check which type is the most popular in your country. I’ve been traveling to Asia and found that T-mobile was most convenient for me. I just buy a sim-card and insert it in my phone, buying more minutes when the need arises. When I return, I re-insert my regular sim-card. It does mean that I have different numbers for different countries, which may be inconvenient. Others use pre-paid cards.</p>
<p>Our D got off the waitlist on Tuesday evening, and as we don’t have anything in writing yet, can some of you experienced Harvard parents tell me about move-in weekend? If D chooses H over Duke, which she is leaning towards, when is the first night she can actually stay in her dorm? Also, does H plan any events for parents in conjuntion with move-in? Will the class of 2012 walk through any special gates, etc.!!! (Duke actually has scheduled events, including a tear-at-the-heartstrings convocation.) Any info. is much appreciated so that I can begin making plans…I know we are already a bit behind the 8 ball. Thanks, and if H is in D’s future, I look forward to meeting all of you!</p>
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