<p>We got ours months ahead - and in the back of my mind, I wondered whether we’d need them. There’s no risk at most places, with refunds given if you cancel with even a short notice, but do double check if there are special rules in effect for graduation. </p>
<p>Also made the first Parents weekend reservations the day the deposit was sent in. That won’t work for every locale, but is something for new parents to keep in mind.</p>
<p>Ophi, like TheDad, I am 100% sure my kid will graduate on time, unless God forbid, something happened to her to take her out of the school (NOT academic). So, it is pretty important that we make hotel reservations because she WILL be graduating in a year, I’m positive. I suppose the unforeseen tragedies in life exist but those can’t be planned for. Each of us knows our kids well and I know my kid will graduate in a year.</p>
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<p>Some schools will let you walk in the graduation ceremonies in such a case, with the understsanding that you’ll get the actual degree when those credits are earned.</p>
<p>You folks have it easy if you only have to reserve a year ahead. Ay my son’s freshman orientation we were warned that all of the hotels in town had already been taken for 4 years down the road. I did manage to find one later that day, but they wanted $350 per night (for a standard, somewhat shabby Holiday Inn) with a three night minimum - payable in advance. I said no thanks and instead found a room in a town about 45 minutes away. Of course that was a year ago and now all rooms in this town are also booked.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that we “only have to reserve a year ahead,” but rather that I have not been able to reserve a hotel yet (have looked into this for several months now for my 2008 graduate) because they won’t take reservations more than 12 months ahead of time.</p>
<p>I’m planning to camp in the center of the campus. ;)</p>
<p>LOL. We already have our reserves in at our favorite B&B for graduation - Class of 2009!</p>
<p>Well, if they want us to rent a room, they’ll just have to increase our financial aid. 
(Actually, I have many friends in the area who will want me to do a speaking engagement that week, which will more than pay for the trip, and turns most of it into a tax writeoff.)</p>
<p>Well, my HS best friend lives a chip shot from Hopkins. We love staying with her when visiting. And now I am celebrating the lack of need for hotel reservations. We always take her out for dinner when we stay, but given the hotel prices you are quoting for graduation, maybe we should be springing for that kitchen remodel she’s been saving for? :D</p>
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Ya know, I just realized the other day that I (most likely) will NEVER have to have another job interview. Dear Lord, I hesitate to think how many I’ve endured over a 37 year career. At least I’m well qualified to advise on this topic.</p>
<p>Soozie, So your daughter’s going straight on to grad school? We’ll be so interested in following her achievements. </p>
<p>My son decided to take a break. Actually, he had hoped to do some traveling, volunteering, goofing off, but a wonderful job kind of landed in his lap so he’s going directly from graduation to WORK. I’m mean directly. They even want him to come in on weekends prior to graduation. The Real World wakes us up rudely! </p>
<p>Your advice about checking potential graduate school requirements early on should be well noted. My math-challenged son is sweating through calculus in his last semester. Not that it would have been any easier early on, but it would have been less stress related.</p>
<p>Momrath…Yay for your son landing a job already! I pretty much knew he was taking a year off before graduate school for arch. I think the last time I “spoke” with you about this, I really wasn’t sure if my D would go right to grad school or take a year off. At that time, we really were not talking about it (other than she was planning to go to grad school for arch), and I recall her saying she wasn’t sure if she’d do it directly or a year off. But you know, she had a job in France last summer and then was abroad in Italy all fall and so these bigger kind of “talks” did not happen and it was early yet. However, while I never discussed that again, it is obvious to me that she is planning to apply during senior year for graduate school following graduation. Her talk now is of doing that and so I have never brought up the year off thing because apparently she decided on her own and has moved forward. She hasn’t done anything yet about grad school but talks about applying next year, etc. That’s what I think is the plan.</p>
<p>Yeah, she did call up about a dozen grad schools. She had taken AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC in 11th and 12th grades and scored well on the AP exams. She always had exceled at math. However, unless she HAD to for grad school, she doesn’t want to take math in college because there is a bunch of other stuff she prefers to take (and Brown has an open curriculum to boot). She wanted to find out from the grad schools if those two math APs could count for the math requirements and she was told yes, and was real happy about that. The other thing was Physics. She has taken one course in Physics at Brown (she knew she needed that for grad school) but wanted to make sure for the few grad schools that wanted two semesters of Physics, whether they would count that she took an Engineering Course that covered the topics that a Physics course would have covered that is needed. She really doesn’t want to take another Physics course. She was told that the engineering course would count because it covered the topics that are needed and she’d just have to present the syllabus. This is for schools that wanted two semesters of Physics. So, she is glad she checked because now she doesn’t have to take either. </p>
<p>I’d love to hear the type of job your son got if you wish to email. My D just got a summer internship at an architectural firm in Paris and is really excited as she loves being in France and so it is an extra benefit even though her main objective was to work in an arch firm. She wrote all her letters to them in French. </p>
<p>Anyway, your son and my daughter will likely be applying to arch grad schools at the same time. I can’t even really think about this because it is like we just got done college admissions, lol. But it will be fun to know another parent of someone going through that process when the time comes!</p>
<p>One of the benefits of renting a large 1 bedroom for your son is that the whole family can squeeze in for a few nights at graduation. He’s beyond thrilled, of course. I figure 3 nights will just about cover 2 months rent.</p>
<p>Cheers…that would be hard for us because all the grandparents, etc. are planning to attend, so I’m supposed to be reserving hotels rooms for all. My D will be living in an 11 bedroom house with a total of nine girls.</p>
<p>I hadn’t even thought about my daughter’s graduation 2008! She is on track and scheduled to graduate. </p>
<p>This year the main ceremony will take place at Madison Square Garden with only three tickets available to each student. They will have individual ceremonies/receptions for each department prior to the main commencement. I suppose we could just do the individual ceremony.</p>
<p>I won’t really worry about hotels as there are plenty in NYC.</p>
<p>Soozievt - Great to hear that both of D’s are doing well! Will Brown’s graduation be in Providence? When my daughter did the summer programme at RISD, we stayed at both the Marriott and the Westin. The Westin was much better than the Marriott.</p>
<p>TheDad - What is your daughter planning to do? If I remember, wasn’t she interested in politics? I do remember she is at Smith!</p>
<p>Mauretania, nice to hear from you after all this time. I can’t believe we are even both on a thread talking about graduation for our kiddos. Yes, Brown’s graduation is on campus at Brown. I don’t care how nice the hotel is. I only care that we can get rooms, not have to take out FA to afford to attend the ceremony in the first place (LOL), and proximity. </p>
<p>I hope your D has loved her school so far. I also have a D in NYC and while there are plenty of hotels, each trip to move her in and out and to see her events, adds up. </p>
<p>Your D is up to graduating already?</p>
<p>Soozievt - No, she graduates May, 2008. When I read this thread with everyone booking far in advance, I checked her school website to see when graduation was taking place this year. I figured it would be about the same time frame as next year and gave me an idea of what to expect.</p>
<p>Soozievt - “moving in and out” We didn’t have to mess with that as my daughter shared an apartment up until last fall and now has one of her own.</p>
<p>I smiled at the idea of your D2’s “events” which I suspect are theatre related.
My daughter sends some of her art projects by email for me to view! </p>
<p>I hope you visit your D1 in Paris - a good excuse to go! I have relatives in France, the closest to Paris being St. Germaine-en-Laye.</p>
<p>Hi, Mauretania, good to see you again. Yes, D’s still interested in politics. I think the current plan is a MS in Econ coupled with a law degree. If there are changes to the plan, I hope I’m kept informed. :)</p>
<p>Looking forward to D’s Oberlin graduation in a few weeks. We decided to stay in dorm rooms b/c my H and I both attended there but didn’t date back then (met 10 years later). </p>
<p>So we definitely want to sleep together at our alma mater. I’ll try for his same dorm room.</p>
<p>And my 80-year-old mom’s flying in from New Hampshire (a bit worried, maybe wheelchairing her about), so that’ll be a hoot with her next door.</p>
<p>17-year-old son will make of it what he will, but I guess I can room the two of them together. First coed school in America, how can Oberlin object?</p>
<pre><code>D has immediate plans to do a multi-city tour with O’Circus so we can take back her STUFF, but not her. Good thing; her stilts won’t fit in the car.
Can I get a special deal on extra-long dorm sheets…NO!!! No more of this!!!
</code></pre>
<p>mauretania, OK, yes, I did think your D was in the same class as my older one. No, we won’t be visiting her in Paris this summer. However, this past fall semester, she studied abroad in Florence. We visited her there and my husband and I also went on to Paris, so I got to do this already! My D also worked in a job last summer, by chance, in France, unrelated to her major. It wasn’t like she was looking for a job in France this summer, but merely an internship in an architecture firm. Most were in the states. She applied blindly to this one and got it. So, we had no idea she’d be back in Europe again. She is happy about it as she loves France, travel, the opportunity to be immersed in French, all the while meeting her original objective of getting an internship in architecture. So, I guess she’s going back again. But not moi. </p>
<p>Yeah, our trips to NYC are to see younger D in shows and we were just there for that purpose last weekend. Our kids are rarely home and so we see them by traveling to both of their events. We have to go to NYC a bunch coming up because to move D out of dorms, then back to NYC for an 8 week block this summer, then move her back home again, and then back for fall semester into a NON dorm apartment. This doesn’t count any shows she may be in.</p>