<p>I went in late July. While I may have been able to find all the information on the web, I thought it was useful. I have not had a campus tour before, although I’m familiar with the town. </p>
<p>My wild guess was that about 50-70% of the kids had parents attend. My attendance didn’t have any affect on my DD interacting with other students, but that might just be our relationship. I knew I’d have plenty of time to debrief with her after orientation, so I didn’t need to have time at meals with her. I checked in with her quickly and let her lunch with the new friends she was making. </p>
<p>I found it particularly useful to talk to existing students, including a few in her specific major, to find out what I could do to make her transition smooth. I also found it useful to have an in-person review of various topics: GE and major requirements, billing, housing, safety, activities, etc. I’ll bet I could have spent 3X the time trying to figure out these items from the web vs. having a person summarize them. </p>
<p>There is also a chance to talk to faculty. I was very excited that a superstar in brewing science was there. Not that it matters for my DD’s academic career, but I had a few brewing questions for him.</p>
<p>BTW, at least for my session, I couldn’t find anyone who had a roommate, including me. My only real complaint was that WiFi coverage wasn’t provided for family. The kids could get all setup, but as a non-student, you have to use your kid’s Davis login (frowned upon by the school) in order to be able to use the WiFi. Lucky for me, there was an open WiFi from another group that I was able to use.</p>