<p>:: wanders into the room with a platter of sushi and satay ::</p>
<p>Is anyone hungry?</p>
<p>It’s funny, but the talk of his textbooks is the first indication of his excitement. I’ve been having everything shipped to my SD who lives near the college, but he said he’d like the books shipped to our house…probably not the most practical, but hey, if he wants to see them, it’s worth it!</p>
<p>S has been in touch with his roommates (he’s in a triple), met one at the orientation preview, and has been FB’ing with the other who lives about an hour away from school. </p>
<p>I’m feel more apprehenxious than he is, at least on the outside. I had no idea that I would be finding it so hard to let go. I knew I’d miss him, but I didn’t realize how much I would miss doing things for him.</p>
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<p>Lol…I’m sure you are correct and that a motivated student who is on top of things could get the book list and order ASAP and get the books in plenty of time. But my own particular child would think about it for a few days, then go oneline, then think about it a while longer…then use all that as an excuse for why he couldn’t read the first chapter.</p>
<p>I’m sure that it depends on the school and the topic of study. It’s not uncommon for my S to need 9-10 books for one class and his econ books are always expensive no matter where I look. SInce D is a bio major I see lots of textbooks in her future and those always seem to be more expensive then what S typically uses although there are almost always a couple of books that are in the 100+ range for him with no luck of finding them cheaper although I do try.</p>
<p>LOL Missy. Not my son’s MO, but it’s mine! I am notorious for waiting until the last minute and then missing the boat completely.</p>
<p>Also… bookstore policy at S’s school is that you cannot return books unless you have dropped the class. Probably to avoid exactly what is described above. Also, there is the issue that if you buy a used book and then return it you’ve essentially taken someone else’s book if they had to buy a new one. And even if you do buy books and then return them under the rules of return, you can only return for store credit. I guess that’s not too hateful since you’re likely to spend the money eventually, but it is pretty much saying, don’t use us and then toss us aside. </p>
<p>Oddly, younger daugther’s school has now switched to having to buy books from an online bookstore. I will order those today for the most part, but will also look on some of these other websites to see if I can get a better deal. Unfortunately, older son took all honors classes and so their books won’t be the same and US history has a new book this year to replace the book S used. Even regular Chemistry, which my sister taught and so I have about four older books along with teacher editions, has updated their book to the lastest edition. Ugh!</p>
<p>I did, however, order son’s laptop directly from the school. No shipping and even though it’s a mac, no tax if OOS (except California for some reason). Also, unlike the MAC store in town they throw in a new printer and since he already has an iphone, he’ll give the Ipod touch (free) to his sister. I figure I save a little bit over $130 and the school will actually be where he bought it if there are any issues. And at this point, $130 is about half of what extended warranty is going to cost.</p>
<p>Just got S’s Calculus textbook in the mail. No posted textbooks for his other classes.</p>
<p>Spent all day Saturday with H and S at Museum of Natural Science (we’re suckers for Genghis Khan). I think that may be the last time we all get to go together.</p>
<p>We’ve been looking at “bigwords.com” - “BIGWORDS compares all the best textbook stores at once finding the sweetest, cheapest textbook deals on the planet”</p>
<p>No hysterical call last night from D2 but a text informing me that she was sleeping on the floor at another apartment since there was a party in full swing at where she was assigned to stay. She is making attempts to get to know the party people…they did ask her to drive home someone who couldn’t get home by herself and to run another girl to the liquor store. That’s progress, right? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Are these partiers freshman or upper class team members?</p>
<p>Both. Upperclass living in off campus housing and have freshies staying with them. </p>
<p>She is glad that she found a few there who don’t indulge. H and I have drinks and entertain quite frequently so she has been exposed. It was just a shock at how quickly and to what extent it is happening.</p>
<p>NM, please keep us posted…your D is certainly having a tough start, and that must be tortuous for you. Are these her roommates, or just a temporary situation?</p>
<p>Temporary. Her real roommate is who she has been driving over to stay with. Thank heavens. There is another roommate but she hasn’t been mentioned. D2 moves on campus to her own place at the end of the week</p>
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<p>A friend’s D went to a school where they have sorority rush before classes start. The D was so excited about being in a sorority. She lasted under a month when she found out that drinking was pretty much the center of things at that particular sorority…the liquor ed tips she got were in the nature of “don’t let yourself be photographed holding a drink” etc. She didn’t mind that there *was *drinking…for that group, however, that’s all there was. She pledged a different sorority the next year and loves it.</p>
<p>Whew! </p>
<p>S’s school has the students do a mandatory alcohol online education training, which seems like a good idea. I’ve never seen/smelled/suspected that he’s indulged before, but I’d be surprised if he hadn’t.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips on fetchbook and bigbook.</p>
<p>Oh NM how awful for your D. So glad she is using the time to bond with her permanent roommate but still what a difficult thing for a girl who doesn’t like change and who is slow to warm up. I think we have shared before how much she seems like my own TwinK. I do think it’s progress that a text came instead of desparate phone call. Continued good thought for her and you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the book sites ya’ll. Sitting down today to see if we can make progress on the book ordering thing.</p>
<p>cpeltz: My girls have to do that alcohol awareness thing too. I wonder if there is a corrolation between schools who do it and a decrease in incidents of alcohol related accidents/hospitalizations.</p>
<p>HMW: sounds like the ride home…excepting the traffic…was pretty sweet!</p>
<p>Umm… I dont think I’d like my kid living amid such disrespect. She’s sleeping on the floor? Seems to me that there should be some conversations happening about expectations, etc. I guess what you’re saying is that the parties are happening in upper classmens apts/dorm. Yet? Still, if these are upperclassmen running things, I don’t get how this could be seen as “team-building.”</p>
<p>Kind of stupid of the school to not allow freshman to move into their rooms knowing full well what goes on in off campus housing.</p>
<p>I think that lots of athletes and others are in all sorts of temporary conditions at the beginning of the year. I’d try to stay cool about it.</p>
<p>The semester I student taught, here was the schedule for the student teachers in my major:</p>
<p>Week one: seminars on the college campus. They made no provision for our living arrangments whatsoever, so I slept on my former roomate’s floor.</p>
<p>Week two: seminars at a state residential K-12 school. We slept on old metal hospital beds in a Civil War era infirmary building.</p>
<p>Week three: Go to first student teaching assignment. I had found a place to live in that town and had moved my stuff there. But the teachers in that town went on strike so they told me to go home and await further instruction. They found a place for me to go in a week. I drove to that town on Monday morning with absolutely no place to live!!! (I can’t believe my parents allowed this.) I found someone to room with that very day, drove to the other city, got my stuff, and moved into a house with a perfect stranger.</p>
<p>I’d go nuts if that was happening to my kid (even at age 20).</p>
<p>Edited to add: I ended up having a blast that semester.</p>
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<p>Two words: No cellphones. They probably didnt have a clue until “crisis” had passed. Doesn’t sound like you had regular use of even a pay phone!</p>
<p>I agree that as a parent you can’t get all flustered. At the same time, these aren’t “student teachers” or graduate students, etc. These are freshman. Everyone I know going to school early for sports gets to move into either a dedicated dorm or their own room that’s been assigned for fall term. So this seems strange to be required to be there early without adequate arrangements is all. But I guess it’s only for a week.</p>
<p>My sister was a coach for 25 years. She said those students who were housing underclassmen would have been on strict orders from her to not “traumatize them.” :)</p>
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<p>But one student’s trauma is another student’s “this is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.” I have a friend whose D’s credit card purchases for the *first *day at school were as follows: books, school supplies, keg of beer.</p>
<p>I guess I have to remember the virtues of being young. I assume that the partiers among NM’s Ds teammates are practicing their sport every day, then drinking, then getting up early again … I could never do it.</p>
<p>HM, your D’s are heading to a Jesuit school as my S is, I think…any other schools doing the alcohol awareness? I think that even if the kids are blowing through the online training, some it has got to sink in, and at least all the kids are coming in with the same knowledge, so you don’t get some who think big time binge drinking has no consequences. I think I prefer worrying about the cost of books!</p>