I am in the camp of going away = not living at home. Many kids here go to our state flagship U, which is in the same city as we live. It is the best school in the state. The kids living in the dorms get the college experience even though they may be only 20 minutes from home. College is about the academic education and the social and emotional education, and being away from home, however close, can fit that bill.
My opinion is that “going away to college” is really going away… Not being close enough that they can bring laundry home if they wanted to, and not being in the same, familiar surroundings as they were in HS, and not being able to come home on a whim. To me, going away removes the safety net (we know kids living in dorms in town here, but they know that home is just a few miles away).
Is there anyone else who is ready for their kid to leave? He goes in 3 weeks and I am ready. He is ready. He will be a little over an hour away so I can see him but with other kiddos still at home it would not be easy all the time. I know I will miss him but I feel like this is what we have prepared for all these years and it is time.
My D is ready to leave! And because of that, I am OK with her leaving and am very excited for her. She will be 2,400 miles away, so no safety net for her except for an old fraternity brother of H’s who lives about an hour away from D’s school. But she won’t have a car, so really, no safety net.
@wrights1994 - that’s how I feel too! I know I will miss DS but I see that he is ready. That makes me ready and quite frankly excited for him - new experiences (hopefully positive ones), longer term friendships (College ones last longer in my experience) and a growth to adulthood! I am scared too with all the unknowns but it’s right of passage! …
529 plan update - So, it took 4 days for direct 529 plan payment to college to post in college account. Not bad! I may not give up on that after all!
D1 starting college will be the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. Plus, instead of being 150 miles/3 hours away in a bad place, she’ll be only 100 miles/2 hours in the opposite direction in a good place. “Going Away” means she’ll be closer to home than ever.
It has been a while since I last dropped by…Our family, is down to our last weekend together; S’16 starts his final year of high school on Monday we leave Tuesday to drop her off. She seems really quiet now and has that forlorn look she use to get when she was little when she knew that things were changing and it would never be the same again. My D has always been an old soul in a young body…I am finally okay with this transition but sorry that it went so quick. I just can not seem to get in the same mode with kid #2…this time last year the common app was finished; the school list was complete and I was psyched for the final
year…none of this for S’16. 
I do want to say Thanks to this group for their courage to be real in the insane process, that I unfortunately Get to go through again this year. I wish for your family, peace and tranquility for this up coming year and that our children who we are launching will soar to great heights.
Checking in and catching up! Official move in for D is 8/21, but we are doing early move in (one day early) to avoid the crowds…at the college and at the local stores). The U offers early move in…for a fee. 
It is starting to feel more real now! We have piles (mountains) of stuff ready to be packed, and Amazon boxes are arriving regularly lol.
Thank you all so much for the discussion and links for HIPAA release forms, etc! I want to be sure we have access to info. If anyone gets updated info from their attorney, please post. 
I want to just print the one online, but feel a little worried that it won’t be ‘official’ enough.
Got D to the eye doctor and she finally has a use for glasses. :-B I say finally, because both her dad and I have had glasses since we were young, as have most in our family. We’ve always been surprised that she didn’t need them. It’s still a very minor prescription. The doctor said she doesn’t really need them if she doesn’t want them, but since she will have some big lecture hall classes, it seems wise to get them.
That’s an interesting point - if your child was in a private school, they might be moving closer at college! Contrast that with kids who were homeschooled, it’s even a big step if they still live at home but go to college for classes.
I would be MORTIFIED if my parents just dropped in. My parents never did that to my brother, and he got into drugs in college. They just dragged him home, stopped paying his dorm fees and meal plan and said the only way to go to college was to live at home. Of course it was true that they were saving some money on dorm fees and meal plan for two years, but paid tuition for an extra year due to his several Fs he had to erase.
My D is excited to leave for college. I’m doing okay but I worry about my younger daughter and how lonely she will be without her big sister. The house will be a lot more quiet, that’s for sure! Perhaps we need a puppy . . .
@dustypig - I worry about my hounger S too - I know it will be boring and too quiet without his older brother - he will be alone for three years.
For the longest time I was feeling mostly positive and excited about this next stage but now as the day draws nearer, I can feel my heart sinking at the prospect. We still have 3 weeks and a one week family vacation in the middle of it.
Arrived in Wichita safely!
Good to hear @albert69 <:-P
You can try Hu Hot Mongolian Grill sometime when you want a meal off-campus. It’s a Midwest-centric chain with a few locations in other areas, but anything that offers all you can eat for a reasonable price is right in a college student’s wheelhouse. :x If the parents are paying, BJ’s Brewhouse is a little more pricey but has great homemade root beer and cream soda.
And of course there’s plenty of aviation goodness in the area whenever you need a “fix” :-c
Enjoy Wichita!! You’ve made a great choice with WSU :D/
Thanks, @Wolverine86!
I leave home and hell breaks loose… well, maybe I’m exaggerating, but my little sister had to go to the ER last night because she’s been really tired lately and had bad menstrual cramps. My mom was worried about appendicitis or pancreatitis or worse, but luckily all it turned out to be is an ovarian cist. Nothing really to do about it except take the ovaries out, and my sister is not going to do that, she wants very much to be a mom someday. So she just has to grit her teeth each month and bear it, as she has been. (We always wondered why her cramps were worse than my other sisters’ - now we know.)
@dustypig, one of my neighbor’s younger kid said, “now I will be the center of attention and not have to share it”… so, don’t be so sure of your young one’s reaction
@Wolverine86, you always have such positive things to say ! Very nice!
Things are ramping up here…still T-12 days 'til move-in (8/23). We’ve been adding to The Pile gradually, but S eliminated so many things from the list we printed that I feel like we’re forgetting something. There are still a couple of big things that we haven’t gotten around to sorting out, including the bank account. DH was hospitalized for 8 days with diverticulitis in June and then had surgery at the end of July, so we have been in medical recovery mode most of the summer. I am anxious to get back to a regular schedule, although that means a new “regular” without S. 
T-12 here. DS was asked to go to a friend’s cabin for 2 nights, plus he’s planning to spend the night at his friends’ dorm room at GSU a couple of times after they move in. He bought everything he needed on Amazon and had it shipped to granddad’s so he’s just taking two suitcases with clothes and a carry-on with his computer. I’ve had nothing to do with his choices of sheets, etc. He and roomy will go get a fridge, keurig and anything else they need after they move in since roomy can borrow a car from his nearby family. DS is excited by the idea that roomy knows Philly and they can take a train in on the day before classes start and explore the city, although roomy may not since he’s been at boarding school for the past six years. DS has been in Philly many times but always with old relatives so he hasn’t gotten to know the younger side of the city. As for being ready to go, he is SOOOOOOOOO ready. I am too, although I’ll be sad. I’m really ready to not have a giant mess in the kitchen when I get up in the morning or have my bathroom things under a pile of his junk (both kids like the master bath shower better than the other one so they use it).
I had an idea that some of you might want to borrow. I asked DS to go out to dinner with each of us separately. He did last night with DD - pizza, of course - and will do sushi with DH and a local chef’s place with me. I got the idea because I took my sister out just before I went to college. She was 12 and chose Der Wienerschnitzel. DH has more expensive taste I’m afraid.
Hey all, I just spent an hour catching up on post! Took D15 to Canada for a last mom/daughter trip last week and now I am trying to catch back up. D15 turns 18 today and leaves for school next Wednesday the 19th. Our mountain is growing, I think we may have to take two SUVs to mover her in! We just ordered new Mac last night, hope it arrives here soon so she can set it up. I think I am in denial about how lonely I am going to be, but she is ready to go on and get there and I am happy for her. Still need to order a few more things from amazon. We have an HC Parents reception the Friday after they start classes so we will be back in town for that (1.5 hours away), I figure I can bring anything else she needs then.
I feel for everyone having roommate issues, I can’t imagine dealing with that right now, but I am sure it will all work out for the best.