@Astro77 I think it depends on the hotel. Some hotels charge per person so the college doesn’t want to eat that cost but most hotels now days just charge for a room. I would say one guest means the actual college stuff. But, you can always call the college to confirm that.
I’m glad this topic of move-in weekend came up. It has prompted me to do some digging! I assumed there wouldn’t be much going on for parents at McGill the week before school starts since it seems pretty hands-off, but I was wrong. Three full days of workshops and festivities! 
I’ll pick out a hotel close to campus and figure out a tentative plan. H and I will need to help D with some other logistical issues (getting health insurance card, bank account, etc) so we may have to stretch out this trip (cough vacation cough) several days.
@pickledginger for Family Weekend we guessed based on hotel rates for that weekend already being high, a home football game vs a big name college and generally just based on years past. It might be the wrong weekend but if so we’ll accept it as an opportunity to visit when it’s less crowded :).
@ShrimpBurrito, thanks for that info. I like your new avatar!
Hey @ShrimpBurrito, I notice your new thumbnail pic…did I miss a post where your D has decided on McGill for sure? I read that she was really leaning that way but don’t remember seeing a post where she’d finalized her decision. If so, wow, that’s great!
Well, she hasn’t hit the accept button yet for McGill, but she’s informally made her decision. She says she will make it official in March, hopefully when all of her decisions are in. She hasn’t declared it yet on her social media so I’m not saying much IRL, but I’m just so excited for her I need to shout it out somewhere! She’s been looking at course syllabi, picking out which classes she wants to take. She’s just giddy. :x
@labegg I am sure in future years we will not go on family weekend, but for the first year, I can hear my D complaining that all her friends parents visited but we didn’t…that it was awkward for her that her parents weren’t there, that we don’t love her…blah, blah, blah…
I went ahead and booked a hotel for move-in (which will be earlier than most students since she is an athlete) and for family weekend for the daughter that will be going to school OOS. The other daughter (they are twins) will be going to a local area school, so no hotels will be needed, and thankfully, their move-in dates and family weekends are not on the same dates. I’ve already been planning how one will need to go for a semester longer (she will take only 12 hours each semester and it will be better for her anyway with her having Asperger’s, ADHD, and anxiety) so they don’t end up with the same graduation date (their schools seem to choose the same graduation date but are in 2 different states…a little hard to be 2 places at once).
@2014novamom I must have missed that your daughter is going to Syracuse.
Whoo-hoo, from a fellow Orangman!
I lived in Day and Lawrinson when I was there. I think they are still standing, lol.
@bearcatfan – I just assumed you were a Cincinnati alum ha ha! Yes, my daughter got into Newhouse ED the night before we were leaving for vacation. Thank goodness for the timing (and the result) or she would have been anxious and hunting for wi-fi to check her portal the whole time we were away.
As for Parents/Family Weekend, we have gone every year for DS because we would have been there anyway for his home game. I’m not sure we would have gone any year other than freshman year otherwise. Probably would have depended on what the norms are at Case. I went to school 1100 miles from home and my parents never made it out for a parents weekend. I remember feeling a little sad and left out when everyone else had plans with their parents, even after freshman year. The culture at my undergrad was for parents to come out every year.
Very frustrated tonight, s18 is on the waitlist for Colorado School of Mines. The are no essays and his gpa and test scores look way above most I have seen. He got in with great merit to some schools like Case Western Reserve, etc so I wasn’t expecting this. I don’t think it was tops on his list, although he liked the area but as others have said, you want your kids to have lots of options. Sigh!
@bearcatfan I had no idea you were you an Orangeman either! Brewster/Boland freshman year, Haven sophomore (then off campus).
Ok everyone…guess what I did tonight…that is right reservation after reservation after reservation. Have been meaning to do this since New Year’s but reading this thread today got me off my duff and get it done. We have 5 schools pending and 7 yes’s so far. I did not do them for all…did two of her high up there admits that are both in small towns so we do not want to get out. Also did 2 of her pending ~ 1 in a small town and 1 was SU…as an alum I know how there are not tons of great hotels in great areas. Will enter the Syracuse lottery for the on campus hotel tomorrow (need to find my hotel loyalty number first in case it ups our chances…).
2 Yes’s and 1 Pending are in a city my brother lives in so we are good there. 1 pending is in a big city so we will find something for sure, 1 pending and 1 yes are only an hour from home, 1 yes is so far down her list it is basically gone and 1 yes I am hoping comes off so yes I skipped it.
In the end with move-in dates, parent weekends, and two admitted student return trips I booked 10 reservations tonight…only one I had to prepay and you can cancel. I am exhausted but good to have them all done so thank you for motivating me to get it done. Now I have to make a couple of refundable housing deposits but that can wait one more day…RD is still a few weeks off!
@lovespink - did he apply pretty early in the process? Since it is rolling maybe they have had a great yield already and are worried about admitting too many more lest they have no place to put them all.
S18 applied the first week of October and was admitted almost exactly a month later. We were worried as three other people from his school had been admitted in September and had already committed to attending so we thought they might cap the number of kids from one school and not take him. I think a few more kids since then have been admitted and also confirmed attendance. It seems to be a popular choice this year (at least around us).
Sorry to hear about the waitlist. Especially when he has done everything right and surpassed admission averages.
UC doesn’t even have summer orientation dates up yet let alone parents weekend. It’s only February but still.
Cincinnati’s a big enough city - and my husband is a native - so I’m not too worried. We usually stay just outside in Sharonville when we go so unless there is a Reds game that weekend we should be okay for orientation and move-in weekend. In a pinch, we can stay overnight with friends but that’s not ideal. Once we get the dates I will inquire.
Move-in times and dates are assigned by residence hall, so until we know that we know nothing. It is doable as a day trip if move in was late morning, but it would be a really long day. I already asked when they were because the first day of classes is dangerously close to the first day of school here and I will have a HS sophomore. I may have to beg her best friend to take her overnight, but I will be sad to miss her first day even if she is a teenager.
Not sure about parents’ weekend. I know there is a hotel right across from the nursing campus, but I’m sure that is already filled up for years, lol.
@2014novamom and @MinnieFan I majored in newspaper and political science (class of 88). My husband is the UC alum. Maybe my user name was wishful/hopeful thinking, but it worked out. 
Chasing merit $$ is hard work!
Saturday-
“Hey, S18, email that local private school and politely inquire about additional merit, and make sure you mention your interest in their full ride scholarship.”
“Dad, the admissions counselor emailed back telling me about a sociology scholarship. I don’t want to study sociology! I’m going to tell them that and ask about the full ride again.”
Tuesday-
“Dad, I got an email asking to interview me for the full ride!”
“Great, S18! When is your interview?”
“This Thursday after school, so in two days!”
So I am not sure if they are just trying to appease us with a last minute interview, and we have the distinct impression that he would not have been offered the interview if he’d not asked about it, but the interview alone is supposed to result in some more merit $$ even if he does not get the full ride, so we will take it. LOL.
@vistajay That’s short notice but how exciting! I wish him well!
Good luck @vistajay !
@lovespink That stinks. This process is brutal.
Wow, @MinnieFan !
Thanks again to @suzy100 for the tip to reserve hotel rooms for move-in. I found a hotel two blocks from the McGill campus, the brand we do points with, and tried to book. THEY ARE ALREADY COMPLETELY FULL. :(( I ended up reserving at a quirky funky Montreal hotel I’ve stayed at before. It’s a mile from campus, but the rooms sit above an Indian restaurant and the towels smell like heavenly curry. 
Can’t put a price on that!
There’s a school on D’s list because I encouraged her to apply, and it has a really nice scholarship opportunity. D has not been there for a formal visit yet, though she has been on the campus several times. I think that once she meets the professors there by making a scheduled visit, she’ll be impressed.
I’m starting to wonder, though, should I even encourage her to visit at this point If she still isn’t interested, even if it means giving up a possible scholarship that would be amazing?
There are other kids out there who love that college who might be better served by that scholarship.
And I wouldn’t want to go to a college that she has reservations about, particularly if it’s in an area with not much else around.
When D first started the college search, I felt extremely desperate because of finances. I don’t feel quite that way as much anymore because of the way the scholarships worked out. We have affordable options.
Another concern is the financial stability of D’s top choice. In past years, Moody’s published a rating in February so I’ll be watching this month to see if it will be revised to something more favorable.
@MACmiracle I would encourage the visit. You never know what might happen elsewhere and it might be the place she was meant to be even though she doesn’t know that now.
Thanks @RoonilWazlib99 You make a fair point. He applied towards the end of October. I guess we didn’t realize that would be a problem.
As for move in weekend, etc. too much is up in the air for us. We really need to wait until mid-March when at least most of the decisions will be in. UCs, etc are all at that time.