My daughter has just started at Haverford. She is finding some of the same things to be true. Her advisor didn’t quite “get her” at first, but she didn’t panic and calmly explained what she wanted to take. She may end up at Bryn Mawr for a CS course. Otherwise she seems anxious to get started.
The laundry is a pain. Her building machines only take quarters and there is just one washer and dryer. I think there’s going to be quite a few people competing for them. The good news, is that B&W printing is “free” at any one of the campus printers. Her mother has drummed into her head that she should always print and review and edit papers if possible.
She was done one trip into Philadelphia and went to the art museum, which she loved. She’s in an apartment so she has been doing some baking already. She really is looking forward to taking a dance class and is going to give fencing a try.
My D is looking forward to two dance classes at Bryn Mawr this semester- she’s figuring out how/where the blue bus works today. We had just gone to the museums and the waterfront before customs began so she chose South St and the thrift shopping as her Philly trip. It seems most of her friends are actually in the apartments even though she’s in Barclay. She’s mostly just ready for school/real life to begin. She’s not happy that the dorm Olympics have been pushed to next Sunday, as she’d already made plans for that day (lol). She is nervous and excited for tomorrow!
Do the Haverford kids need me to drop off some quarters for them? What a pain! I gotta believe you can get quarters at the bookstore or something, no? What did we used to do when we were in college?
I lived in my house with my boyfriend when I was in college, so I never dealt with this. Ha! My D walked to wawa for quarters this morning and happily now has her clean clothes ready to go for tomorrow. She plans to use the bookstore in the future- they start regular hours tomorrow. For tonight she apparently has her first college party.
I’m really stretching the memory cells, but I think that we were, indeed, able to get rolls of quarters at the college store. Once my ex husband (college boyfriend) got a car, we would drive to the laundromat, so it wasn’t an issue anymore. Glad to hear your daughter was able to get it all sorted, @milgymfam . Once hours are back to normal, she should be able to also walk to one of the local banks and get a roll of quarters.
Laundry is free for DD. One night she found out she needs to aim the shower head at the wall because if it’s centered, it floods the bathroom floor. They were wiping it up with her brand new towels and the blue towel was dripping blue dye! So they ran down and washed it right away.
She came home Friday night at 11 (after the HS football game) and we talked till 1. She was already missing her roommate so that’s great! She enjoys her professors. The freshman theatre production is 5 one-acts and 4 monologues- she got a lead in a one-act so she is pleased with that. Being involved in this right off the bat has been one of the best things even though the time commitment is tough. No time to work right now- I was hoping she could earn a little spending money at least- maybe later.
She got to finally see her boyfriend back here Sunday evening and again for lunch with us yesterday before we sent her off so she was happy. We had some talks about adjusting her mind set to be okay only seeing him once in a while. Thriving at college definitely helps with that. She was ready to be headed back for a BBQ and rehearsal. It sure would have been rough to send her off if she wasn’t happy there.
@bjscheel - glad your daughter is doing well. It certainly helps things to get positive news back from college. So much time anxiety and stressing over the admissions process - it’s strange not to be worrying for a change.
Ooops - forgot why I came here. This is probably a stupid question, but I’m looking at the Parents weekend information and I’m kind of confused. Is it pretty standard for schools to charge a fee for the weekend, and if so, how do they regulate it? Are you not allowed on campus if you aren’t registered? It’s not a big deal - it’s only $40 for the family, but I’m just curious as to how this works.
(BTW - this is not related to meals - Parents eat free on the meal plan whenever they visit, and if we want to go to the big Friday night party, we pay separately for that)
@Trixy34 , my kids schools have small ($30-40) fees for Family Weekend. We’ve been to one, and are registering for another, my freshman son. At my older D’s, no, there wasn’t really “regulation”…we did have name tags, so when we participated in activities (a really cool painting class, the lounge with snacks), I suppose someone could have been checking those. It also included admission to a sports game and tickets were checked there.
I’m sure there is no way they can keep you from campus, but probably they could check name tags at their events, especially the ones with food/snacks/supplies I suppose!
That’s a nice benefit that parents eat free! Although my son also seems to have a gazillion guest swipes so I guess we eat “free” too.
I’ve been away a very very long time so lots to update.
My DD was suffering from chronic pain since November 2018, had surgery to “correct” it, no change in pain. She was evaluated by a hospital chronic pain program and they felt she was a good candidate. In between all of this she was in home instruction, pushed through her pain to attend prom and graduate. On July 2nd, she entered the inpatient program at Children’s Specialized Hospital in NJ. She spent 17 days in the hospital but I am happy to say that her pain was significantly reduced. She entered the hospital with an average daily pain at about 7.5. When she left she was at a 3. The relief I felt.
She moved in to her dorm at CSULB on 8/21/2019 and is so happy. She’s adjusting well and staying active as per doctor’s orders. Getting all her stuff to California was a breeze thanks to Fedex and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Move in went pretty smoothly and I’m happy to announce I DID NOT CRY!
So everything worked out and I’m happy she is doing so well so far.
@cinn124 , I’m so sorry to hear that your daughter’s been suffering with this, but she sounds like a trooper. I grew up near the first Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside - we used to go and sing Christmas carols there every year - and I am happy to know they are still doing such good work. When I looked at their website just now, I was astounded by how much the hospital has grown. I hope your daughter continues to do well and enjoys California life!
@TS0104 - Thanks for clarifying that - it makes a lot of sense. I guess I was confused because it’s an alumni and parent weekend, and a lot of the activities are alumni gatherings/sports oriented get-togethers, etc. The biggest things I guess would be the party on the quad on Friday (not sure who will be able to get there by then) and the football game on Sat, so I was thinking - if we aren’t planning to do those activities, is it necessary to register? But it makes sense given that there are refreshments, etc. I’m sure there will also be fireworks or some kind of activity Saturday night. I have no problem with paying the fee, I was just trying to get a sense of how it worked. All I remember from parents’ weekend at my alma mater was going to a football game (for which we paid admission at the gate) and then out to dinner.
@Trixy34 Sounds like, since they are combining alumni and parents, there’s a cost for the weekend events. I’m assuming you can call and find out. At Northwestern, my alma mater, alumni weekend is separate from parents weekend and we do pay a price for a combo ticket to a party and the game. Parents weekend at Bowdoin doesn’t cost anything - well, except for two round trip tickets and three nights in a hotel. Lol. 51 days until parents weekend. Can’t wait.
S19 is giving us nothing but good news so far. Really likes his XC teammates and they were all over Bowdoin’s XC Instagram page yesterday running the “lobster race” before the school’s lobster bake. Class starts today and he’s pumped about that. Orientation was nothing but fun and more fun. Time to hit the books though.
@homerdog - Thanks - I’m not too worried about it. Looking at photos from last year, I think there will be some fun things to do that will warrant the fee, but just haven’t made the schedule yet. Looks like they really go all out for parties at HWS. And considering the incredibly generous scholarship DS is getting, I’m not going to quibble over $40.
Glad your son is doing well! Getting lots of good news back here too. I’m so relieved. DS’s initial friend group is naturally meshing with his roommate’s friend group (roommate did pre-orientation so he knew people already when DS arrived on scene), he likes his classes, and he has joined 2 clubs already. Friday night consisted of checking out the local shops, hitting a few parties, and then jumping in the lake. Sounds heavenly! I want to go to HWS! The only negative I’ve heard is that it took his stomach a few days to adjust to the food, but he’s doing OK now - LOL. (here’s a hint kiddo - that’s why I sent you with every digestive remedy known to man - did you use any? No, of course not)
Just got back from dropping D19 off. We decided to make a road trip of it, and drove through Canada, saw the Niagara Falls, arrived in Middlebury, explored the area, visited Burlington (and discovered that their Target had already been ravaged by UVT students- thank heavens for Amazon), were able to set her up in her room a day early (thanks to Posse), and helped her set her room up, and unpack.
We met her roommate, who is, basically, her. They share the same taste in music and decor, are both dancers, and both want to major in the same thing. They’re even around the same height. The roommate’s parents are great, and about as crazy as we are.
We did the “parent orientation” thingy, and then drove home, stopping only to get apples, hard cider, and more maple syrup stuff.
D19 called to vent a bit about a couple of kids in a room down the hall who were making noise partying late last nice, She’ll speak to them, and then to the RAs if the kids don’t take their partying elsewhere. Except for the noise late at night, it doesn’t bother her that much. To quote D19, “it is very collegesque”. Otherwise, she’s happy - a bit overwhelmed, but still very excited.
Happy Fall, everybody. I have been MIA here for about a month. I moved in my D19 to the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State U in mid August, and have been pulled in many directions ever since, like most of us. Move in could have been better. First of all, it was 114 degrees that afternoon, and my D’s dorm is at the farthest corner of the dorm complex from the parking structure. I could only find a parking space on the 2nd floor, so we had to load up a laundry-like bin and wheel it down the ramp that we drove up on. That trip we had to make twice. It was just the two of us, and some kids had their whole family helping out. We were pretty envious. My D moved in two days early so she could go to this camp for out of state students. That camp turned out to be a waste of time. We could have moved in on the regular day and had movers move everything for us, but we like to do things the hard way, lol.
But, we set up my D’s room and she’s pretty happy with it. We spent two full days shopping Ikea, Costco, Target, BB&B, Kohl’s, Walmart, Marshalls, etc. picking up everything for her dorm. I was able get a few Amazon deliveries for her dorm at my hotel which was very helpful.
I love that my D’s dorm room is super close to the laundry room. So instead of buying detergent pods I was able to just get a small jug and a Costco-sized one to refill it with detergent. Laundry is included in the dorm fee, thankfully. There were some punch-list items when I inspected the dorm, one was a broken toilet seat. That still hasn’t been fixed, so I told my D to get that request in and tell them to get there with a new seat pronto because I’m paying a lot for housing! I have been good and have not stepped in to do things like that for her.
Her roommates are very sweet, I feel like she got very lucky. They have a suite-style dorm with four bedrooms. They have become great friends and I have received a lot of pictures of the four of them. They have already been to their first football game, and went to a Dodgers vs Diamondbacks baseball game the night after because it was ASU night at the ballpark. Nice life, huh?
We’re not going to parents weekend, that was something I decided when I found out it was the weekend of November 9th. That’s pretty late for that sort of thing, I thought. The date was chosen because of the football game, ASU vs USC. So I’m going alone to visit in mid October when they have a short fall break. My D22 also gets that Monday off for Columbus Day (do they still call it that?) so I won’t be needed at home too much that day. I hope the weather will be much cooler by then. I made the mistake of not bringing an insulated metal water bottle on this trip because I didn’t want to worry about carrying it. Big mistake. If I left my plastic re-usable bottle in the car for a short run into the store, it would be practically boiling when I got back.
Today I am putting the finishing touches on two care packages I want to send out tomorrow. One is for D19’s best friend who is at Texas A & M, and the other is for D19. We Face-Timed her closet so she could pick out some clothes, she said she didn’t bring enough. So now I have to send some, so I have some other fun stuff to put in there as well.
We moved D in last weekend, all went smoothly, for the most part. She scored and got a single, in a dorm with its own dance studio, pretty ideal. Orientation this week was somewhat of a flop (some kids smuggled alcohol in and had to be rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, for starters)… but she’s back on campus now and excited/nervous to audition for dance groups and start class. Hasn’t really hit me yet that she’s gone… helps that S21 has been teaching me to use Snapchat. I like getting little glimpses of her life throughout the day. Usually there’s a snap from her waiting for me when I wake up, since she’s hours ahead of us now.
It’s been a little over two weeks since move-in and D19 has settled in nicely. She has a single in a popular freshman dorm and has already bonded with many of her hallmates. Penn does a great job of building class solidarity during their 6-day new student orientation. D19 attended the traditional toga party, class picnic, and night at the Philadelphia Art Museum as well as a myriad of other activities with her hallmates.
We were worried that move-in would be a zoo, but Penn has a very efficient system. Campus police closed the street in front of the dorm and restricted access only to those with a designated move-in pass during their assigned move-in time slot. We were able to pull up to the curb where volunteers unloaded all of D19’s items into a cart, labeled them with her name and college house, and whisked them away to a tent. After parking the car and checking in, we retrieved the cart and unloaded everything into her room. The boxes we shipped ahead of time were easily retrieved from a semitrailer parked at the end of the block. Altogether, it took about three hours to get everything sorted out. We attended the family picnic and said our goodbyes. The rest of us spent a couple more days exploring areas of Philly we had missed in our previous trips before flying home.
Although I miss her terribly, Penn was the right choice for her. She finally feels free to be herself and has found her tribe in her hallmates. This is huge for a kid who spent most of high school feeling like an outsider. She has challenging classes, has joined a club sport, and is already starting to think of Penn as home. I am really looking forward to Family Weekend and seeing her life there.