We will be hauling everything into the hotel too. We’re going to orientation for 1.5 days before official move in, so will be there 1-2 nights before for sure. We did the same for S22 and it’s really not awful. Everything is packed. I think it took 2 trips with the luggage cart to get it upstairs. Way better than multiple trips to stores to replace things!
We are down to 3 weeks until we leave. It’s definitely going fast. She is still working on studying for CLEP exams and hopes to have at least one done this week.
Also, I really recommend getting a storage unit for next summer. S22 did that and while it was a few trips loading and unloading, it made it much easier to just bring home clothes and a few other items. Plus I didn’t have to find a place to store it all. This year, he got to keep his apartment all summer, so he brought home 2 duffle bags, his backpack with laptop, and his trombones. Easy peasy and if we need a hotel it is super easy.
We requested payment directly from S24’s 529 this morning.
Question for those with experience with 529 accounts. Does it really take seven to ten business days for the school to receive payment? If so, how do you handle payment for spring semester? We cannot request funds prior to January 1st and the school must receive them by the 10th.
Obviously this is not a universal solution, but we are going to be paying ourselves, and having the 529 money sent to us, and we have an automatic overdraft to a HELOC that can cover it if there is a few days gap.
Not sure what school your kid is attending, but I called my kid’s LAC about this because we’ll pay in part through tuition assistance from the university where I work, and I was concerned about payment reaching the LAC on time. They said as long as it was in by the time our student arrived on campus (two weeks after the official payment due date), it would be fine.
Obviously responsiveness/flexbility is highly school-dependent, but if you’re concerned, it can’t hurt to call and ask. I suspect it’s a question they get a lot.
Happier now that I’ve left the politics forum and intend to stay in the land of positive vibes! News on the college transition front: D24’s new roommate and her best friend are coming to our neighborhood, and the three of them are going to see Rocky Horror. The next day, they will have coffee with two other acquaintances who are heading to our flagship. I’m hoping that this meetup will help D24 to see one of them a little differently now that high school is not mandating everybody’s reputation. (We’ve discussed this problem–I think it’s even more present at small schools). I’m about to mow the front lawn so we don’t disgrace D24.
In the State Publics, non flagship division, D24 has a roommate, a dorm room and a class schedule. Room mate pairing was first delayed, and then a fiasco for many. It seems the school ignored room mate requests in many cases. Luckily D24 was not impacted and is looking forward to her housing next year. Her class schedule isn’t perfect. We basically spent the night before orientation going through all the options and RMP for each professor. She got no advising support the day of orientation but didn’t need it by then. A week after registering she got an email that one of her classes was dropped for low enrollment. She took the least bad of the remaining options.
Overall, about as expected, not smooth sailing but a good result. Move in is August 22nd. We are going to make the 7 hour drive. Her move in slot is in the afternoon, so might just drive there the day of move in to avoid having to empty the car.
D24 finally received her dorm assignment and names of roommates yesterday. There are excited texts going back and forth between the four and it seems like she has won the freshman lottery with a good suite and wonderful mix of personalities and interests. This is getting very real!
what if you just brought garbage bags and taped them to the windows on the interior for the night (and a sunshade in the windshield) so nobody can look inside the windows and see what is in the car?
We setup the UMD payment plan and the first bill is now paid. 529 money on the way to back fill our checking.
S24s roommate has been traveling - they finally connected and divided up who is brining the rug, fridge, etc. All the various orders have arrived.
Next up is to figure out the tailgating sitch. UConn alum S16 is local in DC and coming for the UConn-UMD game. And we have parents weekend
However, after parents weekend, we reach the edge of the map. ‘Here be dragons.’ We are woefully unprepared for the start of empty-nesterhood. Some seriously blank canvas. We have ZERO official plans and just a vague notion of working remotely from the beach.
Hey–working remotely from the beach! We hadn’t thought of that! Too bad I have one in-person class (the others are online this semester). Meanwhile, I’m using the first Olympics installments today to power through the really boring part of job prep–endless changing of dates on electronic syllabi and assignments. D24 and her two new friends going to college with her went down into our rumpus room today and started examining the entire haul of future college paraphernalia: retro Frigidaire, rolled-up mattress top, futon, bottles of syrup for flavored lattes with the new coffee machine, linens and towels, plates, one book! --it really is epic down there.
I think we should start a “new empty-nesters” thread. We have a bit more than a vague notion of what it will look like after August 19 move-in (plans through early January 2025), but after that it’s the edge of the map for us, too.
I’m all for an empty nesters thread! It’s going to be a huge adjustment! Very thankful that after D24s dropoff in Nashville, we’ll have another week with D22 before she heads off to Madrid for the semester. Both my girls are going to be so far away from us in Seattle.
Kind of glad Parents weekend is ridiculously soon after dropoff (first weekend of September). Husband and I will explore Tennessee and North Carolina the week after as we plan on moving in the next year- we know it will be the Southeast but not sure beyond that. We will do a quick football game visit with D24 in late October and then fly to Madrid. Glad we have some Fall plans but I know I am going to be a bit sad as we get used to the new normal.
The next day, they will have coffee with two other acquaintances who are heading to our flagship. I’m hoping that this meetup will help D24 to see one of them a little differently now that high school is not mandating everybody’s reputation. (We’ve discussed this problem–I think it’s even more present at small schools). I’m about to mow the front lawn so we don’t disgrace D24.
Too bad I have one in-person class (the others are online this semester). Meanwhile, I’m using the first Olympics installments today to power through the really boring part of job prep–endless changing of dates on electronic syllabi and assignments. D24 and her two new friends going to college with her went down into our rumpus room today and started examining the entire haul of future college paraphernalia: retro Frigidaire, rolled-up mattress top, futon, bottles of syrup for flavored lattes with the new coffee machine, linens and towels, plates, one book!