<p>To directly answer your basic question, it isn’t critically important for parents to attend orientation. The most valuable thing about parents’ attending is that the student and parents can listen and compare notes about what they’ve heard (the parents’ presentations are for the most part separate from the students’), and parents can get a better idea of what issues the student may encounter later on. The most important thing is for the student to listen and understand (and remember). Parents can certainly help get a lot of practical stuff out of the way (signing up for emergency notifications, talking to financial aid and bursar representatives if required, etc.).
But as Dean J has said, it isn’t really impractical in my opinion to drive to Charlottesville from the NoVa area and back in one day, and then repeat the process next day, for parents who would prefer to do that. I won’t assume anything about your financial situation, but there are also reasonably priced hotels/motels for those who wish to stay over.</p>