Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:57     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yeah, only two hours away, zero nights.


Unless they have an early move in slot.

Then, get a room the night before. (If the school is two hours away)


Move-in days are mostly staffed with current college students. How early are you expecting them to start a move-in? 7am? They’re not starting anything before 9am.

Our kid had a 9:30am move-in time at her school in Philadelphia. We left DC at 6:30am and pulled up to the school by 9am. We were back home by 7pm.



Just say Penn.

It’s like saying your DC goes to a school in Boston….most know what school you want to say.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:57     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Ours is 8 hours away and has a morning move-in. We will be away for a few days b/c we have to drive in the day before. Then, we are planning on being there the day after move-in to go get those Ikea or Target supplies since DC will not have transportation. I think we should then go home, but have to the hotel for one more night b/c I had to book it forever ago. I can't change it now or it would be more than forfeiting the one night. With classes starting on Monday, I think we should leave on Saturday.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:55     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:We're moving my freshman into her dorm on a Friday afternoon. I figured we'd stay in her college town on Friday night but return home late Saturday (2 hour drive).

Is there any reason we should stay an additional night? (other than my emotions )


2 hour drive you do NOT stay at all!!!!!
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:24     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yeah, only two hours away, zero nights.


Unless they have an early move in slot.

Then, get a room the night before. (If the school is two hours away)


Move-in days are mostly staffed with current college students. How early are you expecting them to start a move-in? 7am? They’re not starting anything before 9am.

Our kid had a 9:30am move-in time at her school in Philadelphia. We left DC at 6:30am and pulled up to the school by 9am. We were back home by 7pm.


My kid’s school was not staffed by current students. Their move in slot was 8:10.

It’s like there are different schools that do things differently! Wow.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:23     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:we did two nights. arrived at 10pm. move in that next morning. there were school-related activities (parents had a separate schedule from kids .. this may be bs at your school, was not at ours). I had a meeting the next morning with the development office (wasn't instigated by me, you can be sure). Left that day around 2pm.

Both Harvard and Yale have parents programming people stay for fwiw.


Northwestern has parent programming, that culminates with a March through the Arch with the pep band and speakers. It is the morning after move in.


My kid goes to NU and we did not stay for any of that. They had a lunch for parents which was nice and we went to that — just the dining hall but they step it up for parents. Staying for March thru arch would have meant an additional day off work plus being away from our other kids. My kid did not care at all and made it clear she would not see us and that we probably wouldn’t see her given the enormous mass of people gojng thru the arch. I checked out the livestream and can confirm it would be very difficult to locate your kid.
iMHO, schools plan a lot of stuff so that parents who are feeling kind of needy aren’t clinging to their kids — it’s fine to go if that makes the experience better for you but you don’t need to go and your kid probably doesn’t need you to go.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:18     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:There are people w growth mindsets and people w fixed mindsets. Am I shocked the growth mindset families have kids at Yale and the fixed mindset do not? Nope


LOL, ok. You are proud! We see it!
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:14     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:If you stay an extra night, stay for you, not for your kid (meaning, so you can do some sightseeing/check out things in the area, etc.)


or do what's right for you, your kid, and then actual specific college they're attending.

and not the college some other kid from norther Virginia is attending who has a parent with oddly specific directions for every other person
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 16:06     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
If you stay an extra night, stay for you, not for your kid (meaning, so you can do some sightseeing/check out things in the area, etc.)
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:50     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yeah, only two hours away, zero nights.


Unless they have an early move in slot.

Then, get a room the night before. (If the school is two hours away)


Move-in days are mostly staffed with current college students. How early are you expecting them to start a move-in? 7am? They’re not starting anything before 9am.

Our kid had a 9:30am move-in time at her school in Philadelphia. We left DC at 6:30am and pulled up to the school by 9am. We were back home by 7pm.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:38     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:My mom was a single mom who couldn't get time off. she drove me up and back and stayed maybe 30 minutes. It made me sad, but it was our usual.

I'm staying two nights. I give zero crap what anyone thinks.


We stayed two nights also, at our daughter's request. We're all very organized, practical people and it turns out she had a lot of things for us to help assemble/set up. I also give zero crap what anyone thinks.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:32     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
We have to fly, and given the flights available, are going to stay THREE nights. I wish there were an early flight in on move in day, and a flight after the last family event on Day 2, but there aren't.

I've told my spouse to bring work as we'll likely be spending downtime in the (cheap) hotel.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:30     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
My mom was a single mom who couldn't get time off. she drove me up and back and stayed maybe 30 minutes. It made me sad, but it was our usual.

I'm staying two nights. I give zero crap what anyone thinks.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:16     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
In the olden times (1989), my parents helped me pack my car and then I drove 17 hours myself. This fall, we'll be driving 4.5 hours for our daughter's late afternoon check-in. We'll spend the night.
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:13     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
There are people w growth mindsets and people w fixed mindsets. Am I shocked the growth mindset families have kids at Yale and the fixed mindset do not? Nope
Anonymous
Post 07/27/2025 15:11     Subject: Move in day - stay one night or two?
Anonymous wrote:I went to two colleges.

One was local, similar to GMU. I just did everything on my own, including shopping. I don't think my parents even knew when classes began.

Then I transferred to the big state flagship (UVA type school) my second year. I just loaded everything into my little 4 speed hatchback, including furniture, and off I went, moving myself in, finding my own place to live with a friend and finding a job to put myself to put myself through school. I even filled out the financial aid forms myself.

My little sister helped me lift my dresser into the car. My mom made me my favorite meal, and off I went. I don't think my dad was there to say goodbye. I think I even checked my own tires and fluid before hitting the road.

Early 1990s.

How different things are today.

We (including me) really baby-fy our yound adults.

It is probably not good for them for us to make them so dependent on us for even basic adult life skills.


And I bought and insured my car myself, including figuring out how to drive a stick shift.

I think our college kids and older teens are capable of doing more and being more self sufficient than we allow them to be.