Parents of freshmen, how is it going?

[regentrude]

I had a very hard time when my DD left for college three years ago. That fall was miserable, and it took me a long time to find my "new normal".

And now here I am again, ten days from taking DS to college. I was convinced this time it would be easy: I've done it before; he is not going as far away and will be home often; he is introverted and we don't hang out as much as I did with his sister. But I'm not so sure anymore. It's a strange feeling that the empty nest is rapidly approaching. I am savoring each meal we have together. 

It will be so weird.

 

(I realize that not all parents feel this way. But I know quite a few of us do)

[Julie of KY]

The reality of the fact that I'm going to be dropping my oldest off in a different state in a few days is beginning to set in. I'm not sure how I'll do - I'm sure his siblings will miss him.

 

[JenneinCA]

It is just starting to sink in here. We bought the plane tickets for my husband to drop her off at school today. The boys and I will get to say goodbye here. It is hard to believe it is really happening. She is moving out and going to be living in a different state. I know she will be fine, but still..... she will be gone.

[8filltheheart]

I'm really struggling this time around. I am going to be down to 3 at home and this dd's relationship with her 3 younger sisters is very close. When she moves out, all of us are going to feel a huge void compounded by the fact that we just moved away from their older siblings and niece and nephews. My younger 3 have already been struggling with really missing them. It is going to be a very rough adjustment for all of us.

[snowbeltmom]

I was an emotional wreck the last few weeks leading up to my oldest son's departure.  I haven't been as emotional this time around, and I am hoping this continues over the next few weeks.  My oldest is flying back to school this Sunday, and we are driving middle to campus the following Sunday. 

 

I think a few things are making it easier for me this time vs two years ago:  my son is super excited and ready to leave, and I've realized that, thanks to cell phones, it is very easy to still stay connected.  My boys' teams will also be competing against each other twice this fall, the first is a weekend event in September at Middlebury and the second is a weekend event in Cambridge in October.  These events are a ton of fun, and we have made plans to go to both of them.  I am really looking forward to these trips which I think is making the transition easier for me.

[JeanM]

I have to admit that I'm struggling. DS is visiting his grandparents in another state right now, he'll be home for a few days, then off to visit some other relatives. Then he'll have about a week at home before flying to college. I'm trying to hold it together, but we're very close and it's going to be very hard. OTOH I really want him to have fun, study hard, and learn a lot. So I'm trying to be upbeat, not weepy.

[Elise]

Dd1 (junior) has already left, and we have 10 days left before dd2 leaves for her freshman year. It's just the two of us home this week since everyone else is at a family reunion, so we have been having so much fun! We've been to the movies, out to eat, dorm shopping, school supply gathering, pottery painting. It has been a really special time. She has struggled with chronic illness and we are incredibly close, so saying goodbye is going to be hard. I know that I will worry for her in a way that I haven't worried for our oldest--I think I'm mostly nervous! But I am really enjoying these quiet days with her right now. I will be down to two left here at home, which is hard for me to imagine. Littlest one is beginning kindergarten!

 

Wishing all of your fledglings (and you) a wonderful year of adventures!

[Pawz4me]

We move DS18 to college on Friday. I have mixed emotions. He's our 2e kid--brilliantly gifted in some areas but also on the spectrum--so having him chomping at the bit to be off to college feels like a huge win and something to really celebrate. But I'm going to miss him like crazy. He's quiet and introverted and so a very unobtrusive presence around the house, but that makes him so easy to live with. Having an empty nest is going to be very weird.

[Bootsie]

DS moves into the dorm on Wednesday.  DD left for her senior year last week to be on campus for RA training.  In some ways it is harder to see her starting her senior year of college than having DS start his freshman year.  

 

DS's "leaving" for college is a bit odd, however.  I have been commuting 260 miles to work for the past two years.  DS's "going off to college" will mean that he will now be 3/4 of a mile away from me.  DH will be retiring later this year and relocating here.  DDs college is about an hour away.  So, over the next year, we will all be closer than we have been for the past three years, and closer than we will probably ever be again--even though we are sending the youngest off.

[MerryAtHope]

DS moves into the dorm on Wednesday.  DD left for her senior year last week to be on campus for RA training.  In some ways it is harder to see her starting her senior year of college than having DS start his freshman year.  

 

DS's "leaving" for college is a bit odd, however.  I have been commuting 260 miles to work for the past two years.  DS's "going off to college" will mean that he will now be 3/4 of a mile away from me.  DH will be retiring later this year and relocating here.  DDs college is about an hour away.  So, over the next year, we will all be closer than we have been for the past three years, and closer than we will probably ever be again--even though we are sending the youngest off.

 

Wow, that's quite the commute! I'm glad you'll all be able to be closer, at least for a time. 

[quark]

I get at least one more year with the kiddo at home (at least that's what we've discussed). A will commute daily, mostly by train and sometimes with me. It's going to be a stretch for the both of us but so much cheaper all around and safer for A for now. At the same time, so much growth has happened between May and now that I am confident A will be fine navigating/ traveling mostly alone.

 

My heart goes out to all of you. I had to be away from A for 6 weeks last summer and felt like my heart had been ripped out. Sometimes I am shy to admit it but there were days when I truly could not function and it is scary to me to realize how much our bond/ ties mean to me and how much strength I get each day from our closeness. I am so grateful to have A here for one more year (at least).

Edited August 15, 2017 by quark

[elfgivas]

complete basket case.  we dropped dd#3 off yesterday.  you would think i would be good at this by now, but apparently not.  i am crying at the drop of a hat.  youngest is still at home, but now without her buddy.  very, very, very hard.  and yet its what we all want.  getting to live your dream ought not to hurt so much.  

[klmama]

:crying:   <=  That's what I do every time I think about dc leaving.  We have two more weeks together.

 

 

[MerryAtHope]

My heart goes out to you all! I'll be there (possibly next year), but for now, both kids started this week and are living at home--so it's mostly the joys (at least in the "honeymoon" stage!) and none of the separation. DD tends to like most people and embraces new experiences...I think she'll thrive (and ds might benefit from the infusion of her enthusiasm, LOL!) DS is more thoughtful and reserved with quirky humor. I've been pushing him to really pick his instructors' brains for info about careers (he's still trying to decide a major). The career center gave him suggested questions to ask, and I think that helped--today his first sociology class of the semester got out early and he hung around to ask his instructor questions for half an hour or so. Typing that out, it seems like something obvious, mundane, or ordinary...so trust me when I say it's momentous and extraordinary!

[FaithManor]

Not there yet but close. Ds goes in 2018, and as we approach college app season and the reality that the empty best is soon to be upon us, I feel excited and happy for him but uncomfortable and at times a little down. He and I are buddies, really close.

 

Sigh....

 

I do have a job lined up for the new season in life to shore up retirement funds and pay of college bills when we have three in simultaneously. Dh will also at that time have a major change in employment. He will be based out of a different office, but we cannot afford to move while the boys desperately need in state tuition since I will not earn enough to pay out of state for three. This leaves us in a bind, so Dh will move and rent an efficiency apartment over a co worker's garage, and I will stay put. We may be able to spend one possible two weekends together per month. I think I am going to experience some loneliness and need to learn to embrace solitude. I will also have full responsibility for both elderly grandmothers, our house, emotional support for the kids, everything. Logistics will be such that Dh cannot do much from a distance.

 

Not looking forward to all of the changes though I do need to admit that just in terms of homeschooling itself, I am ready to be reTired from that.

 

One of the boy's campuses is close enough that I can spend some time there, and will be able to tutor in music theory and history so that will be nice. Eldest ds does not mind having me be near so I will get to see him a little, have lunch together once in a while.

[regentrude]

I do have a job lined up for the new season in life to shore up retirement funds and pay of college bills when we have three in simultaneously. Dh will also at that time have a major change in employment. He will be based out of a different office, but we cannot afford to move while the boys desperately need in state tuition since I will not earn enough to pay out of state for three. This leaves us in a bind, so Dh will move and rent an efficiency apartment over a co worker's garage, and I will stay put. We may be able to spend one possible two weekends together per month. I think I am going to experience some loneliness and need to learn to embrace solitude. I will also have full responsibility for both elderly grandmothers, our house, emotional support for the kids, everything. Logistics will be such that Dh cannot do much from a distance.

 

 

Hugs. Long distance is stressful; DH and I did 8 years of it, but if it is for a limited time, it is doable. At least there is technology nowadays! best wishes for the new season.

[Bootsie]

I offered to do the final load of laundry for DS this evening as he is packing to move into the dorm tomorrow.  Surprisingly, I think it is his older sister, who has been away at college for the past three years who is having the most difficult time with his going off to college.  I don't know if that is about her little brother growing up or a realization for her that she is really growing up and going "home" to the old familiar is not an option--this is really growing up, not summer camp.

[*LC]

Ds goes in 2018 ...

I do have a job lined up for the new season in life to shore up retirement funds and pay of college bills when we have three in simultaneously. Dh will also at that time have a major change in employment. He will be based out of a different office, but we cannot afford to move while the boys desperately need in state tuition since I will not earn enough to pay out of state for three. This leaves us in a bind, so Dh will move and rent an efficiency apartment over a co worker's garage, and I will stay put. We may be able to spend one possible two weekends together per month. I think I am going to experience some loneliness and need to learn to embrace solitude. I will also have full responsibility for both elderly grandmothers, our house, emotional support for the kids, everything. Logistics will be such that Dh cannot do much from a distance.

 

If I remember correctly that you live in Michigan, your children may still qualify for in-state tuition at Michigan schools as long as they stay in school fall and spring semesters. I don't remember where your kids go, but this is true at University of Michigan, Michigan State and Western Michigan.

 

Western Michigan wmich.edu/accounts-receivable/faq/residency#question18

I was admitted as a resident student, but my family is now moving out of Michigan. Will my status change?

Your status as a resident student will remain as such provided you continue to take classes during the fall and spring semesters each year and progress toward your intended degree. If at any time you need to reapply for admission for whatever reason, your residency status would be re-evaluated at that time.

 

Michigan http://ro.umich.edu/resreg.php

 

If you are a student living in Michigan with your parents and a permanent legal resident of this State as defined by these Guidelines, you are presumed to retain resident status eligibility even if your parents leave the State if all of the following are true: (1) you have completed at least your junior year of high school before your parents' departure; (2) you remain in Michigan, enrolled full-time in high school or an institution of higher education; and (3) you have not taken steps to establish a legal residence outside Michigan or any other action inconsistent with maintaining a permanent legal residence in Michigan.

 

Michigan State https://reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/FAQRO.aspx#InStateTuitionMenu

 

Q: If my parents move out of Michigan will I lose my in-state status?

A: No. If a parent of a dependent student moves out of Michigan during the time the student is enrolled at the University, the student's in-state classification will be maintained as long as the student remains continuously enrolled (Fall and Spring semesters) in the University.

 

Even though your other family responsibilities may keep you in the state, I wanted to make sure you know that it is likely that your kids can keep in-state Michigan tuition if you move with your husband to a different state. If you do move, make sure your students stay in school both semesters. I have friends who moved out-of-state while their kids were in college, the kids were consided in-state. One son graduated fall semester of one year and started grad school at same school the following fall, however, the school reclassified him as an out-of-state student since he had not been enrolled spring semester. They had to go through a lengthy appeal.

[MerryAtHope]

Not there yet but close. Ds goes in 2018, and as we approach college app season and the reality that the empty best is soon to be upon us, I feel excited and happy for him but uncomfortable and at times a little down. He and I are buddies, really close.

 

Sigh....

 

I do have a job lined up for the new season in life to shore up retirement funds and pay of college bills when we have three in simultaneously. Dh will also at that time have a major change in employment. He will be based out of a different office, but we cannot afford to move while the boys desperately need in state tuition since I will not earn enough to pay out of state for three. This leaves us in a bind, so Dh will move and rent an efficiency apartment over a co worker's garage, and I will stay put. We may be able to spend one possible two weekends together per month. I think I am going to experience some loneliness and need to learn to embrace solitude. I will also have full responsibility for both elderly grandmothers, our house, emotional support for the kids, everything. Logistics will be such that Dh cannot do much from a distance.

 

Not looking forward to all of the changes though I do need to admit that just in terms of homeschooling itself, I am ready to be reTired from that.

 

One of the boy's campuses is close enough that I can spend some time there, and will be able to tutor in music theory and history so that will be nice. Eldest ds does not mind having me be near so I will get to see him a little, have lunch together once in a while.

 

Wow! That's a lot of stressors at once. I pray the changes go well during that upcoming season for you.

[8filltheheart]

Dh will also at that time have a major change in employment. He will be based out of a different office, but we cannot afford to move while the boys desperately need in state tuition since I will not earn enough to pay out of state for three.

  

If I remember correctly that you live in Michigan, your children may still qualify for in-state tuition at Michigan schools as long as they stay in school fall and spring semesters. I don't remember where your kids go, but this is true at University of Michigan, Michigan State and Western Michigan.

Western Michigan wmich.edu/accounts-receivable/faq/residency#question18

I was admitted as a resident student, but my family is now moving out of Michigan. Will my status change?

Your status as a resident student will remain as such provided you continue to take classes during the fall and spring semesters each year and progress toward your intended degree. If at any time you need to reapply for admission for whatever reason, your residency status would be re-evaluated at that time.

Michigan http://ro.umich.edu/resreg.php

If you are a student living in Michigan with your parents and a permanent legal resident of this State as defined by these Guidelines, you are presumed to retain resident status eligibility even if your parents leave the State if all of the following are true: (1) you have completed at least your junior year of high school before your parents' departure; (2) you remain in Michigan, enrolled full-time in high school or an institution of higher education; and (3) you have not taken steps to establish a legal residence outside Michigan or any other action inconsistent with maintaining a permanent legal residence in Michigan.

Michigan State https://reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/FAQRO.aspx#InStateTuitionMenu

Q: If my parents move out of Michigan will I lose my in-state status?

A: No. If a parent of a dependent student moves out of Michigan during the time the student is enrolled at the University, the student's in-state classification will be maintained as long as the student remains continuously enrolled (Fall and Spring semesters) in the University.

Even though your other family responsibilities may keep you in the state, I wanted to make sure you know that it is likely that your kids can keep in-state Michigan tuition if you move with your husband to a different state. If you do move, make sure your students stay in school both semesters. I have friends who moved out-of-state while their kids were in college, the kids were consided in-state. One son graduated fall semester of one year and started grad school at same school the following fall, however, the school reclassified him as an out-of-state student since he had not been enrolled spring semester. They had to go through a lengthy appeal.

Definitely follow up on the above. We have moved out of state while our kids have been in college and it has been handled exactly as above. (Different states, but same policy.) Co-oping was considered full-time student status, so those semesters did not negatively impact in-state status, either. With one of our kids, we moved mid-fall semester of freshman yr. He kept his in-state status through graduation.

[Rebel Yell]

Diamond just moved away to school today. She's a 22yo transfer student-already has Associate, took two years off. God bless the Lacrosse team- they moved everybody's boxes to the dorms in a during rainstorm! Today was freshman and transfer student move-in, everyone else arrives tomorrow.

 

She's kinda loooking forward to all of the mandatory activities, but also kinda like "I'm too old for this" esp. since one of the freshman students was HER student in the last two musicals she choreographed :D

 

Anyway, I'm fine. She needs this, it will be good for her, and she's less than 45 mins away- and her dad drives past her school on his way home from work!

 

SweetChild and BabyBaby have shared a room their entire lives, and SweetChild is almost completely moved in to Diamond's old room, and BabyBaby is enjoying "no more bunk beds"

[G5052]

Mine are commuter students, so they'll be around some. Done with homeschooling!

 

DS is going to the 4-year and will be gone much more. DD will be at the local community college and starts Monday. So we'll have a lot of good time together still.

 

My college teaching starts Monday, as do two of DD's classes. DS has another week.

[Lori D.]

For the past 3 years, when DS#1 was finishing his degree, and then with DS#2 going last year for an AmeriCorp project for 9 months, and then this year gone for 6 months to do wildland firefighting, we've been a crazy revolving door of a household -- sometimes one gone, then coming back, and the other goes, then both gone for a few months, then both back...  :willy_nilly:

 

BUT, I think I can actually post on this thread, because DS#1 is a freshman... again! From my signature, you can see he graduated from homeschool high school in 2011. He attended the local CC for 3 years to both take all his transfer classes AND earn an AAS (not just an AA) degree, and then finally transferred to an out-of-town college for the last 2 years. Sending him off then was super hard and weepy for everyone, but he had a great college experience.

 

This time around, he will probably live at home for all or most of the 4 years to get the BS in Mechanical Engineering to cut costs and student debt as much as possible. He's also working a lot, so between classes and work, we probably won't see him much more than if he were living out of the home and going to school.  :laugh:

 

His classes start Wednesday, and he's excited, and we're excited for him, too. It's a core-concentration-heavy degree, so he's only able to transfer the 9 non-Engineering courses he earned with his BA degree, but that will help make his semesters not so heavy. And he's a lot more mature now, and able to balance a workload with school, so all things are good as he continues to grow into his career field! :)

 

Meanwhile, DS#2 will be back home again in 3 weeks, and I imagine we'll be talking with him at some point to figure out what his moving on plans will be. My guess is that he'll be staying through spring to save up on living costs, do another season of wildland firefighting, and then start thinking about buying a house. But we'll see...

 

And, DH (who earned his Master's in Dec.), is actually going back to take a photography class just for fun, so we'll have 2 in school again. We are definitely the oddballs in a thread on college freshmen!

 

I was a wreck for weeks before dropping off DS#1 to college that first time, and cried for half the drive home after -- same when I dropped DS#2 off for his AmeriCorp commitment. So sending lots of big :grouphug:  :grouphug:  and encouragement to everyone as you all make some big adjustments! Warmest wishes to everyone! Lori D.

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by Lori D.

[Angie in VA]

I'm having a hard time despite my last child's needing to move on to the next thing. Truth told, I need this change too.  

 

I hurt my back (minor, but still constant and painful) so our last bit of time together is not how I imagined it. Still, I look forward to great things for my dc (one begins his undergrad and one starts grad school) and starting the next phase of my marriage.  :001_wub:

Edited August 19, 2017 by Angie in VA

[lmrich]

Hard to say goodbye, of course. BUT I love that she is a great communicator! We snapchat and text a lot. The fire alarm went off in her dorm at 4:00 am last night so she was not happy about a mandatory freshmen meeting at 8:00 am this morning. Glad she has a coffee maker!

[Lori D.]

Hard to say goodbye, of course. BUT I love that she is a great communicator! We snapchat and text a lot.

 

Oh yes! DSs send occasional texts, but video chatting about once every week or two is an absolute lifesaver. It just shrinks the distance and reconnects us all. Be sure to get those family pets into the frame so your student can see Fluffy and Fido -- college students REALLY miss their furry family members a LOT!

 

And, don't forget to send a "care package" box or two with special homemade favorite treats, especially in those first 4 weeks. :) Here are some past threads with ideas:

 

College care packages

Pre-planned and paid care packages?

Care packages

College care packages

College care package?

College care package ideas for acquaintance

College care package

Care packages -- am I the odd one here?

 

Roommate care package ideas please 

Valentine care package for college niece

Finals care packages?

Something creative for college care packages or graduation gifts?

Care package issue for student abroad -- ideas, please?

Shipping homemade rice kris pie treats in college care packages?

Edited August 19, 2017 by Lori D.

[quark]

 

And, DH (who earned his Master's in Dec.), is actually going back to take a photography class just for fun, so we'll have 2 in school again. We are definitely the oddballs in a thread on college freshmen!

 

 

Definitely not oddballs in this forum at least. So heartwarming to see the love of learning across ages/ generations. :001_wub:

[Angie in VA]

A new low:

 

DH was at work and asked if I needed him to pick up anything. I texted him back a few items to get at the store near his office. Then I realized we probably needed milk. I checked and we have one gallon, which will last DH and me quite a while, and I may end up freezing part of that.

 

I immediately burst into tears because we don't need milk. 

 

I texted a friend who's taking her son to college tomorrow. She knew what "We don't need milk." followed by a sobbing emoji meant. I knew you all would get it too. 

 

Sniff, sniff. This is so much harder than I ever dreamed it would be. 

[regentrude]

A new low:

 

DH was at work and asked if I needed him to pick up anything. I texted him back a few items to get at the store near his office. Then I realized we probably needed milk. I checked and we have one gallon, which will last DH and me quite a while, and I may end up freezing part of that.

 

I immediately burst into tears because we don't need milk. 

 

I texted a friend who's taking her son to college tomorrow. She knew what "We don't need milk." followed by a sobbing emoji meant. I knew you all would get it too. 

 

Sniff, sniff. This is so much harder than I ever dreamed it would be. 

 

Hugs. I know exactly how you feel.

[northcoast]

We just sent our oldest to college 3 hrs away.  I didn't want to "like" anyone's posts.  Many of the same emotions you have described, we are experiencing too.   It's been more difficult than I thought.  He is having all these new awesome experiences that we can't wait to hear about.   But he wanted a little space and we agreed to once/wk phone calls.  It's killing me to wait.  :)

 

I am grateful that dd is adjusting well to ds being gone.  I am grateful that he was ready to go.  

 

More hugs to everyone! 

[Angie in VA]

We just sent our oldest to college 3 hrs away.  I didn't want to "like" anyone's posts.  Many of the same emotions you have described, we are experiencing too.   It's been more difficult than I thought.  He is having all these new awesome experiences that we can't wait to hear about.   But he wanted a little space and we agreed to once/wk phone calls.  It's killing me to wait.   :)

 

I am grateful that dd is adjusting well to ds being gone.  I am grateful that he was ready to go.  

 

More hugs to everyone! 

 

I know what you mean wrt the likes, but I don't mind them. 

 

Wow, did the one left at home suffer when First Born went off to college. I wasn't prepared for how much he missed her. I was thinking of that this weekend, and realized that keeping him busy and cheered up distracted me. This time? Just a big void. 

 

I told ds I want to hear his voice once a week minimum. Texting is great, but I want to hear him. Video chats will be gravy in my book. I don't expect to hear from him until classes begin, since dd went silent for those first days between drop off and classes' beginning. 

 

I won't discuss here the situations w/ this child that made me think this change would easy for me, but I could not have been more wrong. 

Edited September 9, 2017 by Angie in VA

[northcoast]

I know what you mean wrt the likes, but I don't mind them. 

 

Wow, did the one left at home suffer when First Born went off to college. I wasn't prepared for how much he missed her. I was thinking of that this weekend, and realized that keeping him busy and cheered up distracted me. This time? Just a big void. 

 

I told ds I want to hear his voice once a week minimum. Texting is great, but I want to hear him. Video chats will be gravy in my book. I don't expect to hear from him until classes begin, since dd went silent for those first days between drop off and classes began. 

 

I won't discuss here the situations w/ this child that made me think this change would easy for me, but I could not have been more wrong. 

 

We did end up talking.  I was hoping for skype but he says he hasn't had time to set it up on his new computer... It's tough letting him bloom into his own person so to speak.  I am thinking I know you have been on FB with your friends and you didn't have time to set up skype to talk to your parents?!?!?!?   I am told this behavior is typical.   Thanks for mentioning video chats are gravy.  Maybe I am having some unrealistic expectations.  DS is healthy, making friends, and doing well at the moment. 

[Angie in VA]

We did end up talking.  I was hoping for skype but he says he hasn't had time to set it up on his new computer... It's tough letting him bloom into his own person so to speak.  I am thinking I know you have been on FB with your friends and you didn't have time to set up skype to talk to your parents?!?!?!?   I am told this behavior is typical.   Thanks for mentioning video chats are gravy.  Maybe I am having some unrealistic expectations.  DS is healthy, making friends, and doing well at the moment. 

 

I only consider it gravy b/c I've already sent off my oldest. I didn't handle it well when she went days w/o calling us when we dropped her off. I was especially concerned b/c she was all alone for the 1st 3 days. Her roommate didn't move in till that first weekend. I was so worried! DH had to talk me down when she didn't call us. 

 

As to the bold above, that points to parents who did a great job! Congrats!  :hurray:

 

 

.......and  :grouphug:

Edited August 21, 2017 by Angie in VA

[Ann.without.an.e]

DD was on campus for 6 weeks this summer so we have mostly been through the roughest adjustment already.  She loved her summer experience with the other merit scholars.  She aced her summer class and gets to start the year with a 4.0 GPA so she is feeling encouraged and more confident.  She officially moves into her permanent room tomorrow (she's been home for a week). I think she's both excited and nervous.  Her roommate seems precious.  DD is a little nervous about how to keep her summer friendships strong when thrown into the mix with 1750 other freshman and spread out all over the campus, rather than in the same block of rooms.  

She texted/communicated with me several times a day this summer and I am sure that will be the case in the fall too.  

I am a little sad but mostly content - she communicates, she isn't too far from home (less than 3 hours), and she loves it there.  She is eating healthy, exercising daily, studying hard, has made awesome friends, has no interest in the party scene and has already found students who feel the same way.  What more could a mom ask for?  

Edited August 21, 2017 by Attolia

[Susie in CA]

Ds is starting his college classes today! But he'll be at home for @ 2 years and then we'll see where he ends up. So for now we still get to have dinner with him. :-)

[SanDiegoMom]

Mine doesn't leave until Sept 21. Quarter system is crazy! She went away for three weeks over the summer so I'm hoping that helped us get acclimated.  She has been ready to leave for months now so the wait is killing her.  

[regentrude]

Moved my freshman in today. Let teh fun begin.

[JenneinCA]

My husband and daughter leave for the airport tomorrow morning really early. They fly to Phoenix and get a car then drive to Flagstaff. She has move in time at about noon. My husband gets her set up the best he can and then makes a 7:30 flight home. A long day for him and a stressful day for her.

 

I am staying home with the younger kids since flying everyone didn't make any kind of sense.

[Hoggirl]

Mine doesn't leave until Sept 21. Quarter system is crazy! She went away for three weeks over the summer so I'm hoping that helped us get acclimated. She has been ready to leave for months now so the wait is killing her.

You have my sympathies. Ds hasn't even finished his *summer* internship, yet most of his friends from home started classes on Monday. It's really tough being on a schedule that is different from most of those in your area. It's especially hard freshman year having to wait. And, quite honestly, you'll have to keep explaining it all four years. Sorry.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Hoggirl

[regentrude]

Mine doesn't leave until Sept 21. Quarter system is crazy! She went away for three weeks over the summer so I'm hoping that helped us get acclimated.  She has been ready to leave for months now so the wait is killing her.  

 

My DD's school is on the quarter system, too. She just finished her internship and now finally has some summer break.

I remember her first year; she was so eager to start and volunteered as a tutor at our local university for a month at the beginning of their semester.

[JeanM]

My husband and daughter leave for the airport tomorrow morning really early. They fly to Phoenix and get a car then drive to Flagstaff. She has move in time at about noon. My husband gets her set up the best he can and then makes a 7:30 flight home. A long day for him and a stressful day for her.

 

I am staying home with the younger kids since flying everyone didn't make any kind of sense.

 

My ds is also flying to his school. We went through a whole debate as to which of us should go with him. In the end, he decided to fly alone. He's comfortable with it, and it's saving us quite a lot of money. He leaves a week from today!

 

Best of luck to everyone!

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

We will be going from having three kids in the house to only one.  Oldest has been home for most of the summer, but goes back shortly.  Middle will go in September.  

 

That will leave the youngest at home, with all my attention.  Not sure if he thinks that is a positive or a negative.

[8filltheheart]

Dd started classes today. I haven't heard anything other than a quick text. Probably not the norm on these forums, but today is her first real day stepping inside a classroom. She has gone to academic camps, took stats online, and sat in classes to observe, but today is her first classroom experience as a "real" student. I'm curious as to what she thinks.

[daijobu]

Mine doesn't leave until Sept 21. Quarter system is crazy! She went away for three weeks over the summer so I'm hoping that helped us get acclimated.  She has been ready to leave for months now so the wait is killing her.  

 

I also attended a school that started at the end of September.  I really hated that...all my friends started as much as a month before me.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt this way.  

[Ivey]

Ds18 is heading to college in the morning. :crying:

 

This should be the easy one. He's ready, confident, and not the least bit nervous. He's only going 150 miles away, to the same university where our oldest is a graduate student and where his two best friends will be sophomores this year. Unlike my older boys, I'm not anxious at all about him starting college, just excited for him and trying to hold off on feeling too sad until the drive home. 

 

And, because he's taking his truck to school, he had the audacity to suggest that my presence there tomorrow is unnecessary. Yea, right. 

[Arch at Home]

Move-in Day is today. DH and DS took DD1 and I stayed with DD2 as this is her first full week of dual enrollment. It is definitely a day of mixed emotions as I watch from afar the excitement of moving mixed with the struggles my Houston family is facing.

[JenneinCA]

Update on my freshman...

 

She loves her her Calculus teacher which is good because the class is at 8 AM all the way across campus. She thinks chemistry is okay and her CAD class is going to be fun.

 

She was signed up for German 1 because she wanted to take it, but we were concerned about her level. She has done lots of duolingo and a two week immersion program between her sophomore and junior years and then a more intense four week program between junior and senior years. She had not ever seen a German textbook or spoken German to anyone outside of those six weeks and whatever duolingo she did. She got to the first day of class and the teacher wouldn't let her stay and insisted that she take a placement test. She took the placement test (turned out to be a conversation with a German prof) and is now in German 201! She skipped both German 101 and 102. She said that there are some odd gaps but that she knew far too much to be in the lower classes.

 

Because of the surprise German results, she is applying for a five year double major program that she would end with a major in civil engineering and German at the end. She would spend her third year in Germany and take classes in German for the first semester and do an internship for the second. All of this is quite exciting for her and a little overwhelming for me.

[fourisenough]

Update on my freshman...

 

She loves her her Calculus teacher which is good because the class is at 8 AM all the way across campus. She thinks chemistry is okay and her CAD class is going to be fun.

 

She was signed up for German 1 because she wanted to take it, but we were concerned about her level. She has done lots of duolingo and a two week immersion program between her sophomore and junior years and then a more intense four week program between junior and senior years. She had not ever seen a German textbook or spoken German to anyone outside of those six weeks and whatever duolingo she did. She got to the first day of class and the teacher wouldn't let her stay and insisted that she take a placement test. She took the placement test (turned out to be a conversation with a German prof) and is now in German 201! She skipped both German 101 and 102. She said that there are some odd gaps but that she knew far too much to be in the lower classes.

 

Because of the surprise German results, she is applying for a five year double major program that she would end with a major in civil engineering and German at the end. She would spend her third year in Germany and take classes in German for the first semester and do an internship for the second. All of this is quite exciting for her and a little overwhelming for me.

Where/through whom did she do her immersion programs? PM me if you'd rather. I'm considering Having DD do something similar with French. Edited August 30, 2017 by fourisenough

[JenneinCA]

Where/through whom did she do her immersion programs? PM me if you'd rather. I'm considering Having DD do something similar with French.

Concordia Language Villages. It was not cheap. But they said that the four week program was good for a year of high school foreign language. And as it turned out they were more than right. She had fun and learned a lot.

 

They have a large number of languages, including French. My older son spent two weeks doing Spanish and then found Spanish 1 at the community college not too difficult. My younger son has done two week sessions in Japanese both this past summer and the one before. He is thinking of going back next summer for four weeks of Japanese.

 

(You can send me a pm with more questions or start a new thread about them if you would like.)

[jen3kids]

I'm a mess.  

 

We moved dd into her dorm today.  She has been nervous about it for months.  When we pulled up today, we all got out of the car.  Dd took a deep breath and one step away from the car, said nope, and got back into the car.  I got back in as well and handed her some kleenex.  She pulled herself together, grabbed a pair of sunglasses to hid her slightly puffy eyes, and got back out.

 

We asked for directions, followed dd to the first stop where she got her ID card and room keys.  Everyone was so nice, friendly, and helpful.  It was great to see dd take care of everything.  We headed back to the car and began moving her into her room.  Her roommate that she has chatted with online was already there.  She seemed nice (we only chatted briefly as they were heading to lunch), but dd noted that, "She seems a little messy." as she and her family had left bananas, oranges, pretzels, and other snacks on both the dressers and desks.   

 

Once unpacked, we went for lunch and then dd had a floor meeting so we said our goodbyes.  I cried, dh got teary eyed, and dd cried.  I've been crying off and on since then; I will miss her so much and I worry about her.  I know she can handle it, but I want her to really enjoy it.  She is so far away from home, but just an hour away from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  She has some anxiety issues and food sensitivities and is a very picky eater, so despite there being things on the menu that she can eat, whether or not she will, is another story.  I had hoped we would have time to get some food for her from the grocery store, but we did not.  

 

I'm trying not to worry, but it is so difficult.  I desperately want to text her, but I don't - kwim?