Funny questions from parents at freshman orientation

[christineann]

My kids called me occasionally as they were changing classes, just to say hello.
They went to school about 5.5 hours away and rarely came home - so much to do up there. I was not involved at all in their choices of majors, classes, dorms, apartments, etc.

My daughter and I took a tour at a college in Virginia, and at one point, the student guide asked if anyone had any questions, and a woman asked, "Do you always wear a bow tie?"

During a parent information session when one of my kids was at orientation, the speaker talked about changes during the college years. He said that if your son or daughter is dating someone from high school, there is a pretty good chance that he or she won't be dating that same person after the first year or so, and a woman stood up and cheered!

 

[LuvGoofy6]

My daughter and I visited the campus of a college she was considering during her Junior year of high school. While we were being given a tour of the campus in small groups (5 students along with their parents) there was a parent that really embarrassed her daughter.

Some of her antics:
1. When the tour guide asked my daughter where she was from and he was familiar with it (we live across the state from the college but we live in the 2nd largest city in the state), this mom begins to berate him for not knowing the small town her daughter was from on this side of the state. He tried to explain to her that he wasn't even from this state and only knew of the bigger cities.

2. She then asked how many girls get pregnant each year.

3. Then she went on and on about how her daughter was an honor student and is there a dorm where the "serious students" could live?

4. Who keeps an eye on the students to make sure they are studying and eating right?

5. When the tour guide asked about interest in sorority or fraternity life, she began to complain about the "morals" and "focus" of the kids in these types of clubs.

The tour guide (fraternity members were the guides) finally looked at her and said, "You have had 18 years to raise her right, it is not the college's job to pick up from here. It is her job and if you did your job, then she will be fine." There were several snickers, head nodding and smiles from the rest of us. Her daughter was very embarrassed and kept rolling her eyes at her mom.

On a side note, I told my daughter that I knew she would be busy finding her place in college and that I won't call her and bother her but to call anytime she felt like it. She did call me to "catch up" or to share news of her college life~like joining a sorority.

 

[clh2]

Mine texted me a photo of the washer controls asking which buttons to push.

I am laughing with you...my DD has been doing her own laundry at home since she was about 10 or 11, on an HE washer. Your choices are limited. colors, whites, delicates, and quick wash. Everything else is pretty well decided for you.

the dorm and sorority house she was in for the past two years also had HE appliances.

DD's lease for the upcoming school year just started, so she went over to use the washer and dryer, instead of feeding quarters into the dorm washer and dryer. It is the "old-fashioned" type of washer, where there is a dial with about 4-different types of cycles, as well as the numbers 4,8 and 12 on each cycle. DD had NO clue what this strange contraption was, and also texted me a picture of the dial asking what to do. Never saw that one coming, as DD has been doing her own laundry for years.

 

[IDoDis]

DD has freshman orientation this Tues and Wed. It's for 2 days with an overnight stay. DH and I will not be attending the parent version since we are both alumni and pretty familiar with the set up. She has to read some chapters from a book and answer a bunch of written questions and be prepared to discuss them. The book has nothing to do with school or orientation. Is this common practice these days for orientation?

When we toured the dorms a few months ago, the student giving us the tour said a mom once brought her sleeping bag on move-in day and insisted she sleep on the floor in her DS's room for the first night. She was told she could not stay and was crying when she left. Oh my!

 

[clh2]

DD has freshman orientation this Tues and Wed. It's for 2 days with an overnight stay. DH and I will not be attending the parent version since we are both alumni and pretty familiar with the set up. She has to read some chapters from a book and answer a bunch of written questions and be prepared to discuss them. The book has nothing to do with school or orientation. Is this common practice these days for orientation?

When we toured the dorms a few months ago, the student giving us the tour said a mom once brought her sleeping bag on move-in day and insisted she sleep on the floor in her DS's room for the first night. She was told she could not stay and was crying when she left. Oh my!

My one thought on reading the chapters in the book is - are they doing any sort of academic assessment prior to determine what levels of classes they get placed in? My DD's school does a couple of assessments - math and foreign language come to mind, but I don't recall if they had any others.

And - to the mom that wanted to "camp" in her son's room - EWWWW. What was she afraid of - that he wouldn't brush his teeth, or that he wouldn't wear clean underwear the next morning? That is just creepy.

 

[Snowysmom]

I think the funniest question asked by a parent was during a college tour with my younger DS. A mother asked if the college had dances on the weekends. Her daughter had lots of prom dresses she could wear to dances and she loved to dance.

As far as calling home, my older DS called a few times a week. Younger DS was maybe twice a week.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

DD has freshman orientation this Tues and Wed. It's for 2 days with an overnight stay. DH and I will not be attending the parent version since we are both alumni and pretty familiar with the set up. She has to read some chapters from a book and answer a bunch of written questions and be prepared to discuss them. The book has nothing to do with school or orientation. Is this common practice these days for orientation?

I was a freshman at Butler University in 1989. The freshman all had to read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings." I think it was a way to "bond" us. She did speak at freshman orientation.

 

[shortbun]

I call my MIL and hand the phone over to her son. I have told my son that he needs to call us or expect us to call him. My friend's son got home from his freshman year, was home for 3 days and left for a summer job. She hasn't heard from him since, 3 weeks ago. Honestly, I would not tolerate that. That's not the way to treat close family, especially your mom and dad.
Snowysmom, that is funny. I can just see that girl's roomates when she shows up with prom dresses.. FASHION SHOW!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

I was a freshman at Butler University in 1989. The freshman all had to read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings." I think it was a way to "bond" us. She did speak at freshman orientation.

They told us at orientation last year that my son's class all had to read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". He kept putting it off and never read it. And not another word was said about it the entire school year. I thought it was a cool idea, but they really dropped the ball on it.

 

[sk!mom]

During a parent information session when one of my kids was at orientation, the speaker talked about changes during the college years. He said that if your son or daughter is dating someone from high school, there is a pretty good chance that he or she won't be dating that same person after the first year or so, and a woman stood up and cheered!

Now that's funny! This time last year, I could have been that mom. I was so glad to see that relationship end.

DD's current boyfriend is a great kid, though. They are going to schools several hours apart and right now they are going to try to stay together. I only hope that neither of them has to deal with a broken heart freshman year if it proves too difficult for one or the other.

 

[sk!mom]

I wish I had read this thread a month ago. DH and I were trying to decide if he should attend the parent sessions at DD's orientation next week. We did not feel it was necessary and were surprised that the University kept sending reminders that we hadn't signed up so we finally decided that he would in case there was a reason for it that we were unaware of. This thread has made me think that he will spend three very bored days and I'm glad to be teaching Summer school so that my going was never discussed. Oh well, he'll survive!

 

[AllisonK]

I was a campus tour guide for three and a half years, so I got my fair share of odd questions. My favorite, though, was while showing a dorm. This was a typical two-person room on a floor with shared bathrooms, but not typical freshmen housing. Most freshmen lived in suites with two rooms and a common area and a bathroom, but the model room was generally the same size (about 12'x12') and had the same furniture (two beds, desks, chairs, dressers and moveable closets that were quite roomy).

On the tour was just two parents - no student with them (Huh? I know I never would have sent my parents on a tour of a school without me!) and the mother asked me, "Are these the only size closets you have? My son will need a much bigger closet than this! And are these the only dressers? Those won't work, either!"

 

[IDoDis]

My one thought on reading the chapters in the book is - are they doing any sort of academic assessment prior to determine what levels of classes they get placed in? My DD's school does a couple of assessments - math and foreign language come to mind, but I don't recall if they had any others. And - to the mom that wanted to "camp" in her son's room - EWWWW. What was she afraid of - that he wouldn't brush his teeth, or that he wouldn't wear clean underwear the next morning? That is just creepy.

I don't think it's for placement purposes since that aspect has already been determined based on ACT and AP scores. DD also had to take an online test for her foreign language placement level. DD has not done the reading yet. The book is called, "Garbology" and she has links to the chapters she is supposed to read along with a printout of the questions. I'm guessing it's for bonding purposes, as well.

Her "mandatory" orientation costs $175.00. -- something that was not in any of the paperwork regarding cost of attendance and is in addition to the regular student fees. We only found out about it in April. It would have been an additional $55 for each parent for one day and lunch on our own.

 

[christineann]

Both of my kids had suggested reading prior to the start of their freshman years. It was not mandatory.

I believe the purpose of it was to encourage conversation in discussion groups, which were held the first few weeks of freshman year. It was a good way for kids to meet each other, converse and exchange ideas.

 

[barkley]

I don't think it's for placement purposes since that aspect has already been determined based on ACT and AP scores. DD also had to take an online test for her foreign language placement level. DD has not done the reading yet. The book is called, "Garbology" and she has links to the chapters she is supposed to read along with a printout of the questions. I'm guessing it's for bonding purposes, as well.

Her "mandatory" orientation costs $175.00. -- something that was not in any of the paperwork regarding cost of attendance and is in addition to the regular student fees. We only found out about it in April. It would have been an additional $55 for each parent for one day and lunch on our own.

they charge for orientation????? that's crazy.

dd's was mandatory but free (for students/parents). the incoming students got their lunch free while the parents who registered in advance ate with a different luncheon speaker for $7. the funny thing was-the lunch the students received was fairly simple- burgers/veggie burgers/fries/salad/cookies/drinks, the parents were offered tri-tip sandwiches, much nicer salads, a nice variety of desserts, and a drink. at the session for parents and students following lunch the speaker opened saying 'I'm sure those of you students and parents who have compared notes on what you were offered for lunch noticed a difference-on the one hand we didn't want any of you who will be dorming and partaking of our food plans to get the wrong impression of what meals consist of AND on the other hand we know that many of your parents sacrifice a great deal in order for you to be able to attend here so we thought they deserved a little treat'.

 

[Katelly]

My dd's orientation is in mid July. The total cost for her (two night stay in the dorm, all meals, programs) and my dh and I (for what, I don't know!) was around $300. There was an option for parents to stay in "parent dorms" but my dh and I are staying in a hotel and turning this visit into a mini vacation.

DD's school is six hours away, in a gorgeous area surrounded by mountains and lakes. So, dh and I may go to one or two programs (we've already gone to a few things at the college) but then we'll head out and explore the area.

My dd would pretend she didn't know us if she saw us walking around the campus or asking dumb questions at orientation. We were at the campus for a Scholars weekend not too long ago and when I went to raise my hand to ask a question, my dd put my hand down and in a panic said "tell me what you're going to ask first!!!"

 

[mom2rtk]

My dd's orientation is in mid July. The total cost for her (two night stay in the dorm, all meals, programs) and my dh and I (for what, I don't know!) was around $300. There was an option for parents to stay in "parent dorms" but my dh and I are staying in a hotel and turning this visit into a mini vacation.

DD's school is six hours away, in a gorgeous area surrounded by mountains and lakes. So, dh and I may go to one or two programs (we've already gone to a few things at the college) but then we'll head out and explore the area.

My dd would pretend she didn't know us if she saw us walking around the campus or asking dumb questions at orientation. We were at the campus for a Scholars weekend not too long ago and when I went to raise my hand to ask a question, my dd put my hand down and in a panic said "tell me what you're going to ask first!!!"

Oh gosh, no way in HECK would I be staying in a "parent dorm"!

We just went down for the minimum amount of involvement, mostly for DS to take his trig exam (required for all incoming students) and course enrollment. That was a long enough day. I can't imagine making it into a 3 day extravaganza.

 

[IDoDis]

they charge for orientation????? that's crazy.

I agree. No info on this added orientation fee was in any paperwork or anywhere online until early April. Luckily DD has enough in her scholarship to cover the extra fee, but originally she was going to apply the money towards her mandatory meal plan which just changed to a very expensive mandatory all you can eat 24/7 plan while they got rid of the lesser expensive options for freshmen. This bombshell was just released last week.

 

[southlakejr]

Ah... college orientation

Picture this: Parent orientation for a Christian college. Parents are all in discussion group answering the question "what do you hope your child gets out of attending college here?" Parent after parent responds with some iteration of "I hope my child deepens his faith" "I hope my child develops a better understanding of the Bible." Etc, Etc. Then, the one dad "I hope my daughter dates a lot of different people"

Yeah.... that was my dad.

I'm pretty sure all the other parents were warning their sons to stay away from me like I was some kind of harlot.

In defense of good old dad- he is not religious, but supported me in everything I did. His biggest fear is that I would get married young without completing my education. Ironically, when I did get married young (20, but already finished my BA) my dad was thrilled.

As far as college and communications- I called home maybe once a week. Most of the time I think my parents called me. But I'm not much of a phone person. Generally, I called my mom and emailed my dad (divorced parents, so I had double duty!)

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree. No info on this added orientation fee was in any paperwork or anywhere online until early April. Luckily DD has enough in her scholarship to cover the extra fee, but originally she was going to apply the money towards her mandatory meal plan which just changed to a very expensive mandatory all you can eat 24/7 plan while they got rid of the lesser expensive options for freshmen. This bombshell was just released last week.

Both of those surprises really do stink. Sometimes it really feel like we're just along for the ride on all of this.

We had no idea about the charge for orientation at either of our sons' freshman orientations. And one of them is just a commuter student.