Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[madge]

I saw this on my DS twitter feed today ... referring to life on campus this week:

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3r97jh
(I'm too lazy to download pic, then upload it to a host, etc. )

 

[elgerber]

I saw this on my DS twitter feed today ... referring to life on campus this week:

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3r97jh
(I'm too lazy to download pic, then upload it to a host, etc. )

 

[Pembo]

I saw this on my DS twitter feed today ... referring to life on campus this week:

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3r97jh
(I'm too lazy to download pic, then upload it to a host, etc. )

Love it!!!

Dh talked with ds last night and he sounded horrible. He told him to go to the med clinic today and as they were hanging up at 10:30 they agreed he needed to go to bed. This morning I see on FB that he was at the radio station at midnight! Guess he didn't listen We will see him tomorrow, he better not get us sick. lol

 

[mom2rtk]

Love it!!!

Dh talked with ds last night and he sounded horrible. He told him to go to the med clinic today and as they were hanging up at 10:30 they agreed he needed to go to bed. This morning I see on FB that he was at the radio station at midnight! Guess he didn't listen We will see him tomorrow, he better not get us sick. lol

LOL, that actually makes me glad my DS isn't on Facebook. That would drive me nuts!

 

[Gina]

Just wanted to share a pic of my happy college kid, even happier when he got to see his cat last weekend.

 

[IDoDis]

Just wanted to share a pic of my happy college kid, even happier when he got to see his cat last weekend.

Awww, he looks so happy! What a handsome guy!

DD came home last night, but left after we attended a birthday party for my niece today. She drove with friends to a football game against a rival in-state university about 3 hours away. She texted me that her school won by 3 points. She's spending the night in a friend's dorm with three others who will also be sleeping on the floor. They are going to be packed in like sardines!

We did a Target run last night to get her some essentials and snacks. She loves her roommate. They have been joined at the hip doing lots of things together. Then I got an earful on other stuff. For example --

One of the suite mates hasn't contributed for toilet paper and hasn't bought any yet. On move-in day I bought a 12 pack to get them started. Then DD, her roommate and one suite mate went shopping and they all chipped in for more toilet paper. The other suite mate wasn't there and she never paid her share when asked later. A couple of weeks ago DD said they were getting low on TP so I bought the large pack at Costco and gave it to DD when she went out to dinner with us one night. Two girls each paid a fourth, but not the suite mate. DD is tired of asking her for the money.

This same suite mate also took DD's washcloth from DD's sink and moved it to her own sink. DD moved it back to her sink and the suite mate moved it again. So DD took out another new washcloth from her cabinet and hung it by her sink and the next day it was gone. Obviously the suite mate thinks DD is using her washcloths. We bought a multi-color pack at a Target, so I'm guessing they both have the same ones. I told DD to discuss it with the other girl, but DD does not like confrontation, so she bought a different set.

Now the suite mate's dad came and put a lock on the room side of the suite mates' bathroom door. It's against fire code to put locks on those doors because someone could potentially get locked in during a fire. The actual toilet and shower rooms in the bathroom can be locked. I'm referring to the sink area where there's a door on each side leading to a room. The suite mate also hung a shower rod with a cloth curtain on her side of the room for privacy, even though there's a wall already between her and her roommates beds.

The girls have a lot to learn about communication. Luckily DD and her own roommate are two peas in a pod and they don't see this one suite mate too much. They will have to figure out a solution to the toilet paper issue though.

Anyone else's kid dealing with minor roommate issues like this?

 

[SydSim]

One of the suite mates hasn't contributed for toilet paper and hasn't bought any yet. On move-in day I bought a 12 pack to get them started. Then DD, her roommate and one suite mate went shopping and they all chipped in for more toilet paper. The other suite mate wasn't there and she never paid her share when asked later. A couple of weeks ago DD said they were getting low on TP so I bought the large pack at Costco and gave it to DD when she went out to dinner with us one night. Two girls each paid a fourth, but not the suite mate. DD is tired of asking her for the money. They will have to figure out a solution to the toilet paper issue though. Anyone else's kid dealing with minor roommate issues like this?

Sounds like its time to go military style - once this roll runs out, DD brings her personal roll with her when she goes and brings it back out when she's done. Forces the other roomie to get her own somehow (hopefully buying it).

 

[njmom47]

That would be my suggestion as well....bring a roll in when she goes and keep the rest locked up or something. I also asked my ds about this and he said so far everyone has taken turns buying tp.
There's even one kid who cleans the bathrooms! Ds said this particular suitemate is a freak about keeping it clean so that's awesome. We did buy cleaners, air fresheners, etc.
I would be concerned about the lock, especially if it's illegal!

I texted ds last night and he told me he was at a party. Hmm Now I know why he wants to stay on campus for the weekends. Not happy.

 

[mom2rtk]

My niece had trouble with a suitemate who would never buy toilet paper. Oy. Life is too short. And there is no TP fairy. As much of a pain as it is, I'd start buying (and keeping separate) my own roll too.

I'll share this with my DS who has a bathroom down the hall. Maybe he'll appreciate the "free" TP more now.

 

[Bluestars]

Gina, those are such great ideas on sending care packages! I wish my son was allowed to keep food in his dorm. Maybe next year. I will have to think of nonfood items. Your son does look happy with his cat.

IdoDis, I guess it's bound to happen that there is a strange roommate in every group. Maybe your daughter can mark her washcloths with her initials.

I envy those of you who can see your kids on weekends. My son's school is 10 hours away, so that's not happening. I am looking forward to seeing him on the family weekend in October. He still doesn't like cadet life because it is so restrictive and takes up a lot of time, but he loves the Army ROTC stuff. I keep telling him to just hang in there.

He's made a lot of friends and they go out to dinner and hang out during their free time.

 

[madge]

I'm pretty sure that DS has enough TP for his entire floor. My MIL gave him a Costco-size package of mega rolls. it's a LOT of TP.

the roommate-less days are over for DS. He's supposed to be working out getting a new one, but he hates contacting people he doesn't know. It's a little awkward. LOL. If he doesn't contact someone from the list, then they'll assign him someone ... which may be worse. But he'll have to work that out for himself.

 

[Pembo]

Family day was yesterday! We went down the night before and stayed in a nice hotel. You know you're old when you are most excited about a good nights sleep and a hot shower. lol

We met up with Ds on Saturday morning for breakfast at the university, then we went shopping for clothes. He needed jeans and long sleeve stuff. Off to lunch and took a walk around campus and just visited. We got him dinner and headed home around 7. It was a long day but we enjoyed it.

DS has a nasty cold but just texted that he slept "forever" and feels much better today. He got the lecture on going to bed at a decent hour when I was there.

 

[IDoDis]

I'm pretty sure that DS has enough TP for his entire floor. My MIL gave him a Costco-size package of mega rolls. it's a LOT of TP. the roommate-less days are over for DS. He's supposed to be working out getting a new one, but he hates contacting people he doesn't know. It's a little awkward. LOL. If he doesn't contact someone from the list, then they'll assign him someone ... which may be worse. But he'll have to work that out for himself.

That's the same size package I bought for DD and her suite mates, but 4 girls can go through TP at a fast rate! I don't anticipate it lasting longer than a month, and that may be optimistic. I hope I'm wrong.

Pembo, sounds like you had a wonderful day with your DS. I'm glad he is feeling better. For those who have kids in school out of your state, did student health insurance have to be purchased, or does your current health insurance policy cover illnesses? I'm curious how that all works.

 

[lvloopingbag]

That's the same size package I bought for DD and her suite mates, but 4 girls can go through TP at a fast rate! I don't anticipate it lasting longer than a month, and that may be optimistic. I hope I'm wrong.

Pembo, sounds like you had a wonderful day with your DS. I'm glad he is feeling better. For those who have kids in school out of your state, did student health insurance have to be purchased, or does your current health insurance policy cover illnesses? I'm curious how that all works.

We had to submit information about our policy and a 3rd party vendor decided if the coverage was sufficient for the limits set by our son's college. Thank goodness they determined it was, because buying the insurance would have been over $3000!

 

[mom2rtk]

Pembo, sounds like you had a wonderful day with your DS. I'm glad he is feeling better. For those who have kids in school out of your state, did student health insurance have to be purchased, or does your current health insurance policy cover illnesses? I'm curious how that all works.

The small private school here in town our oldest attends requires each student to be insured or they will add a policy to their bill. Each fall, we have to complete a waiver with info on our private plan.

Our other son attends one of the state universities hours away. They don't ask for information on our policy. But there is a (somewhat) nominal fee added to his bill for use of student health services.

 

[tajz90]

The small private school here in town our oldest attends requires each student to be insured or they will add a policy to their bill. Each fall, we have to complete a waiver with info on our private plan. Our other son attends one of the state universities hours away. They don't ask for information on our policy. But there is a (somewhat) nominal fee added to his bill for use of student health services.

Same thing with our son. His undergrad school was state and required no insurance. His private grad school requires you to have either private insurance or they will add a policy.

 

[sk!mom]

We had a great visit with DD. We went up Friday because she's finished by 10 am. We went to one of her favorite places for lunch and then she showed us around the Town Square. We went to the Pep Rally that evening and then to another of her faves for dinner. Saturday we tailgated and went to the football game and then out that evening to a fun place with live music for dinner. We took her out to breakfast yesterday and headed home. If we go to Family Weekend next year, I will not pay the $60 per person fee. The only organized events we attended were the tailgating and game. We could have bought game tickets and been way ahead on cost. DD didn't want to eat at the group breakfasts and dinners. She wanted to take us to her favorites and have mom and dad pay, of course. She is completely settled in and loving it which was great to see. She didn't want to stay at the hotel with us and doesn't understand the kids who, "go home every weekend. They're missing out on so much!" She had no plans to come home until Christmas but her friend has been trying to convince her to share the driving to come home for their high school's homecoming. DD realized this weekend that homecoming is the same weekend as her home dance school's first performance of the season. Her cousin has been cast in her first partnering role and one of DD's dance friends is leaving for Russia later in October to study with the Bolshoi so it looks like she's going to come home then. I'll be happy for her to be here and will conveniently forget that it took all these outside factors to convince her. Missing mom and dad was never part of the equation. Oh and DH and my birthdays are the week after she'll be coming home but that never came into the discussion either. I love that girl and I'm so happy that she's so settled!

 

[sk!mom]

One awkward moment of Family Weekend- We met and were visiting with the parents of the friend that DD drove into the city with to see Jason Mraz the first week of school. The other girl's mom said, "so did you know beforehand about the girl's concert plans?"

I did and also knew when they bought the tickets back in the Summer. I'm glad DD feels comfortable telling me some things, at least, but it made for an awkward conversation.

 

[elgerber]

We visited DD this weekend also. We were up there by dinner on Friday. We checked into the hotel and then went and picked her up. Of course I had to cry on the way down the hotel stairs because I was so excited! Then I had to cry, just a little, when we said goodbye again. She didn't want to stay in the hotel with us either.
We ate several meals LOL, did some shopping, showed her how to unhook and rehook her car battery (her car does weird things that occasionally require that) and checked out a couple of things in her room.
She was saying at dinner all giddy, how The Fault in Our Stars came out on video last Tuesday. Dh asks her, did you buy it? She says not yet, then she says, I was hoping you'd buy it for me LOL. So, of course, I did. $75 at Target, every single item for her. Dang kid, I have always had a hard time saying no, and now the missing her factor, I am a goner.

 

[madge]

Family weekend for DS is this weekend. Of course, we're going ... then he comes home on Wednesday for fall break. Someone didn't really think that schedule through very well.

I anticipate a little shopping on Satuday, considering I've already been texted a coupon for a store near campus. My son, who couldn't care less about clothes 6 weeks ago ... is suddenly shopping for Vineyard Vines and Southern Tide
We'll stock up on necessities & swap out the wardrobe next week. College town is tiny & the only place to shop is Wal-Mart. No thanks.

Other than the shopping, I have no idea what the schedule for the day/weekend is. Oh, to be the parent of a boy.