Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

Coming home last night, longest drive ever. Waking up to empty bedroom, could be longest day...
Her little brother took it hardest. I think for me (so far) the anticipation was harder. Any suggestions for the first care package of truly meant to spoil her non essential filled boxed?

Son is 11. The night before, when it was time for bed, he wouldn't stop hugging her, and he cried about 20 minutes. Everything was fine yesterday up to the last half hour. Then it was holding her hand, hugs, tears, and sobbing when the car door shut. I cried more for him than for myself.

The roommate was already moved in when we got there. So dd didn't get choice of anything. (Like which bunk, which dresser, which closet..etc) we thought it would have been nice if she had waited but what can you do? Funny thing was the girls name wasn't even on the door! So the RA didn't know who her roommate was!
Awwww, I feel for your DS. DD was 10 when her Brother left for college - her 10th B-Day was Freshman dorm move in day.
The hardest thing for us parents was she lost her live in entertainer and so the first few months were filled with more slumber parties, sleep overs and excursions. She eventually settled into being an "only child". She did enjoy no longer having to share the bathroom!
 
Which is why DH and I are planning a trip on our own to look forward to in October (Scotland for a week). I wanted to have something else to hyperfocus on.

This year has been an emotional roller coaster - DS23 got married in November, DD18 graduated in May, DMIL had an 85th birthday party, and now DD going off to college (DS didn't go). We need some time just to get away.

October would be a great time for a trip. My daughter and I are doing WDW about a week after drop-off, but it was the only time that I could go, since preschool starts 9/11. I can't concentrate on getting excited for the trip as much as I'd like with move-in looming over me, and I know that I'm going to have a mighty let-down when we return. Having a month after this change to do more trip planning and then coming home after I've adjusted somewhat would be better. But I'm still beyond happy that I get this week in WDW with my favorite girl!
 
Im going to be a complete empty nester this year. DD24 is planning her wedding; DD18 is going up for her sophomore year (and I am praying that goes OK and she has a good year); and Niece is off for her freshman year. What will I do all alone for the first time in decades?
 
I'm an obsessive mailer of care packages. I have been since I was sending packages to summer camp. I think the first Freshman year package was gift cards to some food places around campus. I wanted to encourage her to get out and not worry too much about stretching her summer earnings until her paychecks from her job kicked in.

DD21 is already back at school and ready to start Senior year. I'm mailing this year's first package tomorrow. I noticed when we visited her new townhouse last weekend that she needed new hand towels so I bought a couple of monogrammed towels. I'm including a couple of bath bombs from the B&BW sale, and a single serve bottle of champagne with a "Cheers to Senior Year" note.

I'm already gathering goodies for this year's pumpkin since that is the Fall highlight.

I ordered a years worth through the school today plus I will be sending my own I am sure. I also just took out her insurance for her belongings in the dorm in case they get stolen or damaged. I booked her bus home for Thanksgiving and booked her plane home for her birthday. She wants to get a tattoo on her 18th birthday so as long as she is home I can at least bring her to a good place I know here rather than a strange place there. Plus on her birthday we are going to the local casino so have a lot to look forward to!
 


I just got a kick when I was already down. I found out today that the preschool that I teach at is closing at the end of the school year in May, 2018. I'm feeling a bit obsolete with my last one leaving for college and now being out of a job.
October would be a great time for a trip. My daughter and I are doing WDW about a week after drop-off, but it was the only time that I could go, since preschool starts 9/11. I can't concentrate on getting excited for the trip as much as I'd like with move-in looming over me, and I know that I'm going to have a mighty let-down when we return. Having a month after this change to do more trip planning and then coming home after I've adjusted somewhat would be better. But I'm still beyond happy that I get this week in WDW with my favorite girl!

Beth-so sorry to hear about your school. Wouldn't there still be a need for preschools in your area and thus jobs at a new school?


I just got back from a week at a Disney with my girls. I had to sort of beg Lizzy to go. I really wanted Emma to have some time with her before she goes away. She would only go if I let her come 2 days later. At first I was all no way are you flying alone then I realized it would be better to let her experience getting somewhere she's been many times. So she flew alone and of course her flight was canceled.:headache: But she handled it great-got her flight rebooked to a connecting flight and managed that fine even though she had never flown connecting before. It was a long day for her but a huge confidence builder. On the flight home Emma & I got TSA pre check so we made Lizzy go through security alone.:D

I was so busy getting Lizzy ready for college that I didn't plan much for the trip. I had only made 1 day of fast passes so we could do Flights of Passage (it was awesome!!!!). We still had a great time and the girls had a great time together til their fight in the airport and now Emma is ready for Lizzy to go away.:P the girls hadn't been to WDW in 3 years. It was fun for me to see Lizzy really enjoying it & I know she was remembering all the fun she had there over the years.

We leave a week from tomorrow to move her in. Not sure any of us are ready but we know she needs to do it. Joe doesn't want to go-says he'd rather say goodbye here than just leave her there & drive home so he'll stay with my sister in law. I'm anxious to see if he grows without Lizzy to tell him what to do. He'll be a junior so we will be doing college searches with him.
 
Any suggestions for the first care package of truly meant to spoil her non essential filled boxed?
I've been looking at lots of photos of care packages. I think my first one might be an all yellow one-I love the look of all one color. I've also already purchased some emoji stuff-stickers, tissues, notepad, hand sanitizer...my DD is NOT an emoji fan so I hope she thinks it's funny.
We haven't even dropped DD off, and I'm planning care packages.

Mostly for the first one, I'll be including stuff I said "no" to when we were shopping for supplies. So the first month will be the mermaid pillow from BB&B she really wanted (https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/st...n-throw-pillow/3294861?Keyword=mermaid+pillow) but I couldn't justify, as well as some K-cups for her hand-me-down K-cup coffee maker.
My DD bought one of those. She loves playing with it.
 


Is anyone starting a thread for care package ideas? I would love to see some pictures and get ideas.

That would be great! I actually started an Amazon shopping list (I have the Amazon wish list button on my browser) just for care package stuff to include in various packages. I should probably start a Pinterest board as well, but I'm not sure I want to go to that level!

ETA: I did a Community Board thread search, and there hasn't been a thread devoted to college care packages. This one lists a lot of suggestions: https://www.disboards.com/threads/having-a-very-hard-time-with-ds-going-off-to-college.3154828/

ETA#2: Done! https://www.disboards.com/threads/college-care-package-ideas.3626938/
 
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Beth-so sorry to hear about your school. Wouldn't there still be a need for preschools in your area and thus jobs at a new school?


I just got back from a week at a Disney with my girls. I had to sort of beg Lizzy to go. I really wanted Emma to have some time with her before she goes away. She would only go if I let her come 2 days later. At first I was all no way are you flying alone then I realized it would be better to let her experience getting somewhere she's been many times. So she flew alone and of course her flight was canceled.:headache: But she handled it great-got her flight rebooked to a connecting flight and managed that fine even though she had never flown connecting before. It was a long day for her but a huge confidence builder. On the flight home Emma & I got TSA pre check so we made Lizzy go through security alone.:D

I was so busy getting Lizzy ready for college that I didn't plan much for the trip. I had only made 1 day of fast passes so we could do Flights of Passage (it was awesome!!!!). We still had a great time and the girls had a great time together til their fight in the airport and now Emma is ready for Lizzy to go away.:P the girls hadn't been to WDW in 3 years. It was fun for me to see Lizzy really enjoying it & I know she was remembering all the fun she had there over the years.

We leave a week from tomorrow to move her in. Not sure any of us are ready but we know she needs to do it. Joe doesn't want to go-says he'd rather say goodbye here than just leave her there & drive home so he'll stay with my sister in law. I'm anxious to see if he grows without Lizzy to tell him what to do. He'll be a junior so we will be doing college searches with him.

We're in an area that is rapidly aging in population, so preschools aren't needed as much as in the past. There may be a couple of possibilities, but maybe it's time to explore something else. I wasn't educated as a preschool teacher--or in education at all. I was a computer programmer/software engineer in my pre-children life. I spent too many years as a SAHM to get back into the computer field (and the market is lousy here for them, too).

I'm glad that you had a great WDW trip. Miles would love to go to WDW with Laura and me. It's been 4 years since any of us have been. I hope that college move-in goes smoothly. My co-teacher's daughter is a transfer student, so she moves into Oswego next Friday. I still see your children as tiny even though I know that they've grown, so it's strange to think of them as so grown up.
 
Is anyone starting a thread for care package ideas? I would love to see some pictures and get ideas.

I had an idea of something for my son that he wanted but didn't get, and I've forgotten what it is! My brain is like Swiss cheese these days. I hope that I remember. Care packages for boys seem a little more difficult or at least for my sons vs. my daughter.
 
I've been looking at lots of photos of care packages. I think my first one might be an all yellow one-I love the look of all one color. I've also already purchased some emoji stuff-stickers, tissues, notepad, hand sanitizer...my DD is NOT an emoji fan so I hope she thinks it's funny.

My DD bought one of those. She loves playing with it.

I save the yellow one for the cold dreary winter- it's a box of Sunshine! After 3 years, it's another traditional one and easier than I first thought to gather up yellow and orange goodies.

Is anyone starting a thread for care package ideas? I would love to see some pictures and get ideas.

Do a search on Pinterest and you'll get tons of ideas with pictures.
 
I have a question if anyone can help. I will call her school but figured I'd get an idea here first. When I look online at my daughter's bill I notice that the financial aid (a few scholarships) is still pending. My balance is zero but it does say that aid is still pending. Is it normal to not have gone thru yet? I know after the beginning of Sept you get a late fee and I don't want that to happen. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks so much!
 
I have a question if anyone can help. I will call her school but figured I'd get an idea here first. When I look online at my daughter's bill I notice that the financial aid (a few scholarships) is still pending. My balance is zero but it does say that aid is still pending. Is it normal to not have gone thru yet? I know after the beginning of Sept you get a late fee and I don't want that to happen. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks so much!

For any type of financial aid, grant, scholarship, loan, etc whenever it posts to the account, and says 'pending' DS's University treats it like the money is already there. Oftentimes, one of his grants doesn't actually post until well after the due date, and it's not a problem.

A call to your specific school would probably not be a bad idea, but I think you should be good.
 
For any type of financial aid, grant, scholarship, loan, etc whenever it posts to the account, and says 'pending' DS's University treats it like the money is already there. Oftentimes, one of his grants doesn't actually post until well after the due date, and it's not a problem.

A call to your specific school would probably not be a bad idea, but I think you should be good.
Thank you :)
 
I have a question if anyone can help. I will call her school but figured I'd get an idea here first. When I look online at my daughter's bill I notice that the financial aid (a few scholarships) is still pending. My balance is zero but it does say that aid is still pending. Is it normal to not have gone thru yet? I know after the beginning of Sept you get a late fee and I don't want that to happen. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks so much!
DS's aid also says pending or something similar. This includes all types of aid, including grants from the University itself.
 
I have a question if anyone can help. I will call her school but figured I'd get an idea here first. When I look online at my daughter's bill I notice that the financial aid (a few scholarships) is still pending. My balance is zero but it does say that aid is still pending. Is it normal to not have gone thru yet? I know after the beginning of Sept you get a late fee and I don't want that to happen. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks so much!

Some of my daughters doesn't even say pending! But I called and they keep telling me don't worry about it- the did send me a spreadsheet of what is coming and what I have to pay and they told me just pay the number on the spreadsheet and don't pay attention to the bill as it will change up until the 1st day of school!
 
Some of my daughters doesn't even say pending! But I called and they keep telling me don't worry about it- the did send me a spreadsheet of what is coming and what I have to pay and they told me just pay the number on the spreadsheet and don't pay attention to the bill as it will change up until the 1st day of school!

I'm finding ours changes several times a week. Charges get added, charges get dropped. It's pretty disconcerting, as I receive Nelnet emails every time it happens. We're on a payment plan with them, and I have to review and approve the plan whenever a change is made.

Last night her bill for books was posted (they use something called Textbook Butler which looks at her schedule and delivers them all to her dorm room). Eek -- $596 for the semester! I would have liked to rent through Amazon, but for the first semester I didn't want to chance buying the wrong edition, etc. Plus we didn't receive a list of books she actually needs.

I know this'll start getting smoother, but I feel like a spigot of money flowing out has been turned on and won't turn off!
 
DS's bill is due the 20th. His outside scholarship has not arrived yet. They said they were going to cut the checks Aug 15th. It then gets mailed to us and we have to mail it to the school. I called the Financial Aid Office and they said late fees aren't assessed until closer to the end of the month, so hopefully it will work out. His scholarships from the school were applied on the 16th. I paid the what should end up being the remaining balance today.
 
My daughter's says pending as well and most of it is merit coming directly from the school.

We're heading into our last week and it seems surreal. Tomorrow we're going to do some fun stuff together as a family.
 
For any type of financial aid, grant, scholarship, loan, etc whenever it posts to the account, and says 'pending' DS's University treats it like the money is already there. Oftentimes, one of his grants doesn't actually post until well after the due date, and it's not a problem.

A call to your specific school would probably not be a bad idea, but I think you should be good.


This has been our experience with DS as well. I've learned not to worry about it.
 

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