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How many folks did Parents Weekend, or will do it if it hasn't come up yet? We skipped our son's this year - the program didn't look all that exciting, and we'll be seeing him at Thankgiving anyway. As the weekend approached, we started to regret not going just a bit - at that point, though, air tickets were outrageously expensive.

Just curious - what kind of good (or bad) experiences have people had at these things?

By Dadster on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 11:02 pm: Edit

Parents Weekend: Depends completely on the school. Check the events, see if the football game is any good... then make your decision. Of course, it's a good excuse to see your kid, even if the events look boring.

By kyoung on Friday, November 16, 2001 - 12:16 pm: Edit

I attended Parents Weekend last week, along with my younger daughter and her grandmother. ( Dad was unable to get time away) It was great. We did very few of the planned activites ( canyon tour, Day of the Dead celebration), and had a very enjoyable time , hanging out in the dorm a little and just around campus.
Her school ( Reed college) doesn't have a football team so events were not centered around sports, although there was a women's rugby game.
It was great for her sister and her grandma to get to see the campus, even though she was going to be up for Thanksgiving.
We spent a little time exploring Portland, and while I would have preferred my daughter to have had more free time ( they had a paper due), all in all it was a great visit.

By George Meany on Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 07:13 am: Edit

"...they had a paper due" right after parents weekend. Hmm. Sounds like Reed is deadly serious about maintaining its reputation for academic rigor--even at the expense of parental socialization. I guess the parents of the professor for whose class the paper was due never visited him/her on parents weekend. Perhaps that's one way Reed reassures parents that the cost of a Reed education is worth it.

By EastCoast on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 01:45 pm: Edit

Had one last month. A good excuse to see the kid, the actual events were pretty lame. Went to a fancy restaurant that he wouldn't go to on his own, he said it was the first good meal he's had in months. (Doesn't seem to have lost weight, though. ) The football team got hammered, good thing we skipped the game. Not many parents showed up, so I don't think there was any pressure (like if you were the only kid in the third grade whose Mom didn't show up on Mom's day.)

By Roger (Roger) on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 - 09:00 pm: Edit

I attended one of these at Columbia. As other parents have pointed out, it was a good excuse for a visit. The few weekend events we attended were OK, and it was interesting to meet a few other parents at the various get-togethers. I don't recall if there was a football game; if there was, we didn't attend. The Dean of the College actually showed up at a small reception, and it was an opportunity to chat that we didn't have at any other time during our tenure as parents.

By Marty France (Docfrance) on Monday, April 22, 2002 - 07:11 pm: Edit

Best Parents' Weekends in the country are at the Service Academies. It's the first time parents can see their kids following a rigorous summer of basic training and the first month of school. At Air Force, it's always held over Labor Day Weekend and there's a football game, parade, lots of pageantry and the Colorado Rockies in the background. It's probably the best attended Parents' Weekend, too, with upwards of 90% of "doolie" (freshmen) parents attending--clogs the whole city. I can't wait to go to my son's this year!

By Dave Berry on Tuesday, April 23, 2002 - 09:48 am: Edit

Marty, what's the origin of the term doolie? I have a special reason for asking.