I was on the phone with a friend recently who has a daughter days away from beginning her first semester at Ole Miss. Mom has decided that she wanted to be in Oxford for bid day and was asking me all sorts of questions. It occurred to me that she is not the only one. In an effort to help other moms facing the same concerns, I have a list of things for you that can help support your daughter during recruitment. Especially if you are new to everything.
First, if you have not done this yet, book and schedule all the things!!
Hotel reservations for you if you are going to be in town for recruitment. There are all sorts of choices but probably not any deals beyond using whatever points available for your travel expenses because it is a popular weekend. The Graduate Hotel on the square is most definitely our favorite but should there not be something available, or the price does not fit the budget for this trip, go a different route. We were in town to help one of our girls move recently and my husband booked us a room at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott on Highway 7 at Sisk Avenue near Oxford Commons. It was exactly what we needed! I was pleasantly surprised.
Order Happies and Bid Day Gifts!! Have you ordered happies and a bid day gift? You can do that from home now or when you go for move in, but why? Do it now and check it off the list. The gift shops are still taking orders and we have loads of details for you in another post if you need help! Our friends, at Lily Pad, Olive Juice, and Katherine Beck are all still taking orders!! Be sure you review their policies regarding recruitment and bid day gifts, deliveries etc. A link to the other post is at the bottom of this post.
Nails!! Next thing to do for your daughter whether you are going to be in Oxford for recruitment or not, nails!! If it works out, book her a nail appointment! But schedule it either after unpacking is finished or when she has a break. If you cannot schedule an appointment, purchase her a set or two of press on nails that work well.
These press on nails by Kiss are among our favorites around the office and you can easily find them at Ulta,CVS, and Walmart or on www.kissusa.com. If a local appointment is the way to go, be sure and reach out to our friends over at 20/20 Lux Spa and Nails. They have all sorts of great packages for recruitment.
Once you have booked the things you need to schedule for her, plan something for you.
Dinner – My next suggestion is make dinner reservations for you or you and a few friends. More than likely, your daughter will not be available for dinner on Saturday evening; take advantage of the opportunity to meet other parents and get to know them. I always ordered something to go for my girls and dropped it by the dorm. They were usually starving but too tired to go out. FYI none of the restaurants in Oxford are on Open Table as of this writing. A handful are on Resy. You can also go to their websites and reserve through the websites and/or find a phone number to call.
Errands One of the things I did for both of my girls when they went through recruitment was I made a point to take a few things off their plate that had to get done even though recruitment was all that they could think about. And if you are occupied doing other things, contact our friends at Right on Time Errand Services and let them handle it all! Mind you the recruitment schedule is different this year, they were at least a month in with school when recruitment
began. Even if your daughter does not have clothes that need washing, errands will need to be run or things need organizing. Since classes begin right after recruitment is finished, find out if they have what they need to start class. Supplies, their laptop, books etc.? Have they ordered their textbooks? They do need to check the syllabus for each class and be sure that there isn’t any reading that needs to happen in advance of the first day. Hopefully, she will be in a place where she can focus on that too! Suggest it as a distraction if she is nervous about recruitment. Welcome to the college juggle!
Going Home Lastly, if you are trying to determine when to leave or fly home, Sunday evening is fine. You will not be able to see her or spend time with her once she receives her bid beyond a quick visit to the house and a few photos. If you are a sorority alum, check with one of the officers about pledging that afternoon. If they are going to hold their ceremony that afternoon and you can join in, go for it! I did and it was so great to be able to help the chapter and pin my daughter. Sometimes they do not have the new member ceremony until their first meeting.
And that is it! My best recommendations to support your daughter through recruitment week whether you are in Oxford or not. I hope you found this helpful as you prepare your daughter for this next step.
If you liked this post, please let us know down below and click the like button. For more great college parenting tips, be sure to follow us on Instagram and FaceBook. As promised earlier, here is a link to the Recruitment Gift Information about our friends at Katherine Beck, Lily Pad and Olive Juice. RECRUITMENT GIFT INFO