<p>Hi. I really wanted to go to a far-off or even out of town school (such as Tulane was) for fall semester. However, my parents are making me stay home and commute to a local state university for the semester. Reading about all the great places people are going (Cornell, Boston, CMU, Georgia, Dartmouth...) I feel pretty lonely. Has anyone else ended up in my situation?</p>
<p>I'm pretty upset, I feel like I'm not in college anymore. Not to mention this particular school is in its 4th week of classes, making it even worse. Anyone want to make me feel less alone?</p>
<p>Doesn't it help that the school you're going to ranks high among LAC's in the country? I know you're disappointed, but remember that you'll be back at Tulane soon, and you'll all have good stories to tell about where you spent your time. The more you take advantage of where you are, the better your story will be.</p>
<p>I hope you find things there to make you happy soon. It's only for a short time, but it is pretty much up to you to make it happen. If you want to "talk" about it, contact me anytime. And use the on-line Tulane communities that are being established, here and elsewhere, especially. "Talking" to other Tulane students should help. I'm sure some of those at the institutions you'd like to be attending right now also feel lonely.</p>
<p>A lot of the schools that are accepting Tulane students are not able to offer accommodation, so the students are on their own in terms of housing. You're not alone, unfortunately.</p>
<p>S commuted to Bates for a couple of days, before they found housing for him, and it definitely is not the same, so I know what you mean. Not being part of a campus community might be the biggest disappointment in this experience as it just doesn't feel quite like you've flown the nest as planned and are on your own. I sympathize, Ballerina.</p>
<p>One of the kids we know going to Bates is commuting from a relative's house and I know there are other kids in your situation</p>
<p>You should not feel guilty for being disappointed. The best you can do, I'm guessing, is look at it as part of an opportunity to experience college both ways - as a commuter (with a car!) and later as a resident student. Maybe you can even write an article about it. If you are going to a local state U, there must be other commuters and my observation has been that these places have commuter student lounges/associations etc. This could be a place where you'll find a welcome and feel part of a college community.</p>
<p>Good luck and keep us posted. We're here to listen.</p>
<p>It doesn't particularly help that it's a highly ranked LAC because it's not "me." Some kids go to Harvard and don't "click" with it. It's not really me there. Not to mention they are in their fourth week of class and already quite involved, leading me to have to drop a math class I was too far behind in to be able to keep high grades in. Plus, I had to pay tuition, and that just makes me angry.</p>
<p>I met a senior from Loyola today. That helped a little. But having to come back to my house everyday and not really have that freshman experience I was so hoping for disenchants college for me. </p>
<p>I feel bad about complaining, there are many much worse off than me. But even in the JSU gym I felt like I was part of the Tulane community. Now I feel lost from it.</p>
<p>Ballerina- it is okay to feel a little sorry for yourself. You have all that adrenaline going and the excitement of going off to college and then the 1st day having to turn around and go back home. I know my D spent the first day home not wanting to even get out of bed. She also had an option of going to a local UC that is a good school. But it was not what she wanted. She like you for years wanted to go far away to school. She ended up attending her 2nd choice school. The advice several people gave her was that she needed to step out and act like this was the school she will be at for 4 yrs and get involved. That even at a residential school if she still was in the mindset she should be at Tulane it would not be a good experience. Maybe it will be better if you try to join a few clubs or and intermural sport so you can meet people.
Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Ballerina, here's what I wrote in my blog yesterday. I think you should go right ahead and feel upset ~ you've experienced a huge loss ~ and then you should figure out how to make lemonade.</p>
<p><<It's starting to sink in. With a tragedy the magnitude of Katrina, it's hard -- and wrong -- to think of losses of less than life, health, and livelihood as catastrophes. But losses are losses and, no matter how resolutely you push it away, grief does accompany them. </p>
<p>It's really just sinking in -- the year of questions, research, visits, interviews, essay writing, forms, tests, recommendations, apprehension, disappointment, relief, excitement, anticipation, planning, scheduling, choosing, shopping -- all that goes into a college choice, into what is, in our culture, a hugely significant rite of passage -- all upended in a matter of hours by a force completely beyond human control. While her high school friends are hanging out in the dorms and studying in the libraries and walking across the campuses they CHOSE last spring, my daughter is accomodating herself to the demands of a completely unexpected turn of events. And even she if she is able to return to her college of choice in the spring, it won't be the same college and it definitely won't be the same city that she first visited more than six months ago.</p>
<p>She has actually weathered worse, and I have every confidence that her natural resiliency and formidable strength of character will enable her to pull through triumphantly, but still. Tough, tough times.>></p>
<p>Ballerina,
My son is a Tulane Freshman and is enrolled in a university just 5-10 minutes from home, so he is in a simillar situation as you, commuting to college when he was so excited about his experience at Tulane. He's not really into these forums, but he is connected to Tulane students through Facebook, where I think they have a "group" for "students from Tulane studying elsewhere for the semester..." (or something like that). Look it up if you use facebook. Or, I can ask him to contact you. Y'all DO need some type of support group during this difficult time. I know in Dallas we have an ongoing group (Tuesday evenings) for any displaced Tulane kids. We had 40 show up last week, though I don't know if it'll continue. I can totally empathize with what you're going through! :)</p>
<p>You are a sight to sore eyes, let me tell you. I was so ready to go, and now I'm back, listening to everyone say how they're going all these great places and I'm back home. Especially now that Tulane wants my fall tuition, which is tens of thousands more than my local college. I have a big problem with that... </p>
<p>I'd love to talk to your son. And you. This whole situation has gotten me really depressed. </p>