<p>hi everyone, I am a junior now and absolutely loved ND when i first went! it was absolutely amazing. however, i live in new york, which is around 10-11 hours away, so i am a little skeptical about being too far from home. honestly, i'm afraid that i'm going to miss my family a lot- i know corny right? but i was just wondering if anyone had any advice for me- such as if we're able to visit home often? because i'm afraid i will end up going there and then regret it or want to transfer. thanks so much :)</p>
<p>Well, I'm an incoming freshman, so I don't have much experience, but I can tell you that I'm from lower Westchester. I don't know how much of this is strictly ND related, and how much is general collegiate lifestyle, but from what I've gleaned, a lot of people go into ND (being in the middle of nowhere) slightly skeptical about being far from home, etc. They worry about visiting home often, but eventually they end up going home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer, without feeling bad about it. </p>
<p>However, if you fall into the smaller group who gets homesick a little easier, I do know that ND has a midsemester break, where you get a whole week off to go home and visit, etc, right in the middle of the semester.</p>
<p>Plus, according to the alumni newsletter I recieved today, there are 28 kids coming from lower NY (Rockland, Westchester) next year, so there are plenty of people for you to talk to about how NY is better than every other state in the whole damn union, and how Chicago pizza blows.</p>
<p>My son just finished his 2nd year at ND. Hopefully, it will ease your mind some to know that he'd rather stay there year round with just a couple short trips home per year and most of his friends feel the same. At the end of both years, he commented that he wished they'd let him stay a couple weeks longer to have more time with friends. </p>
<p>The vast majority of students are far from home and my son only mentioned one student he knows who had a tough time with homesickness and she was fine after about 2 weeks. Their orientation is wonderful; by the end of it, you'll have found several potential friends. The dorms are like large families and people watch out for each other. Finances permitting, you could go home in October for a week, Thanksgiving (4 days), Christmas (close to a month), 4 days at Easter, and Spring Break.</p>
<p>There's no question that it is tough being away from home and the first few weeks are difficult. But you have to remember that most of the people around you feel the same way you do, even if they don't admit it. Instant messaging and e-mail are really great ways to stay in touch with your family. I'd almost guarantee that by the time fall break rolls around, you will feel really comfortable at ND.</p>
<p>I speak from experience - I went to Saint Mary's, an 18-hour drive from my home, and couldn't go home till Christmas break. It was really hard, but it made me independent - and more appreciative of my family when I did see them.</p>
<p>I also am 18 hours away from home, so I know what that is like. I was really worried about it and being away from home was hard for the first few days, but after that it gets pretty easy (or at least it did for me). They have a lot of activities to keep you busy and then school starts (so you will get really busy) which I think is good because then you don't have too much time to think about being away from home. The nice thing is that at Notre Dame you have about the perfect setup for these problems. You are not in a freshman only dorm but rather a dorm with students from all four years, so you can always go talk to someone who is older than you and may be able to help. We also have rectors and priests and a lot of options for people to talk to (or even the counseling center) and all of them are used to helping people with homesickness. </p>
<p>You can always call home, and that helps. What I setup was actually a webcam at home and one at school so that I could talk to and see my family and my dogs. It is funny, I always really miss the dogs (I would say the most but then I would scare all of the parents on here, lol). </p>
<p>It is doable, but it can be hard. If you want to do it, though, it can be done and has been done for years. The main thing that you know is that there is a lot of support there for you, you just have to reach out for it.</p>
<p>I'm also an incoming freshman, so I don't know how much advice I can offer you on the topic, but on all my trips away from home, I have found it pretty easy to stay in touch with family, with the internet as convenient as it is (although it is a tad difficult to communicate with the dogs this way :)). A webcam is definitely a good investment- the exchange student my family hosted this year made good use of hers talking to her family and friends back home, which convinced my parents to buy me one to take with me to school next year.</p>
<p>Don't worry about being alone if you're staying over break. Since people are from all over the US, people often stay over breaks. This past year I stayed for Fall Break (stayed with 2 of my 3 quadmates and went on a daytrip to Chicago) and Easter Break (almost half of my section was still around and we had a nice Easter buffet at SDH). Except for Christmas break, the dorms are open if you can't make it home or think it's not worth the bother. I find that when I stay, I'm more productive at getting work and errands done then if I were to go home. For Thanksgiving (I think) and Easter, the dining halls are open twice a day and campus restaurants open with limited hours. During the fall more people tend to stay because of football being on the weekends. </p>
<p>The thing I like most is that you can just relax on campus, something that you normally don't get to do, instead of having to deal with stressful travel especially at South Bend Regional airport.</p>
<p>Whew...this info sure makes this mom feel better! I was worried about D staying on campus over Fall Break, Thanksgiving, etc... Thought there HAD to be others who did not fly home every 2 months...</p>
<p>Maybe hanging out together on campus over breaks is what helps make the ND "family" so special...</p>