<p>As some of our children complete their freshman year, I thought it might be interesting to post where your child wound up and whether or not he/she is happy with the decision. It might help some hs seniors who are still undecided. </p>
<p>Proudmama's S- Williams and thrilled with his decision.</p>
<p>How about pros and cons?</p>
<p>I am the child, not the parent, but I wound up at Rice. There were parts of school that were hard to adjust to, but mostly that was about me, not about Rice. Now that the year is over, I completely believe that coming to Rice was the best decision that I ever made. If I could transfer to any other school, I wouldn't do it.</p>
<p>Son is at Bucknell and having a wonderful experience. He has become involved with several organizations--a political club, a parli debate team, and a band. He's not only picked a double major, but picked up a music minor as well. He likes his classes and his academic advisor. Best thing yet, one of the guys in his group drew a 46 on the housing lotto, which evidently is a good number!</p>
<p>Oh I forgot the cons...snow in April, and more expensive plane fare due to location. He can still tool into NYC for the day however. :)</p>
<p>Daughter went to Swarthmore and has been thrilled. The college has been exactly as advertised, only more so. She is sad right now because the first year is almost over. Doesn't want to leave.</p>
<p>Pros:</p>
<p>Strong, immediate friendships from day one. Social life has been terrific.</p>
<p>5 of 8 first year courses have had 12 or fewer students. Loves seminars.</p>
<p>Wide variety of interesting people. Learns from peers, both academically and otherwise.</p>
<p>Academic workload has been about what she expected. Challenging, but manageable.</p>
<p>Interaction with seniors and juniors in dorm has been valuable.</p>
<p>S is undeclared at UCB. He was a Spring admit, so first semester was at the Fall Extension program. </p>
<p>dorm life - ok, not great
sports - on the CAL ultimate frisbee 'A' team
academics - 50% of the classes have been very good; 50% are ok. Amoung the good ones: classics, discrete mathematics, music.
social life - still finding his way, but has made a few good friends
music - wrote lots of new songs the first semester; cut another cd</p>
<p>He's had a good year; and is glad to be at CAL.</p>
<p>My son is at Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Dorm life - Made many friends (for life, according to him); Quiet dorm but he does go out with them. Some partying but not heavy drinking.</p>
<p>Academics - Fantastic. He says (his words, not mine), 'some of the best discussions happen at Swarthmore'. Made many contacts with professors. Good grades so far. First semester was pass-fail but his grades (which don't count) were good.</p>
<p>Other ECs/Work - Writes for the college paper. Works 7 hours a week. Belongs to South Asian group and a political group (College Democrats).
Goes to Philly often.</p>
<p>I would love to hear some first year parents talk about their experience with Duke. My son is there now at Blue Devil Days with my husband. I wish that I could have gone. Please tell me some pros and cons. Also, must haves for dorm living at Duke. Should we have dinner at the Fairview before we leave for home in August? I want to have a special last dinner. I heard that it is very nice. Or is another place better. I am not familiar with the area so I am open to all suggestions. Thanks. CJ</p>
<p>D (from PacNW) finishing her first year at Carleton. Went in thinking chemistry, still pondering...</p>
<p>VERY smart students who love learning
Great roomie match - two peas in a pod, living together next year
Strong friendships made very quickly
Heavy workload (is this a pro?). Encouraged to stretch herself.
Has loved every one of her professors, particularly in French, which is a new language for her
Met every department chair for the 6-7 disciplines she's taken coursework in so far
Plentiful social activities on campus
Got to walk on to indoor/outdoor track and welcomed without any prior experience (no freshman 15 for her!)
Disappointed with the mild winter (yeah, I know she's nuts). Only got to play broomball twice, never did ice-skate, and did cross-country in the arb once. Ice rinks lasted for three weeks in January, very little snow ever accumulated.
Disappointed with the school newspaper. Not up to par with her high school standards.
Generally not happy with the food, especially any meat entrees (and she's not a vegetarian).</p>
<p>D completing first yr at Haverford. Maize&Blue, looks like we may have a chem major as well. </p>
<p>Challenging academics.</p>
<p>Close to Philly. Nice local eateries. Accessible to train so able to visit friend at Princeton. And, during break, volunteered (along with 8 other Fords) at a school sponsored AIDS center in NYU.</p>
<p>Strong sense of community. Made wonderful caring friends who provide support to each other both in and out of the classroom. They can't seem to get enough...so, at the end of finals, 7-8 of them are driving down to one student's hometown to prolong the farewells until August! D will be fly home on 5/19.</p>
<p>She has experienced some severe allergies the last few weeks. After a prescription for heavy duty eyedrops, everything seems to be in control.</p>
<p>archermom: Haverford was an attractive option to my D. Her tour guide told her that "they" gave every chem major a key to the multi-million $$ chemistry building. Was he serious? Did, or will, your D get a key? When I heard that, I wondered if Haverford had enough insurance to cover my D's mistakes (actually, she calls them experiments...;)).</p>
<p>another chem major! I'm the student, not the parent, but I'm going to share anyway... after agonizing over my decision, I decided spur of the moment on May 1 to go to Yale, and I couldn't be happier. there've been some trying times (ie. roommate issues; adjusting to east-coast weather after 18 years in CA), but they're completely outweighed by the good (lots of wonderful new friends, amazing (accessible!) professors, challenging, interesting classes (I know there have to be some bad classes out there, but I haven't managed to find them yet :-P), lots of fun in the undergrad performing arts groups, esp. orchestras, etc.)</p>
<p>I'm sad that freshman year's ending in two weeks... :-(</p>
<p>Maize&Blue,
Gee, I'm going to have ask about that one! They definitely don't give the students a key to the library...while D was on the phone w/me on the last day of exams, received a call from a classmate who had been working on a take home test in the library---which he realized had closed early, so he was locked in...but had 10 min to turn in exam...D rushed over and retrieved friend's test from under the door and turned it in for him. LOL That was interesting</p>
<p>Hi, I'm hoping a mom or two (or student) could help me with a question about Haverford/Swarthmore. My son is going to be a senior and looking at colleges. He loves New York and looked at Fordham and NYU (Columbia's a reach but we're seeing it this summer) He also liked what he saw on the Swarthmore site and the Haverford DVD they sent us. Being bi-racial, he also liked the diversity. But,(there's always a but) he worry's about feeling claustrophobic there with no big city right outside the campus.He's gone to small catholic schools and wants to have a different experience now. How far is Philly actually? He plays in Scrabble/chess tournaments and they have them in Philly during the year. Do most students stay on campus all year? Thanks for any advice.</p>
<p>From Swarthmore, Philly is 15 minutes by train. I think $15 round-trip (will check with my son). My son goes at least twice a month, if not more. There is a lot to do on campus as well as in Philly. Students most definitely don't stay on campus all year around.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is exastly 11 miles from the dead center of downtown Phila. The train ride from the center of campus is about 28 minutes because it makes frequent stops. The cost of a round-trip ranges from about $7 to $9 depending on whether or not it is peak hours.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is just inside the I-476 beltway in a densely populated area. The actual campus is a secluded wooded park, it's a bit of an illusion. A half-mile away is a decent size shopping mall, plus separate shopping centers with Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, restaurants, etc. </p>
<p>Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Villanova are located similar distances from downtown, except northwest instead of southwest.</p>
<p>The term "urban" doesn't describe the feel of these schools. However, the term "suburban" doesn't quite convey their close-in locations in a metro area of 5.8 million. Much like the close-in NY neighborhoods around LaGuardia or the Meadowlands, there are little pockets of "suburbia" tucked in areas that are now densely developed.</p>
<p>Thanks for informative comments. We will hopefully see both this summer and if he applies, we will visit again in the Fall. The train trip doesn't sound so bad and I think he'll feel less stressed when he goes in person. Both Haverford and Swarthmore sound wonderful in their own ways and I can picture him in that atmosphere more than New York (but I'm only the mom)</p>
<p>Debruns,
Definitely visit. Swarthmore & Haverford definitely promote a different feel than NY. Coming from Los Angeles, we were also concerned with D not getting enough stimulation...but, she absolute loves her choice! We think being part of a strong community made the jump from high school to college---and leaving the nest---that much easier. At the same time, she has been able to really connect with a great bunch of friends. And, don't forget the Honor Code. ;)</p>
<p>I grew up not far from Haverford and was a special student in chemistry there while I was in high school, back in the dark ages. It really means it about the honor code, thus it is probably true that chem majors get a key to the building. Haverford's campus is a world-recognized arboretum; there are trees there that are truly unusual. The "climbing tree" blew down in a storm in the early 60s and survived; it is still there and still a magnificent tree to climb on. I was disappointed my D didn't apply there....</p>
<p>But enough digression: this post is about how freshman year went. As my kids complete their sophomore year, I'm struck by the differences between freshman year and sophomore year. Freshman year went pretty well; no late night calls about how hard the course work was from either child. No major social crises, no major committments to members of the opposite sex. (D at Reed, S at MIT.)</p>
<p>Sophomore year has been different. They both briefly contemplating dropping out, getting a job, transferring, escaping. The work, starting in the fall of sophomore year, was HARD. (Yes, there is a difference between basic courses and the courses that follow.) There was a two-week period this spring where our son called EVERY night and sometimes during the day to complain how miserable he was feeling with the work and with fact that he just didn't have time to do his best work. Our son, used to not having to study much, suddenly couldn't manage to pull class average in a course (a course he didn't like much, which didn't help). He got sick with bad fevers twice because he overdid it, trying to meet his own standards.</p>
<p>Our D also went through the work of finding balance in her life. She had to back off from some committments she'd made, because there simply wasn't enough time. She also got fairly sick. (I should make it clear that neither kid missed a single day of school due to illness from middle school on.)</p>
<p>Both kids solidified their friendships and goofed off less the second year. Suddenly studying is more of a priority and done more effectively. My son, who has never been very responsible, complains when his friends are late for a study meeting; suddenly he's very reliable, having learned how annoying it is when others aren't.</p>
<p>In short, while freshman year went smoothly and both kids seemed set for a positive college experience, sophomore year was tough. Several of my children's friends have decided to take some time off, or applied to transfer.</p>
<p>dmd,
Very good analysis of soph. year. My daughter went through something similar. Freshman year was all about working and socializing. Sophomore year was working more efficently. Some friends transferred, some were put on academic probation, my daughter was able to buckle down, take on a part time campus job and was just invited to join the honor society. I don't think slackers cut it at her school after the first year. At her school (which I don't name because it's very, very tiny) the ed majors have a sophomore block where they live in the same house, do their observations at schools, student teach and take classes for one 10 week semester. She said it was like working full time and going to college.</p>