<p>Agree with Ellemenope 100% and saw this with my own kid at MIT who was placed in a couple of sections/classes based on how he tested and quickly realized he was in WAAAY over his head. It would have absolutely been the right placement if he’d been prepared to work his tail off on any single class-- and would have been a great experience. But to have more than one of these… plus adjusting to living away from home, plus not the greatest study skills in the world, plus lots of immaturity… boy, would have been a disaster.</p>
<p>He quickly dropped down a level and believe or not, still found it hugely challenging-- but survivable.</p>
<p>I think quality time for your son with the academic dean or the person who handles the Honors program is in order. They can figure out the right course of action together.</p>
<p>And agree that in a challenging CS program, a 3.2 for a Freshman is wildly ambitious. The programs are designed to get the dilletantes out of there as efficiently as possible (lots of kids who love designing web pages in HS think they want CS) which means that the hard core analytical component is introduced early on and with all guns blazing.</p>
<p>Not to say that your kid may not need support and help- but this doesn’t sound neccessarily like he’s spent the last year playing beer pong.</p>