<p>My S calls a little over once a week. He was quite happy when he called Sunday. He had finally had a chance to get out grocery shopping and had just finished eating a big sandwich he made himself. Ah, life is good when the stomach is happy!</p>
<p>Oh this is fun to hear how the kids are doing! (psst leave the empty nest conversation to another thread, these get tooo looong.) </p>
<p>dd sounds super happy at Brown. Loves the campus, said it is much better looking that the pics suggest. Is thrilled that there are places open till 2Am 'just for us!!!" Dorm mate is nice, they don't do anything together, but get along fine. Room is big, with big closets. They have free Napster and free cabletv (on your computer) in the dorms. Is relieved that the substance-fee dorms seem like normal kids and is not as isolated on campus as she had feared. Someone downstairs is a friend-fo-a-friend in SF.</p>
<p>Had one week fshman orientation and one week classes. They have another week of 'shopping' classes, but her schedule likely is set with 4 classes. She met with an advisor (Caltech PHD!) but that wasn't too helpful, and the upperclassman advisor seems rather silent, so she is trying to figure it out by herself. She can't figure out how to talk to either of them and felt she wasn't listened to or understood. She's speaking with professors in each department instead and that has been helpful. Hope it works out cause it's way beyond me to advise at this point. Part of the problem may be that she doesn't have too much idea what concentration. Anyway the classes are good so far.</p>
<p>She's been to a few club meetings to try to figure out something to get into. May intern at the radio station. Thinks most people are pretty nice, but not clicking particularly. She is the type that can be social, but is very contented doing stuff on her own. Finally connected with one person who is on the same page as her, and is meeting that person's circle of friends (has classmates there). Went on a walking tour of Providence that, unexpectedly, was a tour of soup kitchens and shelters. I think the idea was to solicit volunteers (they have a big center for community volunteering), so went to parts of town they otherwise wouldn't have seen.</p>
<p>She almost went to the Cake concert (that what she thought it was) in Boston. She has 2 male ex-class mate and close friends at Olin she wants to visit soon, I think. I can't recommend Wellesley girls count on meeting people at Olin as it is sooo tiny.</p>
<p>
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I can't recommend Wellesley girls count on meeting people at Olin as it is sooo tiny.
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</p>
<p>I'm confused. </p>
<p>Every student currently at Olin came here counting on meeting people to be friends with and live with for 4 years. Most of us did so when Olin was smaller than it is now.</p>
<p>Your statement probably shouldn't sting, but it does. Those are my friends you're talking about. I think they're worth meeting.</p>
<p>I guess there never is enough time to have taught them all the life skills they need to know. Dec 23...I never will make it until then...was thinking more alone the line of Oct 15--family weekend.</p>
<p>Becky, if it's any consolation, I haven't counted Olin out :).</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with my S. I unfortunately woke him up (at 11:30 his time, but he doesn't have class today until a lab at 6:00). He sleepily said that he had been out at a club last night dancing until late. He sounded so happy when he said, "I have met a bunch of friends who remind me of my friends at home." That is high praise and I am so glad that he has found a "home" at school! I have to admit I was kind of worried.</p>
<p>Bettina,</p>
<p>My S1's experience at Brown has been very positive, too, though he seemed a little down when I called yesterday . . . but it was his birthday, and like your S, Ag54, I caught him napping! "Just like any old day." Oh my. All other calls have been VERY up-beat. He loves the students, and has made a number of friends. </p>
<p>Classes are going well, and the advising has been really good so far. I think he is lucky about that one. The roomie situation is very positive, though this roomie only needs about 6 1/2 hours sleep, and S needs a good bit more. He has already tried out for a play, auditioned for piano lessons, played a lot of basketball with his unit mates, gone to church (!) and to late movies. I think the main concern will be finding some balance between work and fun, and he really likes to have fun. The work is not overwhelming, but he is psyching out what is expected; hard to know at the beginning. </p>
<p>All in all a positive experience, for which I am very grateful! Brown sounds like a wonderful place, with real concern for the needs of the students, and with a real expectation that the students will give something back.</p>
<p>My daughter is having a wonderful time at Swarthmore. She loves her classes and has a lot of friends. Her hall has bonded, perhaps at least in part thanks to Swarthmore's arranging for a lot of hall activities, both during Orientation week and continuing. She gets along fine with her roommate and, in fact, has just asked if she could bring her home with her for the mid-October break. And they live in a teensy weensy room! She has joined the clubs and organizations she thought she would be interested in and so far has found time for all of this, plus at least one trip into Philadelphia. She calls and emails a lot--not every day, but a lot. And she has never sounded happier. Oh--I doubt she's getting enough hours of sleep, but you can't have everything.</p>
<p>Are any of your kids surprised about the amount of work they have? My D loves her school, has made friends, joined several ECs (none of which are overwhemingly time consuming), and is taking courses of interest to her. Her schedule does not include any "light" courses and is actually a little heavier in units than is standard at her school. The one class which is "review" for her (a studio art class) happens to be very time consuming, and the time must be put in whether or not one has a lot of previous art experience, as she does, or is a beginner. The thing is, every time I talk to her, she says she has so much work, and she always feels that she is behind. She says that she is really tired from lack of sleep (partly from socializing, not just work :) ) and is afraid she will get sick soon because everyone is getting sick :( She has always been a hard worker who spends a lot of time on school work, so I guess this is just normal for the adjustment from h.s. to college. I just wondered if other parents were hearing similar reports from their kids.</p>
<p>MotherofTwo,</p>
<p>I did hear from my son that he is not sure yet how much he should be studying "Not sure I have a grasp on any of my classes yet" because there is a lot of work, and there is always more to do than time allows. My D didn't really learn till grad school just to accept that there is a time you just stop and totally surrender the load, knowing it is not possible to get it all done. (This was when, on top of a regular load of classes, she was assigned 65 books to master in a foreign language, for a master's exam, a really impossible task.) I did reassure S that it is the way of college life, in fact of ALL of life, that there will always be way more to learn, and that is okay. I do hope he and your D will be able to balance the work and the fun. That is always tricky for S. Good luck to your D! I hope she will stay well. Seems like there are a lot of summer colds going around just now.</p>
<p>Thanks momofthree. I know I felt that way in college and grad school too. Besides, I told my D that college should be expected to be more challenging than high school - if it isn't, you probably went to the wrong college! I think that there are weekly (or even more frequent)
assignments for my D's courses, so it is not possible to fall far behind (not doing work for weeks on end, and then catching up) which is probably good. One of the classes is a beginning foreign language which is very time-intensive. I guess it is good that she always has more than enough to do, whether school work, EC, or social, than if she was bored. By the way, I am pretty sure your younger son was interested in the school my D attends (Kenyon), and I will be glad to tell you more about it after I have a little better knowledge of the school.</p>
<p>searchingavalon, I'm glad to hear that your D is happy at Swarthmore! It's one of my top choices for next year (I'm a junior), and seeing these posts makes me even more excited about applying. :)</p>
<p>MotherofTwo,</p>
<p>Thanks so much! I will look forward to hearing more from you about Kenyon. We have another parallel in the course that S especially mentioned: it was an intensive foreign language course! Of course they feel lost! I think these are kids who somehow expect themselves to know it all already :) As you wisely say, one should choose a school that DOES provide a challenge. </p>
<p>Seachingavalon, </p>
<p>I am happy, too, that your D is happy at Swat. What dorm is she in? Sounds cozy! Swat is the school my D graduated from a little over a year ago, and she LOVED it there. If only all of life could be Swarthmore, in her opinion.</p>
<p>Momofthree, She's in the basement of Willets. They're designing their Underground tee-shirts, modeled on the ones from London.</p>
<p>Mom:</p>
<p>My D has picked up a job in the Alumni office, easy, fun & hoping for good connections. She has noticed that although she is in a really "cool" town with tons to do, she rarely does anything outside of school, she is too busy.</p>
<p>Also, her sport is club, not varsity, so it is less intense at the beginning of the school year and that was annoying! She hasn't the time to goof around at practice, she wants it to be serious or skip it ;)</p>
<p>searching,</p>
<p>The t-shirt thing is a riot!</p>
<p>As for work load, my son also says he has tons to do. He has an intensive German course (a year's worth of work in a semester) that he is taking so he can get the foreign language requirement done quickly. His total course load is 19 units, including two musical ensembles, so he has lots of practicing, along with book work. He said he was up until 4 a.m. one night this week finishing a music theory assignment that he didn't understand. (He admitted that not ALL the evening was spent studying, however.) He does seem to get to a lot of parties, but I think that will calm down as the newness of it wears off.</p>
<p>Great to hear how happy most are and how often most of you hear from them, too!</p>
<p>Our son is very happy as a Tulane freshman at Cornell, where he has been treated in a way I can describe only as "loving." Someone back on page one said that Cornell is very nurturing of its freshmen. Well, I can tell you that, as hard as it is to come in two weeks late and after living in a shelter and then not knowing what you were going to do, they have made it easy and welcoming to my son. I'll never forget them for it!</p>
<p>We hear from him at least once most days, but that's probably because of all the upheaval and extra arrangements. Who knows how often it will happen when things are more normal? All I know is that this kid, who was almost physically attached to his PowerMac, seems content to make do without it until January (It's locked up in the Honors dorm at Tulane), while he works hard to catch up. That alone says something strong about how well he's been cared for, both by Tulane and by Cornell. </p>
<p>Both have been wonderful!</p>
<p>Our son is really enjoying his first (pre-classes) week at Harvard. He and his suitemates seem to be extremely well-suited to each other (the school has students write in detail about themselves and rank themselves on a number of attributes, which seem to be taken very seriously by the Freshman Dean's Office and seems to often lead to very good roomate/suitemate matches). Anyway, he sounds terrific on the phone and is beginning to plan his classes and look into which ec's he might join. It is such a lift to hear him...these days have been a struggle for me, but knowing he is making such a good beginning helps an awful lot.</p>
<p>Today, I got a frantic call from my best friend complaining her S, a senior is not working hard enough on his apps and essays. Boy, was I happy NOT to go through that again!</p>
<p>That said, my son seems beyond happy at USC. He made 4 very close friends right away and has a wonderful roomie which I met when I moved him in. S is a cinema-tv major and was overjoyed to be in the "special interest" cinema-tv dorm there. So all the kids on his floor have the same interests so lots of friends right away. When I moved him in, I was impressed by the polite kids who stopped by to introduce themselves to him - and ME!<br>
Before the 1st week was up, when I called him on the weekend he was too busy to talk - he was already working on a movie. Finally we talked a week later when the ATM machine ate his card! Turns out, He loves all his classes and professors, especially the cinema ones. He was invited to a professors home for Thanksgiving dinner so he won't be lonely over the holiday.
On a social level, he went to a couple of frat parties - which he enjoyed, but didn't join, though some of his friends did, Went to an LA club, and Melrose ave and got a makeover!<br>
He and his friends are also working extracurricula on putting together a parody of the "OC" to air on the student TV station. I would love to see the result of this attempt, will probably be hysterical! He just missed out on going to the Emmys on Sunday. Originally, his USC group was offered spots for 40 students, but the Emmy people recinded the invite and only 15 can noe go. My son was number 20 on the list. So it was a bit of a let down, but him and his new friends will watch the emmys on the 30 dollar TV he bought off Craigslist.<br>
Best of all, he found out last week that his one act play was a finalist in the Young Playwrights competition. He entered it a year ago, as he was applying to the colleges so he forgot all about it, then got the letter. Apparently, they take a LONG time to judge all the submissions they recieve! A critic reviewed it and it was an amazing positive review!
To top it off, its USC vs Arkansas today and my son is a big football fan. Gee, I wish I were leading this life! Hope it stays this wonderful! We miss him but are happy he is doing what he really enjoys and USC turned out to be the perfect fit for him, as he knew instantly when he first visited it in his Jr. year.</p>