Chiming in late but that is a super interesting study! It won’t be a problem for my daughter since First Year Engineering was really rough for her. She will never have a 4.0 GPA to worry about issues like that. She has a co-op interview lined up though so her feedback so far is promising. We will see how the process plays out.
Good luck to your DD!!! 
@carachel2 Good luck to your DD!!! Co-op sounds amazing. My D will probably try applying to some Junior year.
So how are everyone’s kids now that midterms are over for many colleges?
S got into a summer mini term study abroad class in Switzerland. It is professor led and they have classes one night a week for half the spring semester and then the trip when it is over. 3 hours credit. 70 people applied and they are only taking about half that number. He may have a job after the trip with the professor leading it. I think he has A’s in all his classes. He doesn’t say exactly but that is what he has implied. I know Physics 2 is a high A because he is very proud of that. He is an officer in his fraternity and loving it. At Dad’s day the frat’s benefactor (a semi-retired ex CEO of a major corporation) told my husband what a great person my son is and how he is impressed and how he has helped raise the chapter’s GPA as the grade officer (whatever it is called) and how polite and nice son is! (Boy he has him fooled!) Anyway, son is going to run for frat president in the winter sometime. Not sure how I feel about that but he feels strongly about it and likes the leadership positions in that fraternity. He and the girl he met two weeks into school his freshman year are still seeing each other. They seem happy but both study a lot. Registration for classes was a few hours ago and he got all the classes he wanted for a change. That puts him on track to finish the end of next school year. Looking forward to seeing him at Thanksgiving.
Love to hear how the first half of the semester has gone for all of your kiddos!
@momocarly Happy to hear that your S is doing so well and enjoying himself. It seems that he has the whole balance thing figured out! I remember from last year that I thought your son was a great kid!
My D has decided to double major in Chemistry/Philosophy. She went back to school healthy after starting Freshman year on crutches. She is doing well and happy to be back to her sport. Since D is in the honors Chem program she’ll be offered research this spring and will start looking for a summer opportunity soon. I am very proud of her, last year she traveled an hour each week to tutor a recent immigrant in English despite being in two honors programs and a D1 athlete. This year she is tutoring a young man in Physics. She has been tutoring and giving back to her community for almost 6 years.
I don’t know if she is planning on staying at her school or if she will try to transfer this year. I decided not to ask. I’d be happy if she stayed put, her school is amazing, the kids are smart, her coach is great, and she will graduate debt free.
Hope everyone is well and that you are getting the occasional phone call from your kids!
Mid Terms went ok. D is struggling a bit - having a crisis about what she wants to do with her life - has become very philosophical - questioning the meaning of happiness now versus long-term. She wants to get back into tech. She says she hasn’t been happy for 3 semesters and no longer wants to pursue physics as a career. She thinks she should take a semester off to figure out what she wants to do with her life (in addition to getting her anxiety under control - which is valid.)
Her favorite activity is tech (sound & light for theatre) - she hasn’t participated in tech crew since she started college but just applied for her first internship in tech and got the position. She hasn’t decided if she’ll take it since she was set on coming home next semester. I’m hoping she takes it, enjoys herself and stays in school! I’m bracing myself for the strong possibility she comes home and gets a job locally. oh boy.
My S17 was in a BFA program in theater tech and production majoring in lighting design. He realized that he both hates and stinks at artsy stuff but that he loves doing lighting. A couple of weeks ago, he was promoted, mid-rehearsal, to ME (master electrician) and had a crisis. He loves teching,but doesn’t have the slightest desire to design. He just wants to execute other peoples’ visions. He got his courage up and spoke to his advisor. His biggest fear was that he wouldn’t be allowed to do as much lighting work if he wasn’t in the BFA. Turns out, his advisor (who is actually the head of the lighting area) is supportive and aware of S17’s struggles with arts and crafts. S17 has now changed to the general theater BA and added a minor in psychology. He is looking forward to continuing to do lighting without the need to design costumes, sets or anything else. He sounds so much happier. I was afraid he might want to leave his school, but he loves it there and has friends.
D17 is actually doing very well, minus having Mono at the beginning of the semester. She changed majors from IA to Poly Sci. Is involved in many activities as well, and has made good friends.
@techmom99 Wow, your son showed so much maturity and self awareness in this crisis and he figured it out! I am impressed. Isn’t this what we all want for our kids!
@Fishnlines29 My dd has also spent a lot of time philosophizing about what she wants out of life. She has been working 18 hrs a week at an accounting internship. Between that and her current accounting classes, she has decided that there is no way she can see herself doing what accounts actually dp every day.
Before she applied to college, her heart was totally languages and literature. As she started applying to college, she decided that she wanted focus on international business with her languages. She kept thinking in terms of job vs. pursuing what she loves. She asked us if we cared if she went back to what she loves. Since she is attending on almost full scholarship, we have told her to use this time to pursue what she loves and if she needs to go back to school in the future, she can cross that bridge when she gets there.
I actually think she can build a business around her loves if she can’t find a “career” path that really suits her. No reason to cram herself into a box at 20.
It seems our DCs are going through the normal course of growing up. They are finding out more about themselves, their passion and their goals during this process called “going to college”.
D spent her fall break in Paris with a friend and had an amazing time. That’s her last out of country trip until she returns. She has less than 2 months to go. Her Arabic is coming along nicely and she loves Morocco. She’s eager to come home and spend time with family, however. She’s also already planning her next major study abroad adventure - South America. But before that, she’s going to Tanzania for spring break with her Fellowship class, which she’s very excited about.
D has had a very easy semester in Morocco, but will have a very busy spring semester. She’ll be taking 21 credits, applying to a few new ECs, and maybe pledging a sorority. D is not changing her major (accounting), because she likes it, but it now seems unlikely that she’ll go the Big 4 route she originally planned. She has a great consulting internship this summer near home. We are looking forward to having her home for Christmas and then the summer.
My kids are doing well this semester, busy cementing their majors. My daughter switched from Early Education to Psychology hoping for a six year masters in School Psychology. My son is majoring in neuroscience under graduate and hoping for medical school after college.
He is also headed to Seville next semester. Does anyone whose child has already gone abroad have any advice the school or programs might have missed? I am very excited for him to go but I admit I am a bit nervous too.
@twoforone99 good luck to your son traveling abroad. My son had a very good time in London. We were nervous but it all worked out. No advice other than making sure everything is sorted out well before they leave, like passports, visas, etc. Medical things like shots and immunizations needed for that part of the world. make sure cell phone works.
In other news, I ran into a dad of a kid that used to play lax with my son17. The kid was a jerk and bully and spent more time partying than actually practicing and playing. For some reason he was popular with other kids. He used to give my son and a couple of other kids a hard time for studying, trying hard, not vaping or smoking weed etc. The coach really liked him though, and so he got a lot of play time, and he mostly stunk on the field from partying hard the night before.
Anyways, the dad told me his son ended up flunking out of his school his first year and has no idea what to do now. Needless to say I wasn’t feeling to sorry for them. Son17 had a good chuckle when I told him and wasn’t surprised.
@RightCoaster That is why we always tell ours…it all works out in the end! Stay true to yourself just like yours did!
My kids would often question why some kids seem to have all of the fun in HS, while they had to grind away.
I would always tell them that some kids “peaked” in HS, and that’s not going to be them. They should really want to “peak” after college, and that it’s the long game they are playing…
The ability to delay gratification is a critical life skill. It’s why some folks can save and buy their own homes, while others spend their lives living from pay check to pay check. I would bet everyone in this forum, started to teach this to their children at an early age…“don’t buy that candy now, save up your money and later you’ll be able to buy that neat toy…”
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my old friends!
Hugs!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
Yes – Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! 
Happy Thanksgiving to all and your families!