<p>DD has said many times that she made the right choice. She gets along well with her suitemates and really loves her classes. She attended a rather large public school that was very demanding and she developed pretty good time management skills before she went to college. They also required a lot of writing and research, so she is accustomed to producing all types of papers. Needless to say, in the social environment of college, I am sure there have been untold late nights finishing assignments, but overall I think it has been okay.</p>
<p>We get a call about once a week. I try not to call her unless it is something really important. I will occasionally email or text her, but while I would love to hear from her more often, I figure if I don't hear from her everything is okay. I know I am her "go-to" person when she is stressed or confused. </p>
<p>I think what is most exciting for her is being with people from all over the world who share her curiosity and love of learning.</p>
<p>Son has transitioned well to a larger university setting. Size of school was initially a concern for me, but he has been using the resources available (tutoring, writing center) and classes are going well. Has made the effort to visit all his professors and they really encouraged kids to do this. Is getting through a Calc. class that is held in a large computer lab setting and because he is putting the hours in, he is doing quite well. This was the class I really dreaded for him, but it is working out just fine.
Quite proud that he managed to diplomatically deal with a roommate swap as his initial roommate had a girlfriend who just about moved in. It was a rather stressful situation, but he came up with his own solution and is now rooming with someone who has similar study habits and keeps the same hours. He is also enjoying the big college sports and is even getting to fitness center on campus. Think he is managing studies and leisure time well. Has made several good friends and we usually hear from him 1-2 times a week. Will keep my fingers crossed and hope the next 2 weeks go well.</p>
<p>Our son is doing well too; he is at the same school as the OP's daughter. He likes 3 of his 4 classes, and really likes his physics class; he says he wants to work in a physics lab this summer, which is a surprise because he's never done any summer lab work before; we're happy to see him developing new interests. He has made some new friends, and spends a lot of time hanging out with his hallmates. He too doesn't sleep enough during the week, though he is only involved in one not-that-demanding extracurricular (a club sport); we don't know how much of the time crunch comes from studying and how much from his social life. :)</p>
<p>Well I've been having a great time at Hopkins, as has k_twin at Berkeley. (I've also completely stopped logging on to CC, but I suppose that was entirely to be expected) College in the US has been everything I've expected, and more, despite the fact that the days positively fly by.</p>
<p>I'm striding valiantly on in an attempt to do a Physics/BME double major, the next few years will tell if that's realistic or simply too hubris driven a goal. Other than that, it's really been a great journey thus far, and I'm very, very glad I decided to come here. I'd love to post more, but I'm approaching Finals week, and after wasting the past few hours reading Dawkins, it's about time I got back to Relativity. Farewell for the moment CC, I'll look back when I join the legions of college students currently engaged in procrastinating over a paper.</p>
<p>This is a good thread. It is so interesting to hear how the 2011-ers are doing now that the reality has set in. My D is knocking my socks off with her transition to college. She is at our flagship public in the honors program and doing well. I worried about her rooming blind, but she get along great with her roommate, and is planning on an apartment with her next year. The one worry I had, as an alumna of the same school, is that she would be intimidated by the size of the school ( as I was) , and not make the effort to take advantage of all it had to offer. Not at all. The honors program has helped to make the environment more manageable, and she is going to extra lectures, joining clubs, getting involved in a way that I dreamed she would. I think the academics are challenging her, which is a good thing. My only complaint is that she seems to be growing up so fast, I miss the bits of her that were still my little girl... it is hard to let that go.</p>
<p>D is loving her school in Boston. It was her dream school and seems to be the perfect fit for her. She had a tough time thru October and early November dealing with the breakup with her BF but now seems to have adjusted and loving life at school. She did have some drama with one suitemate being kicked out for stealing (and running up over $1000.00 in purchases) another suitemates credit card. And D's roommate moved out because she could not get along with the other suitemates (although she and my daughter got along great). Classes are going well and she says she is doing well academically.....guess we will find out when grades come out.</p>
<p>After having mono for midterms, my S seems to be a bit better, but now stressed with finals coming up. I have not had enough communication from him to know whether he is really happy there. I still hear too many "Whatevers". Classes seem to have been harder than he expected. He does seem to be active in Student Council, something he also did in HS. I hope to get a better sense on the break.</p>
<p>Astrogirl LOVES school, has kept the stellar grades, is involved SO MUCH more than I thought she would be, has lots of friends, and has had a pretty easy first semester. She hit the ground running....and at a huge public university, all of her professors know her by name....other than that really strange dude for one of her honors seminars.....he doesn't know ANYBODY's name and there are 20 kids in the class!!! I had a MUCH easier time transitioning to her being gone than I expected. Knowing she's deliriously happy has made it a non-issue. High school (and senior year especially) was full of stupid middle-school type drama....she as SO ready to be gone that she embraced everything about school. (except for parties...stays (mostly) away!) I love how I can IM her and vice versa, send her an email, and get/receive TXT msgs and pics to/from her...sometimes multiple times a day. She sends me pics of being at the football/basketball games or sightseeing in Washington, D.C., I send her pics of her cat laying in a particularly sumo-like pose and Dad wearing a goofy hat..... The weekly phone call was actually kind of awkward at first....trying to remember everything we wanted to tell each other, etc. We still talk on the phone every now and then, but this way, when something silly comes up, I can "tell" her right away...</p>
<p>I've fallen in love with my school and couldn't be happier with where I've ended up. I never saw myself coming here but boy am I glad I did. The end of the first semester is going a bit rough but freshman year is all about ups and downs and adjustment. Overall, I'm really enjoying college.</p>
<p>A brief update: I had my final critique for my drawing class today, and during it, my professor said I would've had an A in the class if not for the late assignments during my [mystery disease that had identical symptoms to, but somehow was not, mono], and that I absolutely have the ability to get A's in studio art in the future. She also said I have a natural ability, and that if I take figure drawing (which I plan to the next time it's offered, sophomore fall), I could be "the star of the class."</p>
<p>And I know that sounds conceited and I probably shouldn't post about it, but considering how much work I've put into this class in the past ten weeks, I sort of needed the validation. It almost compensates for the 30 hours I stayed awake to finish my final project, the five and a half all-nighters (half because I started vomiting at four in the morning and spent the next day in the infirmary), the countless late nights in the studio, and the fact that I've attended exactly one party in the past two months. :eek:</p>
<p>In other news, I am thinking studio art as a second major is probably impossible.</p>
<p>awwww... congratulations cameliasinensis - I know it's been a tough time for you. How awesome to have your talents validated! And yes, you should post about it considering how many second moms and dads you adopted here while you were sick!</p>
<p>I LOVE my school so far! I was most definitely a high school burnout, completely disinterested by the people and courseload I was surrounded by. College has thankfully been much different and in a much better way.</p>
<p>Right now I'm set to get a 4.0 GPA provided that I do fairly well on my finals next week and a paper and presentation that I have tomorrow. The courseload does get intimidating at times, but I've managed to balance it.</p>
<p>I got elected this semester to Senate and I'm on the varsity swim team and write for the newspaper along with attending Campus Crusade meetings. Even with all this going on and a 20 hour schedule, I still think I have more free time leftover. I like the fact that classes don't take up so much of my schedule, so I'm able to squeeze in naps quite often which helps out with my sleep schedule that I developed over the summer of 5 hours at night and 2 hours during the day.</p>
<p>I kind of hung out with the preppy Christian crowd during high school, so college social life has been much different for me. I certainly haven't done anything bad, but it has taken a little bit of time to adjust to living with some crazy people. But I think it's a lot of fun :).</p>
<p>Oh, and my parents live only 45 minutes away from my campus, so they are able to come to all of my home and local away meets which is really nice. I go home for major breaks and for random dinners here and there for birthdays and such (and I got to go home and eat quesadillas and moose tracks ice cream before my last big meet, a superstition I have). The fact that they are close actually keeps us from wanting to see/talk to each other as much as if we were far away. No random visits and we only talk to each other every couple of days so nothing overbearing.</p>
<p>To set the stage:<br>
S. is a quiet, smart, quirky, nerdy kid. His M.O. is to 'learn for the learning', he wasn't much influenced by what a teacher thought was important, and didn't care about grades. </p>
<p>I had many sleepless nights wondering how he would find a college that fit him. I will be forever grateful to the learning specialist that suggested he look at schools with a Great Books Program. </p>
<p>S has mentioned several times 'Yes, this is the right place!'. We are thrilled that he likes the school, his major, his courses, etc. He has a small pack of friends, and he is busy whenever we talk to him. </p>
<p>We miss him, but we are SO happy that he is happy! It makes the 10,000 miles between us bearable.</p>
<p>Little sister hasn't seen him since early August, so she is dancing around the house. H and I are more sedate.....</p>
<p>My son headed off to school, and two very strange things happened. </p>
<ol>
<li>He called/ and emailed me (four years of boarding school, I'm not sure if I remember him ever doing this), with updates and good news and to discuss the weekly football games (we have quite a few football fans in the house).</li>
<li>The first time we stopped in his room was clean (he routinely slept on pizza boxes and his HS advisor referred to room as a "fire hazard"). The second time, and he wanted to make sure I wasn't there too early because he was doing laundry (now, I was really suspicious).</li>
</ol>
<p>Needless to say, he really loves it. Played Rugby, and made lots of friends (he played football in HS, so it sort of is similar) and is just busy being a freshman. </p>
<p>He wanted to be in a single room, even though he gets along with most people, he likes to have his own time and wasn't worried about having other kids to hang out with- but alone time can important, and there are many different sleep habits among friends. </p>
<p>I encouraged him to take math because he loves it (but views it more as "fun" then a class), and at first he was reticent (he took multivariable in HS, and was a little annoyed he had to retake it), but has gotten high marks, and has his teacher's attention. He is looking forward to his classics and physics classes this winter, and is talking about adding another math class in the spring. </p>
<p>I've never seen him happier or more at ease. He is the first to go away and I hope they all find as good of a match as he has.</p>