What’s wrong with the weather in London in the fall @CollegeBoundBrit ? My dd22 is definitely planning on spending some or all of her university experience in the UK.
What a great thread! @ububumble , what a great parent you are, too, for understanding your kid so well and setting himself up to believe in himself. I love that someone with his “back story” is going into education because he’ll change other kids’ lives. Hooray for all of you!
Would suggest that other folks looking at this thread add McDaniel to the list of schools to consider.
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In the UK: Nov - Feb it is dark and overcast a lot of the time. In Dec/Jan it gets dark around 4/4.30. Not really light until 8.30/9am. Worse in Scotland. It is also the low grey skies that constitute much of the weather, even if not actually raining, which make it seem much darker. March (now) it eases off and then May - Sept it is gloriously light, until 10pm in June/July sometimes. Depends where in the US you are now as to how much this can affect you.
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@CollegeMamb0 It was 38 and gray and raining almost every day this past Feb here. Sounds just like the UK. Actually I think we get more rain. The amount of daylight will be different, but I think she could deal with that with the longer days in spring (and maybe summer if she stays over there).
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Aaaaand today he came home to share that he’s thinking ethology might be his field and should he major in zoology instead of a chemistry or environmental secondary ed program?
Long conversation followed about how to approach this discussion with his advisor at orientation in June. Given that Roanoke doesn’t have a zoology major. And he acknowledged that he should probably stay with the education focus early on so that he can get some classes in the first year and see if/how he likes it.
I LOVE that he’s become so motivated in different areas and is really becoming intellectually curious about these topics but given the winding road to get to this place and his current choice, all I wanted to do for a bit was sit and enjoy the view. Apparently that was too much to ask. 
There is no way this kid makes it through 4 years of college without several changes of major…
In other news: he found a roommate for next year and it seems like a really good choice. This is really happening.
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Love this, so nice that he is getting excited and motivated. You are giving me hope as I sit here with S23 going over which assignments he missed this quarter so he can get them done by Friday when the grades are due. 
Great that he found a roommate - that definitely makes things start to feel so real!
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@momtogkc there is so much hope. Hard to see when you’re in the middle of the slog though. I get that. S21 finished sophomore year with a D+ for the year in English and math and an overall GPA of 2.1. It was a brutal year for him and on our relationship.
But there is so much hope. We just started talking about options and that it didn’t matter to us what he did after high school but we wanted whatever it was to be his choice, not something he’d unwittingly locked himself into.
Junior year was the start of a long climb. And this year he’s made the honor roll all year for the first time since 7th grade.
Space and grace. Space and grace.
I see you @momtogkc and you’re doing just fine.
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Thanks! We are making progress, it just gets frustrating after he did so well when he was younger. Like why choose now to slow down?! 
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Wonder if your student had been compensating for some weakness. More challenging and new subjects in high school may call for new study methods/ taking inventory of skills, developing good habits for executive function tasks& time management.
Love your son’s journey and hope you will continue with his Freshmen year at Roanoke. Due to your son’s college visits, Xavier has really piqued our interest. Hoping to do some college visits this summer which includes Xavier.
Love your philosophy…space, and grace.
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Most zoologists major in biology as undergrads and specialize later. There isn’t a need to go to a college with a zoology major.
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@ultimom thanks! That’s what I thought too and so the long conversation about how he could approach the conversation with his advisor. Really trying to move him toward getting comfortable being open and vulnerable with adults he doesn’t know—like telling an advisor you might be interested in something but aren’t quite sure how to get there from here.
He was worried about the lack of a major because his cousin is actually a zoology undergrad major at UMaine. Had to show him how unusual that is.
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Very cool! It’s good when they start pondering alternatives. Personally my guess is that teaching as a more concrete career path than ethology (especially if he’d not be interested in phD), but now that he has a new “string to pull upon” he can sort through options.
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For those following along with the story–he made another great (in my opinion) choice today about his future. As a kid who has worked with some level of accommodations in high school, a decision needs to be made in starting college as to whether the student will continue with formal support or “take it as it comes”.
He’s 18, it’s not my choice or my place anymore to tell him what to do. We ask the questions of him and figure out how to support his answer if we can.
Today he filled out the request for accommodations. Really thought through what he thinks should change, what’s worked for him, what hasn’t. Uploaded all of the documentation and is looking forward to hearing back.
One of the things he had to respond to in the application was whether or not it was easy for him to ask for help. “Uh…NO!” he knows that about himself and I know it about him and it’s why I’m so proud he’s doing this. The person he was a year ago wouldn’t have.
This is the kind of growth and learning that I’m looking for. I don’t care what he’s learned in class this year. I care that he values himself enough now to ask for what he needs. Even when it’s hard.
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I wish my oldest would have been open to request for accommodations. However, with the pandemic pushing his courses online, I dont know what would have helped to make them better for him. He did admit that he needs to delay taking the last prereq for his major until they are back in person (which all he has left is advanced anatomy lab). He tried the lab online and failed last year. So mine is taking the summer off and just working and fingers crossed he will take the lab in person in fall.
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A quick update (thinking of those families following a similar search path for '22 grads):
S21 is in the middle of a 2 day remote orientation right now and chose first semester classes earlier today. He’s so happy. A year ago I wasn’t sure we’d be here today.
A required first year seminar (but topic he chose), German 101 (starting fresh with a new language), intro Bio class (he’s thinking he may want to travel that path vs. Chemistry but the class is required for Chem and Environmental too so it works no matter what he decides) and the intro Ed class so he can get an early read on whether teaching is what he wants.
Everything about the orientation messaging is consistent with why he chose Roanoke so he has no regrets about anything and can’t wait to get there in August.
A year ago, he was in his bedroom watching school admissions sessions on Zoom, hoping he could pull things together in his senior year to have some options.
Now, in his bedroom participating in orientation on Zoom, knowing he’s headed somewhere he’s excited about to learn things he’s interested in.
Today is a good day.
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Thanks so much for the update! I love hearing kids’ different paths. I hope he settles in happily when he gets there.
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I read through your whole thread. I’ve added some of the colleges to our list as we begin this process. I know I am early, but research is research! Does he know if he will be playing any sports yet? Good luck to him.
Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
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@Frogger73 I’m so glad it’s been helpful for you! Would love to hear which schools you sparked to.
One of the reasons S21 lived Roanoke is that, even as a D3 school, they also have a club level soccer team. He’s considering trying out for that. Feels like the right level of commitment and competition for him. Practices and travel for games but only for a couple of months. We’ll see what he decides but that’s the current thought.
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So glad it’s going well.
And your son has an excellent schedule in terms of balance… even better if he’s excited about it.
A joy is seeing a teenager who was sullen about learning suddenly get into “CANNOT WAIT for college classes to start” mood.
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