Son did poorly first semester; what to do?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
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<p>But what is “getting worse and worse” at W&M? Posts from the parents of unhappy students, or students who are having a difficult time getting their feet on the ground academically, or student who don’t like the dorms, do not mean that conditions are getting worse and worse on an institutional scale. </p>

<p>I’d never claim that there aren’t problems at the College. From my point of view, the continuing financial squeeze and pressure to admit significantly more instate students from the state legislature is a problem. The low endowment is a problem. The inability to meet full financial need for OOS students is a problem. The College does an admirable job of stretching its resources to provide an excellent undergrad education and experience for the vast majority of students. Again, it’s not going to be for everyone.

If you have misgivings, your parents should know about them. Your mom is going to worry anyway, believe me.</p>

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<p>mmmmiii - how many people is “a lot of people” that have convinced you that there are “problems” (which you don’t identify)</p>

<p>no posters here are angry or upset with you. We’re just saying that if you identify the problems that W&M has, perhaps we can say “yes, that is true” or “that has not been our experience” with the school.</p>

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<p>Always remember, you get what you pay for. Private schools are always better.</p>

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<p>Sorry to contradict you yet again, lovethewayyoulie, but this statement is too general to be true or even meaningful. Surely you didn’t intend to invite comparison of any public school, including the very best in the country, with any private school, including the mediocre and worse?</p>

<p>I hope your second semester is off to a better start. If you’ve decided to leave W&M, I hope your transfer plans are going well.</p>

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<p>W&M must be a lot better for out of state students then, since they pay more.</p>

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<p>Our daughter is a 1st semester senior at William and Mary. She will graduate a semester early (this December) with a challenging double major. She has taken 18+ credit hours for most of her college career here. Her GPA is above a 3.5. She lived on campus in two of the older buildings her freshman and sophomore years and LOVED them. Yea, they are not new but they have a lot of “personality”. She holds down a part-time job at The College, is an officer in her sorority and is a member of several other campus organizations. Want to know where she spends her evenings? “Swemming”. No, not “swimmming” but Swemming. You see, Swem is the library, where people go to study when their roommates have large flat-screens and lots of visitors. To the OP, I know you must be upset with your sons/daughters grades but don’t blame W&M. I think you probably know what the issue is. I hope things improve for your child as W&M can open many doors if he/she buckles down and decides to put the effort into college that he/she must have put into high school.</p>

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<p>Not to appear too much of a “cheerleader” for W&M, but our daughter had a VERY different “theft” experience. When hubby and little brother moved her out of her dorm last year for the summer break, there was a jewelry holder that was on a “coat hanger”. I would say it had appx. $2000 worth of jewelry enclosed. Well, long story short, little bro hung it on a tree branch as they were loading the car and forgot to retrieve it. Daughter did not realize until the next day when she awoke at 3 pm that it was missing. Called Campus Police (which is the College lost and found). As we expected, no one had turned it in. So, imagine our surprise when the phone rang a few hours later. It was Campus Police. A passing student found the jewelry hanging on the tree and turned it in to the RA who was in the dorm, who in turn turned it in to Campus Police. Daughter, needless to say, was beyond happy. Folks always like the drama of the “bad”, so I thought I’d offer some “good drama” info!</p>

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<p>thanks for sharing your story vamom… a few weeks ago I witnessed $20 in cash being returned to someone via facebook. A student just found it on the ground and asked if anyone lost it.</p>

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<p>Thanks for sharing that vamom1!! Glad to know that your D’s jewlery was returned and that there are good people out there.</p>

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<p>I’d like to offer something as a fellow freshman in case this helps any. Ma’am, your son’s bike was probably stolen by another student and I believe this because it was still intact when taken. Bikes are stolen here ALL OF THE TIME and to pretend that they aren’t is lying. When mine was stolen, all they left me was the wheel (which leads me to believe that someone off campus stole it). Did I mention that I had the exact same kind of bike stolen from me (north rock from costco) That being said, I had a very supportive group that loved me and helped me feel better about it. However… I will never bring a bike back to this campus. </p>

<p>The laptop thing is horrible! I am a fellow Dell user I can’t believe that another student would need to steal it considering the majority of people use macs. Was it password protected? Even though we have the “honor code” I never leave any of my stuff lying around. The “honor code” just makes it easier for crooks to take stuff.</p>

<p>Like your son, my GPA wasn’t too awesome due to many similar reasons. I never partied or anything but the adjustment took some time. In the second semester things are much better though and hopefully his is better too. Forming study groups improved my grades drastically! Also, you find your niche of people during the second semester and having a home base of best friends makes all the difference.</p>

<p>Also, all of my professors, with the exception of one extremely terrible one, have been available and sympathetic to my needs and willing to help. Some of them I would even talk with outside of class because they are that awesome. Unlike my high school teachers, they are actually approachable.</p>

<p>And as for dorms… freshman housing is like the icing on the cake of the initial college experience (sarcasm). At least he didn’t end up in Yates or Botetourt. Those dorms have mice problems and are far away from all the academic buildings. I’ve been to Monroe, it is a little run down and there is no A/C which was a turn off for my parents because they believed it was illegal for such a thing to exist in humid Virginia.</p>

<p>I’ve never had a run in with the Dean of Students but I have heard terrible things about the administration here and would probably never go to them with any harassment problems. Skip them and go to the real police, professor or trusted friend.</p>

<p>All this is to say to you and to all those who want to come here… bad stuff happens like it does anywhere else. Bikes are always stolen, the dean is always emotionally unavailable, the dorms are as old as Jefferson himself. And yet, I’d pick this place all over again because of the awesome friends I’ve made and the fact that I’m learning things I never cared about before.</p>

<p>PS. I’m surprised he didn’t mention the food…</p>