<p>I read the forum posts about the freshmen who are loving their first year at Tulane. Unfortunately, my child is still struggling and trying to decide if transferring would be best. This is causing some stress. Academically did great first semester and has tried with clubs, the dorms, greek life, etc. and has made a lot of friends from all over but is still doubting the college choice. Anyone else have a kid who was or is in this situation? Feel free to PM me direct or reply here.</p>
<p>Is it just homesickness? Or something specific he can point to?</p>
<p>Echoing dolphnlvr. Did well in classes and has lots of friends? That is usually a recipe of success. If not homesickness, could there be some idealized version of college life s/he is imagining that isn’t happening?</p>
<p>What does s/he think is different somewhere else? Is there a boyfriend/girlfriend involved?</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies…personally I think it is “idealized version of college life” as FC notes, but was wondering if others dealt with this and if so how… Nothing specifically wrong. Just a lot of “Did I make the right choice, I might of been happier at XYZ”.</p>
<p>are the xyz’s more prestigious schools to which she was admitted?</p>
<p>No, a siblings school which she likes and feels very comfortable at.</p>
<p>My suggestion is that it is time for the “roads not taken” speech: i.e., especially for obviously capable people like him or her, life is filed with many doors that open, each with many wonderful things behind it, and at some point one must make a choice. While it is natural to wonder once in a while about the proverbial “roads not taken,” it is important to be comfortable with one’s choices and to make the most of them. Certainly the goal is to live a life without regrets (or, more realistically, few regrets), but so long as his/her experience cannot be considered to be negative, better to milk the school for all it’s worth, have fun with friends, and kick butt academically.</p>
<p>I can’t add much to NJDad’s excellent response. Since your child is an excellent student and quite bright, it makes sense to me to appeal to their sense of logic. If they were at this other school, wouldn’t they equally wonder if they had made the right choice and have questions about, at the very least, A) Did I make a mistake not testing my comfort zone but instead making the “safe” choice where my sibling goes; and B) Not going to school in a special place like New Orleans. It is hard for a current student to imagine now, but for most, as they go on through life, having gone to school at Tulane and in New Orleans will hold a number of special memories.</p>
<p>There is no end to the loop of wondering about the unknown, so as NJDad says it makes much more sense to embrace one’s choices and make the most of them. Obviously there are cases when there are reasons so obvious and valid as to make changing a choice necessary, but this doesn’t sound like one of them at all. It sounds more like a very normal teenager always wondering about things.</p>
<p>I agree, excellent responses by all. I got a little insight from each of you. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my query. Much appreciated!!</p>