<p>I haven't been on this board in over a year and thought I was all done with the college process, but alas, no. After losing his Dad to cancer in his senior year of HS, Son 3 applied and got into Tulane. He had a decent first semester (3.2) but then had a pretty spectacular flameout in February. It was all kinds of stuff, too much partying, wrong crowd, cascading poor decisions and of course, the ongoing complicated grieving process. Tulane allowed him to take a medical withdrawal and he received treatment for the above issues. He is looking at what to do now. Tulane isn't an option (they would allow him to come back - he just recognizes that it isn't a healthy place for him). But I'm afraid that there are no schools out there that are still accepting transfer applications for the fall. Perhaps it is best to wait for the spring semester, but he is going crazy and feeling like he has nothing. Maybe a gap semester or semester abroad (it would have to be pretty structured though, no sense in setting him up to fail) I would love to hear your thoughts.</p>
<p>Since he has only one semester of college, many colleges would still consider him a freshman.</p>
<p>One suggestion would be Florida State U program for study abroad as a freshman. </p>
<p><a href=“http://international.fsu.edu/Types/FSA/FSA.aspx”>http://international.fsu.edu/Types/FSA/FSA.aspx</a></p>
<p>Looks interesting, but I wonder if it is only available to already accepted freshmen?</p>
<p>It sounds like he needs some time off to readjust and find some motivations (i.e. get a job flipping burgers). If Tulane is not a “healthy option” how will any other place be so?</p>
<p>Do you have any school nearby where he could go for a semester while applying to another school for spring?
Does Tulane have an exchange program with other schools where he could go for a semester? </p>
<p>“Looks interesting, but I wonder if it is only available to already accepted freshmen?”</p>
<p>It says the application deadline is May 1. I think you can apply directly to the program.</p>
<p>Perhaps he could go abroad through Tulane? And then transfer to another school afterward? I know it’s a bit late but some programs might take him if they have space. He wouldn’t necessarily be with Tulane kids–Tulane allows kids to go on many different programs. He could just use his Tulane status as an entry. Look at the Tulane study abroad website and see if that could work. And ask the administration for help. I know from personal experience–and it seems that yours is similar–that Tulane is willing to work with families facing these kinds of situations.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is an excellent question, and one that bears thinking about IMHO.</p>
<p>There is also the list of schools that have space that comes out every year in May. There are always some good schools on that list. (Whether available majors and FA would affect his choices would of course be a consideration.)</p>
<p>Perhaps you should have him live at home and hold a job for the fall semester and look into schools that accept spring transfer applications. If there are any community colleges near you he could take classes as a part-time student during this period.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Open admission community colleges accept transfer applications any time.</p>
<p>However, if he is eligible for frosh (versus transfer) admission to any colleges of interest, then he needs to evaluate whether it is more valuable to him to take community college courses the next academic year versus staying out of school for that long in order to main eligibility for frosh admission at those colleges.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that if Tulane is “unhealthy” now, will it always be that way? I.e. is it possible to complete lower division work at a local community college for a few more semesters, then return to Tulane for upper division work, if Tulane is no longer “unhealthy” then? He may be more mature then and uninterested in the party crowd.</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear about your and your son’s loss and the effect it had during his freshman year. But there still are schools he can apply to as a transfer student for the Fall. University of Indiana - Bloomington has a May 1 transfer deadline. Same with Indiana University - Purdue University and University of Houston. University of Massachusetts - Amherst’s transfer deadline is April 15. I am sure there are more.</p>
<p>I understand these are large schools and you/he may be afraid of the temptations that proved difficult to avoid at Tulane. I encourage you to look into student services. I attended a large public university many years ago and an excellent counselor helped me stay in school and deal with a catastrophic loss when I thought that was not possible.</p>
<p>Good luck to you both.</p>
<p>I like the suggestion of doing study abroad thru Tulane next fall, and apply for spring transfers.</p>
<p>I dont know what kind of aid he got from Tulane, but have you considered that aid will be lousy as a transfer?</p>
<p>I specialize in working with students who have flamed out, wrecked their records, had psychiatric or substance issues, etc.</p>
<p>“Tulane isn’t an option (they would allow him to come back - he just recognizes that it isn’t a healthy place for him).”</p>
<p>I keep coming back to this. If Tulane isn’t healthy for him at this point, why would another university (foreign or domestic) be healthier?</p>
<p>The apparent healthiness of an environment has way more to do with the student than the school. I could see where leaving a pressure cooker school for a more relaxed academic environment might help a certain student, but if the issue isn’t pressure but partying, well, there are going to be major temptations at almost any university, especially ones that are still taking transfer apps.</p>
<p>There’s no rush. College will always be there. Consider whether some time (a semester? a year?) at home, with parental supervision, might help cement good habits.</p>
<p>I havent been to NOLA, but Ive known students whove attended Tulane & it did leave me with rhe impression that certain vices were more difficult to avoid there.
Not a lot of places let you drink liquor in public.
I think recognizing his triggers is a good signal.</p>
<p>So sorry for this situation and glad your son is getting back on track. Is there no way for Tulane to work for the fall semester? Is he afraid he will get back in with the same crowd? Perhaps some of those kids have also matured enough to realize that they can’t do the party lifestyle. The fall is still five months away and perhaps he can further cement his good habits and connect with folks at Tulane that will support him. That may not be possible if he really thinks he can’t handle it. </p>
<p>Can he re-visit some of his acceptances from last year and see if they have any transfer spots open? Given the circumstances, there may be considerable empathy for his situation and perhaps a way to bend the admissions time line. Perhaps even a non-matriculated set of classes for the fall with a spring admit? Good luck to all.</p>
<p>Lots of good ideas. Re the issue of Tulane not being a healthy environment, I certainly recognize that every college has a party going on at any given time somewhere on campus. I do believe that the atmosphere and culture of New Orleans is much more influential on the student body than the school would like to admit. Of course there are many (most) Tulane students who stay focused on school, have a bit of fun but never get derailed like my son did. But I do know of many, many young people who found that New Orleans was just too much fun to resist. I have heard Tulane come up more often (by tenfold) than any other college when I am in conversation with the other parent’s of kids who have participated in some type of rehab. Listen, I think it is an amazing school and I wish he would have been able to stay four years and graduate but he was either drawn to the party atmosphere ( which may be why he attended) or discovered it once he got there - either way there is a vulnerability that now exists - as they say in AA: peoples,places and things are all triggers.</p>