<p>My dad threatened me with becoming a peach-picker or other agricultural laborer.</p>
<p>Now, coureur, that is REGIONALISM for you!</p>
<p>I can see that on your resume, 5 time Jeopardy champ, peach picker. (weekends)</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Lewis & Clark in Portland. We live in the midwest. He loves the school. Was in the top 10% of his high school class but still finds college interesting and challenging. He says it is harder than high school, which is good! (I mention this for those who worry that going to a school considered a safety won't be challenging and the kids will get bored. A strong student from a good high school, he will not be getting a 4.0 this semester.) He is planning on majoring in bio and his bio class this semester is his favorite. His bio prof is also his advisor as L & C makes an effort to have as the students advisor one of the profs s/he has in a first semester class.</p>
<p>He was a kid who was not particularly well connected to his high school and didn't have a lot of friends. However, he has made friends very quickly and is quite happy. He hangs out with kids on his floor and one other so it is a good size group of about 20 that do things together. He went out there because he wanted to do a lot of outdoor things. He hasn't done much of that yet but I think he will as time goes on. It doesn't bother him being so far from home and he is getting used to the rain. Overall, we are quite pleased.</p>
<p>And off season, drives a rickshaw!</p>
<p>S is having a great time at Brandeis. Really likes many of his classes and says that so far is doing fine in them. Has gotten into several activities that are totally new for him, and when there's nothing special to do, goes over to the student lounge and practices his foosball and pool skills. Saturday nights often mean a trip into Boston or Cambridge (the school sends a van) or a dance.</p>
<p>Getting into the Jewish community on campus and finding his place (which is different than I had imagined, and that's fine, too). Getting used to being more independent (mostly with our money, of course, but he's responsible), doing his own shopping, running his own errands, setting up a budget, etc.</p>
<p>Fact is, he likes it there so much that he was trying to find something else to do than to come home to a dull place with only two parents around instead of a couple of dorms full of other freshmen, but nothing came through, so he'll be with us for a couple of weeks. Thanksgiving, it's off to NY to be with lots of relatives, which will be great for everyone. </p>
<p>It's great to see and hear how he's developing. We miss him, and I wonder what it'll be like to have him back with us for a short time. Oh yes, I almost forgot - we too are very pleased</p>
<p>Woa, we get the Brandeis mail. It's like they are seducing son to apply. It's like, look at this, aaah, ohhhh, humm......</p>
<p>My daughter is LOVING Rice U. in Houston. (Okay, I feel like a broken record here, because I know I've posted similar on other threads....) She and friends hop on the lightrail and head downtown for off-campus fun, and she walks over to the zoo to observe some of the animals for a class. She is becoming a jock and working out almost daily preparing for her club sport. I honestly don't see how she has much time for schoolwork, because every time I speak with her she's got plans to go see lectures, music performances, themed parties, sports events, or to go out and eat ethnic food. She loves the residential college system, and has made some powerful friends. We've found the administration to be very, very supportive. When I expressed a safety concerns about access to her college (dorm), I had three emails back the next day from different departments; and later found out that they are actually implementing the restricted access system I had suggested. (Not that I want to take credit for it: the college discussed it at a meeting and many of the female students wanted this change made -so it was approved.) We have found cell phones to be a wonderful way to stay in touch, and she calls us fairly frequently just to chat. We are thrilled with the opportunities that are available at Rice - especially research, internships and oversea opportunities, plus the close relationships with faculty. (Only downside is that I worry about the traffic when she comes home; Houston has appallingly dangerous traffic. And the air-quality of Houston leaves something to be desired. Besides that, I couldn't wish for a better or more supportive environment for my kid.) Now to start looking for a good fit for sophmore HS son!</p>
<p>I had hoped son would be happy but I never imagined he could be this happy. He just fit in and loves Redlands. We went to his Jazz concert Monday, he said the trumpet professor had the band over for pizza at his home before the concert. One class has 3 people and an extra session each week. We is more dedicated than we ever thought possible. He is home. I think he saved his laundry for at least 3 weeks-amazing how much can be put in a basket when you fold it. I am glad he is close but I think we could have survived if he had gone to the East-he doesn't come home for weekends.</p>
<p>Wow, these posts are so encouraging. I'm happy for all of you with happy kids. I think that's what we all want, regardless of what schools our Ds and Ss get into... just let them be happy and challenged next year. Keep posting, this is great stuff (especially for those of us who were around last year and saw some of the decision-making going on). It's bringing my anxiety over S's application process way down!</p>
<p>Our D is having a blast at Smith. She just took the bus to DC for Thanksgiving with my mom and family there, I won't get to see her till winter break. She has always been a loner but she seems to be making friends. Her classes are great and she is in 3 different musical groups. The roomate situation was not great, they didn't not get along, but they had nothing in common and kept very different hours. Her roomate moved to another room with a friend who also liked to stay up until 2am, so now D has a single. She is hoping that they don't try to give her a roommate next semester. Next semester she is taking Medieval Philosophy and is excited about it, the two music classes, Italian, and fencing. This is my non-athlete. We are very happy with her choice - it is a great fit.
(The other mini parent)</p>
<p>Mine loves MIT. The workload is exhausting, so he hasn't gotten involved in a lot of EC's yet, but is playing IM b'ball, running some, doing a little exploring in Boston, and has made friends with his floormates. He's not sleeping enough but that's been a lifelong problem. He's doing better in his classes than he thought he would, so he's a happy camper. </p>
<p>He says he can't imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>The parents with kids who are challenged and/or struggling must be lurking. After all the LOVING, etc posts, it would be hard to state otherwise. </p>
<p>Anyways, I would say overall my S is doing well, but there have been some disappointments and challenges along the way. I would say socially, things are pretty slow. His dorm situation is ok, but just ok. Academics are a challenge (thank god), and he is meeting the challenge well. Besides school, he is busy with sports and his music.</p>
<p>S1 loving life at the Disney halfway house for post adolescent Americans! Better still, his ambition is kicking in. (Woohoo!)</p>
<p>There were glitches. Inability to wake up to alarm for 8 am class and subsequent docking for missed tests, too many missed classes. Negotiated his way back to a respectable GPA. Low resistance to Thursday night parties which didn't help ability to wake to alarm on Friday mornings. Left his winter coat at a party on another campus and probably won't get it back until Spring.... 2006. lol. Ran through his November allowance like a house on fire. </p>
<p>Switched out of the 15 kid lit seminar and into the 500 kid econ class. Loves those 500 kid classes. Fretted about signing up for a 200 level class next term only to have his ("intimidating") advisor chuck him into a 300 level class in his major. Discovered a new subject, economics. Loves it.</p>
<p>Always the recalcitrant athlete in hs, caught four touchdown passes, two interceptions in final IM football game. Senior team even. Must know how much H likes to hear those stories...</p>
<p>He's at Gramma's house for the holiday.</p>
<p>CMU Kid did fine as freshman. Rough start with roommates though. He's very socialable-RMs nerdy, gamers, from feeder schools. Slept through physics, because 9am class, in front row, got an A, with note from prof to consider physics as major.
Parents have had much harder time of it. Can't wait until he's home so that he can fix the main computer bug.</p>
<p>I'm very happy to report that D is doing MUCH better than she was in the first few weeks of the semester. And the improvement showed even before her transfer application was accepted. (See my Moving On thread). She's always been a worrier about assignments and grades, but goes ahead and gets the As anyway. After the first few exams and papers, she felt much better. Better still after she made a friend or two. She's had some good experiences at Dickinson, including a caving trip with her Geology class recently. Good comments from profs and a successful class presentation have also been high points for her, and have gotten her thinking about possible majors. These are all good things for her.</p>
<p>achat--heck! I'd like to go to the new MOMA!!! Actually, D is only spending Thanksgiving Day doing NY things. She and her friends are at the Macy's Parade (one of 2.5 million). They plan to dine somehwhere and then she wants to return immediately to Boston--to hang out with friends who didn't go away for the holiday.</p>
<p>I wanted to wait for the Thanksgiving visit to confirm the impression I've been getting over the phone and, yes, my son is very, very happy at Columbia. It is the right combination of academics (a lot) and social life (a lot) and musical life (a lot) for him. He came home talking about Thucydides, about new friends from other parts of the country and world,about needing a tuxedo shirt for bartending jobs, about the two types of bands he's playing in, and wearing a bunch of new clothes purchased for his new NYC look. Also, with a cold that he admitted probably resulted from lack of sleep. His classes are a mixture of small, medium, and large. He dislikes one section, is really enjoying the rest. Because of the debate that often rages here about being taught by professors as opposed to grad students, I specifically asked about his Literary Humanities class which is taught by a teaching fellow -- sixth year grad student who has her masters, is writing a PhD thesis, and has previously taught a writing class. He said she was "great in her whole approach" to the class, which is part of Columbia's core curriculum. She requires each student (there are 22) to come meet with her at least twice a semester, but enourages them to meet with her as much as they'd like, and writes long, thoughtful comments on every paper. He has also gone to office hours to meet with his math professor ("a really good teacher"), who teaches a class of about 50+. Physics is a large lecture class, but he describes the professor as "awesome." He's adding another academic class next semester, because while he's working steadily, he thinks he could do more. There seems to be a real pride among students there in taking on a heavy load .</p>
<p>For others whose kids are contemplating college 3,000 miles from home, I do think he was homesick at the beginning and that it has been very important that he has relatives close to school. That, and the combination of the Facebook and Instant Messaging. I think, as he does, that he could have been happy at many of the colleges that admitted him, but he had the very good sense (and self knowledge) to choose the one at which he could pop over to visit family at crucial times.</p>
<p>Sac, I hope you have had time to sneak in a hug or two. To be honest, this post was just what I needed to read this afternoon - after my daughter spent thanksgiving dinner yesterday telling family members about the colleges she's interested in (none less than 1500 miles away from home so far), I found myself awake in the middle of the night with a sense of...not quite sadness but prospective loss. So it is good to hear that they still come home again.</p>
<p>OK, I'm in. Our D is home from for the holiday, and it has been deeply reassuring. She was rather lonely at the beginning of the semester and I have worried, despite much evidence (as my perspicacious H frequently points out) that she is doing all the right things to find a place for herself intra murals, clubs, dance classes you know the drill.</p>
<p>I couldn't help myself -- on Wednesday morning I blurted out, "You're not too lonely, are you?!" She looked over at me, reflected for 3 seconds, and said, "Well, I think I'm just about as lonely as everyone else." Then she went on to explain that midterms are over and everyone is reassessing their chosen professions and changing concentrations like mad. For a while she was the only person she knew who was officially undecided about what to do with her life. Everyone else seemed to have a clear career trajectory that theyd been pursuing since age 5. Then midterms hit, and she now has lots of company in the undecided camp. Trying to be emphathetic, I said, Yes, I remember that thats when I gave up on being a doctor. She looked thunderstruck: YOU wanted to be a doctor?! I guess I had forgotten to mention that little fact In my defense, I HAD told her about my stellar record as a freshman, having achieved 2 Cs, an A, and a cannot give a grade because your final paper is a poem, not a critique in the first quarter of my freshman year. I believe in setting a good example.</p>
<p>Then her cell phone rang. It was her roommate, calling all the way from the east coast just to chat. I guess I can quit worrying.</p>
<p>Things are going well on the academic side; hard, but not too hard is Ds overall summary. She likes both her large (300) biology lecture and small art seminar (10), and her favorite is perhaps her small (18) anthropology course with an especially inspiring teaching fellow. Chinese is fast and furious, but shes keeping up thus far. </p>
<p>So, I second sacs post: initial loneliness soon balanced by the excitement of new topics, new friends, and so many opportunities that she hardly knows which to choose. Cell phones ease the pain of distance, and facebook.com is a surprisingly useful tool for keeping up with friends. </p>
<p>And, Carolyn, she did come home again with laundry.</p>