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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1213 |
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Posted: Mon Sep 10th, 2007 08:50 pm |
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How is campus life for your freshmen? We are getting feedback on dorm living, food service, and everything else involved with being away at college for the first time. It brings back memories, but also some frustrations. Are any of your kids homesick? Finding activities to get involved with and friends to share them with? If your children are older, can you share some of the things that came up when your children were freshmen and how you or they handled them?
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alanarch
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Posted: Mon Sep 10th, 2007 11:22 pm |
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| Life is good. He seems to be adjusting well. He has joined several clubs. He doesn't expect to stay with all of them. He has learned where to study on campus. The dorm rooms are tiny. He has some understanding of managing the workload with all the "free" time he has relative to high school. This will be one of the greater challenges. He has not made any "best friends for life" yet but he is not feeling lonely. We, as parents, are not prying too much. A few innocuous emails that he responds to. He actually telephoned us last night. He even telephoned his grandmother a few nights ago. We will see him at the end of the month for Parent's Weekend to verify these feelings.
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limner
Member
| Joined: | Sun Jul 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tennessee USA |
| Posts: | 816 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 06:23 pm |
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S seems to be doing well--we heard that playing a tune on his teeth for the New Student Week talent show was a big hit--but I know he's also homesick. This isn't a surprise, since he's never liked new places or living situations, but it's hard to know your kid is stressed. Still, he's met lots of new kids, is enjoying his work study job (helping faculty with any computer problems), classes and teachers are interesting, and his roommate is great.
We've done so much traveling the past month (with at least one more trip scheduled for late Oct.) that we weren't going to go to Family Weekend, but I think at least one of us will fly up then or later in the month, just to give a dose of home.
Freshman year is a big adjustment, so I think most kids are bound be a little stressed in various ways.
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Lderochi
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 307 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 08:13 pm |
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S is starting to get a bit homesick. Right on schedule I think. A batch of cookies is going out in the mail this week. He did enjoy the first home football game, and I know he's getting involved in some activities (see below) so I'm not terribly concerned. He has to fight through these homesickness bouts and come out the other side.
His suite (8 students) is all upper-class except for his roommate and that has been a small issue. He has seen other, all-freshmen, suites and would prefer it. Not a huge deal, just a deal. Gets along with his roommate, but they are quite different and don't really hang out.
He loves 2 classes, hates one and is neutral on 2. Not a bad introduction to campus academic life.
We're looking forward to family weekend (Sept. 28) to get a first-hand look, and to go see the new media darlings -- Appalachian State -- probably destroy the home team at football.
He's shy, but develops deep bonds. It will just take a bit.
And yes, for those who follow these things -- he's already put the application in to join the local volunteer fire company. It drives him crazy that he can't respond when the siren goes off. He's also trying to start a campus EMS service -- which is a bit concerning because that is a HUGE project. But I'm proud of him, and if nothing else it should be a crash course in project management. Here's this first semester freshman who has had several meetings with administrators and will be moving on to Town officials soon. If nothing else, it will keep him busy enough to stave off some of the homesickness.
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kdmom
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| Joined: | Sun Jun 4th, 2006 |
| Location: | Washington USA |
| Posts: | 119 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 08:30 pm |
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My son got accepted ED, and as you may recall, had plenty of time for buyer's remorse to set in.
I talked to him on Sunday and after hearing about his week, asked if he had any regrets about his college choice. He sounded completely surprised and said, "Regrets? No. I can't see anything to complain about."
Actually, he just had been complaining about "the enormous load of incomprehensible reading assignments", but I guess his other activities (not to mention the meat-filled cafeteria) are making up for that :-)
In two short weeks, he's joined a club sports team, been swimming in the gorges numerous times, attended several parties, and even hung out with his brother a few times. He's also taking five classes, plus phys ed and a required colloquium, so maybe he doesn't have time to be too homesick.
But I'm sure he misses me 
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mom61
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| Joined: | Fri Jun 23rd, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 247 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 09:06 pm |
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We have barely heard from our son. He has called me a few times always with a specific question. I am trying hard and I have not called him at all. My husband has called several times. He also sometimes texts his Dad.
He has been happy from the start. He has made lots of friends. He likes his roommate but they aren't best friends. The roommate is not as social. My son has made a point from the very beginning to seek people out and be friendly. I think it helps that he is in a small dorm with just one floor of boys. He has made some good friends on his floor. He has been to the gym, climbed the climbing wall and joined an intermural flag football team with his dormmates. There have been a few X Box 360 tournaments on his floor.
He has 4 classes, Two in his major. All small. He is feeling comfortable. He had not set up any tutoring and that is a concern. I have reminded him it is best to have it set up before you need it but I am just the Mom so what do I know. He said he had not missed a class yet. I have reminded him of his 3.0 scholarship requirement.
We were nervous about his choice but it so far has proven to be a great fit for him.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1213 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 11:14 pm |
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Mine seems to be doing fine 95% of the time. He got the classes he wanted, got involved with his EC, is meeting kids and seems to be used to having limited eating hours. It's going to take time to replace the friendships he has back home with kids whom he's known for years, but the students on the campus seem friendly. There have been a few moments, which is when he calls home, but I've learned that when something seems horrible, it's going to change in the next hour so I try not to get too concerned. His school was the best fit at the time he chose it and he seems to have made the right decision. I'm also pleasantly surprised that in spite of a few bumps along the way, he's handling it all very well on his own. In fact, he called with one question that I couldn't answer (something complex and computer-related) and figured it out himself.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 11:20 pm |
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Limner and Lderochi, mine hasn't said anything about being homesick, but I'm sure there is a little of that, if not for us than for his friends. It probably seems like everyone else has made best friends while ours are slower to find people to replace the kids at home. I talked to a friend with a sophomore who I thought adjusted very well, and the mom said truthfully, it took her daughter months to get used to the campus and the students she was meeting. She made what looked like very close friends immediately, and then replaced them (including her roommate) by the end of the year with new friends who were more like her. The mom told me she observed that it's much better to take their time finding friends who they can remain close to during college and afterwards. Her older child is shy and didn't even find people similar to himself until well into the second semester. As long as they are involved with activities, clubs, ECs, sports, music, whatever they love doing, they will be OK.
I have an older child who didn't make a lot of friends on campus early on, but knew 3 people from high school who she could hang around with any time, so making new friends wasn't as big an issue. And she got involved with a campus volunteer/support organization before she began school, so she could hang out in their lounge from the beginning. As a result, her experience is not the same as my son's.
Last edited on Tue Sep 11th, 2007 11:22 pm by WestrnMom
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limner
Member
| Joined: | Sun Jul 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tennessee USA |
| Posts: | 816 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 11th, 2007 11:42 pm |
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| WestrnMom, I know that my S misses his friends, and he expected to. He was/is a part of a close-knit group from HS. Things seem to be going well at college--I think he feels very at home and has met lots of people. My H sent him off with some Blackadder and Father Ted DVDs, which someone spotted in his room. So a bunch of kids watched those together. I don't sense any doubts about his college choice--quite the opposite--but there are some emotional adjustments to be made. Sigh.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
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Posted: Wed Sep 12th, 2007 12:13 am |
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Limner, I'm impressed with the opportunities his school has for students to meet other students from the very beginning. They are all new, so everyone is in the same position. When we were there, I noticed the athletes seemed to hang out together, but they moved in early and began practices, so it is natural they all found each other right away. I remembered from my college days that everything is new. At least our dorms had cafeterias in the same building. Most schools don't, so they need to go to another building to eat, which must take some adjusting. If they've never shared a room, that's new. Not having every minute of their days structured is also new, trying to get homework done without a schedule, even having to buy books rather than getting them in class, it's all different. Fortunately most teenagers are flexible enough to figure it out.
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