<p>lol. Im glad things are better. Did she know her bf before school or meet him thru friends? Is she making friends ? Did she join drama/?</p>
<p>The bf is a friend of a friend from a local public school she attended in grade school, she still have friends from that school, but it’s really a lousy school, so she could not go back there…cuz I said so 
He goes to a different public school in the town where her new private is located. She kinda knew him/of him over the past couple of years. Nice nice kid, so that is good, but, ack, he drives :eek:</p>
<p>NO drama yet, still looking for when those meetings begin, the first one was for actors only. It is amazing at a new school how every one just knows how things & happen & what happens when and really does not effort to help a newbie find their way…parents, too.</p>
<p>But she is feeling more settled and, at least, willing to give it until Christmas, whereas when I first posted she was simply trying to make it to this weekend and see now whether she could make it until Christmas. So, things have improved. Then ideas & encouragement offered here certainly helped me give lots of good ideas and keep a positive attitude myself.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>thanks for the updates…I recall the fall of my sophomore year painfully watching parents picking up kids in the same groups since elementary school. No room in the Inn for a new kids with unknown parents. By senior year, kids are driving and believe it or not this also means easier to break into social things as parents are no longer involved as much, parents are more likely to let their students come and go freely and the carpools from The Past are over forever. Think about throwing a little party at your house after Winter Holidays are over…by then your D is a familiar face. After I threw a slumber party for about ten girls in 11th grade, I had other reciprocal invitations follow, but it could be any kind of party really that is suitable for your situation…hosting a team party for instance is a legitimate way to introduce your home to the other families.</p>
<p>While this won’t console your D while she waits this out, it may be a soothing thought for you. Learning how to negotiate this transition now will put her a step ahead when she gets off to college. I know quite a few parents whose kids , having gone pre-K through senior year with many of the same kids, are now feeling adrift and alone in their first year away from home. They’ve just never been someplace without at least one friend along. I think kids who have had to weather a new school or summer camp on their own most often do master the hard part at the beginning and the art of finding new peers (sounds like your daughter is well on her way)–and this gives them valuable confidence when they launch out of the nest to the college environment</p>
<p>I definitely feel you daughter’s pain, since I’ve had to be in 3 different high schools. At first, it really does feel like the kids are part of this big family, and you’re just an outsider trying to get in. It does get better though, especially if you’re at a school that has a diverse population. This has probably been mentioned lots of times before, but getting involved in EC’s is what really helped me build a new social network. Because you are with a group of people who have the same interests as you, you already have a great topic of conversation, and you’re bound to run into those people outside of the club/activity/sport. Also, just tell your daughter to be outgoing and try to make connections with people, even if it’s over last night’s homework or working out a problem in math class together. Your daughter really has to put herself out there in order for the kids to see her and want to build a relationship with her. </p>
<p>I wish her the best:)</p>
<p>somemom,
another way to ‘get in the know’ is for you to volunteer at her school, go to PTA meetings, etc. It may not help your D directly, but who knows - its another point of connection. I attended 3 hs’s in three states - had social friends but not terribly close ones. It took a few weeks to get talking to kids. No support from the 'rents, but managed anyway.</p>
<p>Tonight is “back to school” night, so we get to meet the teachers, hopefully I will connect with other parents, I have done this before, so I am up for it.</p>
<p>Dad & I are both volunteering at the sporting events and sending munchies to take on the bus this week- is that bribery? No, I did it at our old school, and if it gets her noticed, so much the better!</p>
<p>My older D’s switched from the lifelong familiar school to the new high school where they knew no one, it worked great for them and both were confident in meeting new people at university. As a matter of fact, I am seeing many of their cousins & friends, this year, who either did not go away to school or are very homesick, not sure how to venture out, whilst mine is out there making friends left & right. Easier in college than high schooll as all the freshman are new, but even at a big state U, my D2 is blown away by how many people hang with their high school friends, pathetic is the word she used :)</p>
<p>D3 would still prefer her old school, but is no longer desperately miserable, just giving it a try through Christmas, by which time, I hope she’ll be entrenched!</p>
<p>Thanks for the good thoughts.</p>
<p>Greetings! I am new to this web site and also to the whole process of looking at colleges. I wish now that I had hired someone to do the “legwork” as I now find this whole process very frightening and exhausting! We moved into our neighborhood (very small community!) 4years ago as my oldest was entering high school and all of the “clicks” were well established! It did take a good 4 months for my oldest to get accepted. But I have to disagree with another post I was reading that the shy ones adapt better. My shy daughter (the older one) had a tougher time then my outgoing daughter who happened to be accepted into her “click” with open arms. I cried many nights for my other daughter just wishing the children could be nicer… kids can be quite cruel! AND now with college in Sept., once again I worry for my oldest finding her nitch in a college setting. Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>rsky62…wish you had hired someone!! Hey, you will learn more here and make a better choice than if you had hired someone. You know you daughter very well and the one advantage that you/she has regarding college. Unless you pick a school that serves mostly students from you community…there will be many new students and the ability to make new friends is much easier than moving into a small town high school w/ clicks.</p>
<p>If your daughter needs friends from HS then look for her to follow the pack if she needs new friends then look for schools that the pack doesn’t apply to. Your daughter will know how she feels as time passes so I’d suggest applying to both and that way you can decide in May.</p>
<p>hazmat… thanks… she does NOT want to be anywhere near the community, we are looking at NW in two weeks (it is a 2 hr. plane ride)I am sure she will adjust … it is I who needs to calm down… first one out of the house! thanks again!</p>
<p>So you are looking at Northwestern…does that mean UChicago also?</p>
<p>we were only planning on seeing NW she did not verbalize an interest in UC … she is going into communications/ journalism with a minor in political science… sorry to sound uneducated(about colleges) but is UC considered good for these areas?</p>