<p>Picked up my son on Saturday for Christmas break. On the ride home I asked:</p>
<p>“So, now that one semester is in the books, do you feel like you chose the right school?”</p>
<p>His answer was a simple enthusiastic “oh yeah!”</p>
<p>Made me feel great. Nothing better than knowing your kids are happy. He has made new friends, done well in classes, participated in intercollegiate sports and a college musical group, liked the food and the city, and started forging relationships with professors and students that promise to last years, if not a lifetime. Even a bump in the road with a bad roommate was handled by the college and turned out for the best.</p>
<p>I would love to read reports from other class of 2017 parents as their kids finish their first semester.</p>
<p>It’s wonderful that your son had such a good first semester.</p>
<p>But I am wary of deciding whether a student made the “right choice” on the basis of one semester’s experience.</p>
<p>For some students, it takes considerably longer than one semester to feel comfortable at the college they’re attending, both socially and academically. Feeling that way doesn’t mean that the student made a poor choice; it may just mean that the student needs more time to truly feel at home on campus. </p>
<p>And for other students, the college they greatly enjoyed as freshmen may turn out to have disadvantages down the line. For example, they may become interested in a particular major, only to find out that the college’s program in that subject is not very good. Or they may have an unpleasant experience with fraternity/sorority recruiting. </p>
<p>Many things can happen between now and graduation.</p>
<p>Yes for my son. He moved in during Labor Day weekend and then we next visited and saw him at the end of October for Family Weekend. We asked him then if he made the right choice and he said yes. Now that he’s home on break nothing has changed. He’s already sort of figured out who he’ll probably room with his sophomore year (suite). Or maybe get into a fraternity? Did well in classes: 2 A’s, 2 B’s, 16 credits. Played intramural basketball. Joined another club. All seems well. We are parents are happy with the college also.</p>
<p>That’s a good point. Maybe I shouldn’t limit it to first semester. Ed Koch was famous for always asking “How am I doing?” I guess that’s what I’m wondering. we have some friends with kids who left within the first couple of weeks. We have some friends with kids who are struggling with grades or social situations. While I agree with you that there is a long road ahead I also think the first semester is a crucial one and this is certainly an important time to take an assessment in order to be prepared for what the future holds. reading the thoughts of others about the first semester experience can be of assistance as I help my younger son start his search.</p>
<p>I thought I had made the right choice at the beginning of Winter Break, but five months later I was on the road from GA to Oklahoma, ready to trade my 900 person LAC/REU combo for a university 30,000 strong that I had only read and watched videos about. In fact, it was the very act of visiting friends’ colleges, and seeing what flagship state schools had to offer that convinced me to switch. </p>
<p>Will your son be the same way? Hoping not. But as Marian said, a lot can change over the course of one’s college career.</p>
<p>It’s funny to look back to where we were 1-2 years ago and where we are now, but it has all worked out wonderfully (so far). We’re from the midwest and my daughter’s #1 college selection criteria was warm climate, followed by size of 3,000-10,000 followed by good business school. We visited schools in Florida, the Carolinas and California, and only after recommendation from DD’s HS college counselor did we also visit some midwestern schools. You guessed it - by her choice she ended up at a large Big 10 university, meeting only her #3 criterion (but the most important, in my opinion). She would enthusiastically say she made the right decision. For now. She’s doing well academically and socially and has taken advantage of some great opportunities. But I definitely agree with Marian that it’s too early to really know. In fact, I see some things looming in the future that could become issues - Greek vs non-Greek, fitting a major, co-major, minor and a semester abroad into 4 years, etc. We’ll report back in another year or two…</p>
<p>Yes, Disneydad, my D feels like she made the right choice for her. She is doing well academically and socially. She went to a school 1000’s of miles from home so we haven’t seen her since August, but she adjusted well and likes her roommate. I’m not looking ahead for any potential problems, she will handle them as they appear!</p>
<p>It has all gone much much better than I ever could have hoped. Stellar grades, engaging extracurriculars, new friends to go with the old friends. He seems so resourceful and independent. I am happy for him!</p>
<p>I do wonder how he would be in one of the alternative outcomes. Probably also happy, but different, perhaps more stressed.</p>
<p>The college years will contain many challenges and kids will not always be blissfully happy. If they were, I’d question whether they were really growing and challenging themselves. My D was happy as a clam first semester and struggled her second. I hated college for the first year and loved it for the next 3.</p>
<p>I don’t believe there is one right choice of a college, although there could be a variety of wrong ones… It’s like marriage; in theory, there are any number of people you could be happy with, but you try to choose wisely and make the union work with that one person despite the inevitable ups and downs. Unless, of course, there are irreconcilable differences.</p>
<p>I’m leaving in about an hour to pick my D up from the airport. Haven’t seen her since August and only talked to her via phone on Thanksgiving. We have e-mailed and chatted on FB. Can’t wait to see her and hear how she’s liking it.</p>
<p>From what she’s told me so far, she absolutely loves it (it’s on the other side of the country). Keeping my fingers crossed that her grades are okay (her last final was today). She likes her roommate, loves her ultimate frisbee team, is super happy with her major so far and decided to double-major after taking a computer science class that she really enjoyed.</p>
<p>Hopefully she’ll continue to enjoy college but, who knows? I’m just glad that her first semester seems to have gone well and that she wants to go back.</p>
<p>Haven’t been around in a while but I am fretting over S2’s apps so I’m here again and found this old thread. S1 is a sophomore at Providence and still Loves it!</p>