<p>Thanks everyone for your suggestions and concerns. </p>
<p>@coureur: I think your observations about kids being unhappy because of social-issues are dead-on.</p>
<p>@caesarcreek: She is already heavily involved with the theater community; if I say more, I’ll give her away. Her overall experience though has been frustrating, as the majority of productions are student run, and much depends on the organizational skills of those involved – ie. rehearsals being called every night from 6pm to midnight for the entire cast because director/stage manager/producer is disorganized. She’s worked with one organized team and 3 disorganized teams. It’s great when it’s great and hell when it’s not. BTW: Yale (which she applied to and was rejected from) does have an undergraduate theater studies major with faculty/advisor oversight, as seniors get thesis credit for production work.</p>
<p>@zapfino: Thank you, I passed along the MIT suggestion. That was very helpful.</p>
<p>@etondad: She is far from quiet. Her dean is aware of her unhappiness, and we live a short car ride away, so we are able to check-in and take her out to brunch at least once a month. Although she’s unhappy, she’s not checking-out.</p>
<p>@fauxmaven: I mentioned my daughter’s experience to highlight the fact that many students at Harvard (at least from the parents that I’ve spoken to) are not as happy as the glossy photos in the brochures make them out to be. This past holiday season, I met a woman at a party who graduated from Harvard about 15-20 years ago. Given my daughter’s feelings, I asked how she enjoyed her time there. Her response “I hated it, and everyone I knew hated it as well.” Why did you stay there if you hated it so much, I asked. “Because I will never again have to prove to anyone that I’m smart.” That seems to be my daughter’s feelings, as well. And it may be the predominant reason why she’s not transferring out.</p>