Need help looking for a new school!

N_s_Mom
Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:51:30 +0000

planet1026, right about now, 1/3 of the new freshman are all telling their parents that they made a terrible mistake and need to transfer asap. By mid-year, it will be up to 1/2 the students. Freshman year is hard. It’s a huge transition for most kids. Expectations are unrealistically high going in. Your room-mate isn’t your new BBF. Freshman classes are often huge and impersonal feeling at big schools. This ‘dream school’ - if it was ever that - is not going to be a walk in the park after all.

By spring break, almost all of the kids ‘thrive where planted.’ They find their friends, they find their rhythm academically. Those few who don’t, will transfer (sometimes after talking down the school to everyone within earshot and alienating many.) Ask your D to reserve judgement for a while. You can talk at winter break and again at spring. Focus instead coping strategies - how to meet people ‘like her.’ How to get to know faculty in the areas she cares about.