<p>Hugs to you, OHMom. xoxo.</p>
<p>So sorry OhioMomof2. He is studying music, correct? If the appeal doesn’t work, will he consider a different concentration? I always say we are going to be in our jobs and school for a long time, so an extra semester (especially unpaid) doesn’t need to be the end of the world. Still, we are here for you.</p>
<p>I had guessed ten green squares might be the limit on reputation, but I see that (with apologies to Spinal Tap) texaspg goes to eleven. 
Wow!</p>
<p>OHMomof2 – Sorry to hear your S had a hard time this semester. I’ll second geogirl1’s suggestion. Grades are now ancient history. Do a post mortem to figure out what went wrong, formulate a plan to correct the problem, and get back on the horse.</p>
<p>Calimom3 – When I’ve booked S’s rides to/from the airport, I’ve chosen from the web page NU has on airport transportation. One is student-run and the other gives university discounts, and so is concerned for its reputation on campus, I assume. I don’t know how far you’ll get with the DC bureaucracy, or with Citibank, for that matter. I like the publicity suggestion. Make sure the school knows and consider the student newspaper as well. Don’t send that company any more student business.</p>
<p>We learned several things from this quarter’s grades: S is in the right major (psychology); our high school prepared him to write with the best of 'em; our French courses only enabled him to place out of one year but gave him the tools necessary to do well; and higher math isn’t necessarily his forte … but that’s not a bad thing, we just need to recalibrate accordingly. :)</p>
<p>We’re also just now experiencing some of the “I’m 18 so I can stay out all night and not tell anybody where I am, right?” stuff some of you were reporting after graduation. Um, no.</p>
<p>steveC - I believe it stops at 11 but people can keep accumulating points after reaching some status called “has a reputation beyond repute” at 2000 points. Every 100 points allows the user to give 1 point when they flag someone back. </p>
<p>On the rides to airport - we use what is known as the blue van, paid upfront. I believe the website is supershuttle dot com. In California for a 20-30 mile ride from campus it costs 26$ each way. I suspect it is cheaper because they usually go full from campus but the rate is flat whether they get more passengers or not.</p>
<p>Positive thoughts your direction OHMomof2. I don’t have anything to add that others haven’t already said. I hope you’re able to put this aside and enjoy the holidays.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, OhioMomof2. I hope that he gets quick resolution from the appeal.</p>
<p>S is home and we’re all so happy to have him here! He had a great semester and loves his college. So glad.</p>
<p>OHMomof2 - S’s friend had the same experience in her sophomore year but it was after her spring semester. Her school advised her to take a leave but after an appeal, they reinstated her for the fall. Good luck to your son. In time, this experience will make sense in the grand scheme of things. He will get back on track whether he returns to his current school or transfers to another. </p>
<p>SteveC - I know what you mean! S tried that (staying out late) after his freshman year. It got old and he eventually adhered to a self imposed 12-1 AM curfew. </p>
<p>I wish D had shuttle options to the airport. There are 3 airports she can use that are 1 1/2 - 2 hours away but her school is in a rural area. She’s very fortunate to have local friends to drive her to the airport.</p>
<p>OHMomof2, I know right now it feels like a huge letdown but give yourselves all a couple of days to regroup and come up with plan B. I read all the time how difficult the adjustment is going from HS to freshman year, harder for some than others.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your son OH Mom. I hope things work out for him. That transition period is certainly a rough one. Hopefully he can learn from it and do well afterward either at the place he is at now or with a Plan B.</p>
<p>I do hope y’all can enjoy the holidays. He may feel horribly and need your support as his Christmas gift… esp if he needs to find a Plan B.</p>
<p>whenhen - good job on the Emory T-shirt!</p>
<p>Calimom - that is really, really scary! Sorry your D’s vacation got off to such a crappy start! ((hugs))</p>
<p>OHMom - so sorry to hear it! I’m glad you’re feeling a little better today, but still… :(</p>
<p>OHMomof2, I work at a university. Thursday morning first thing I ran transcripts for all suspended students, which were reviewed by a committee before sending students notification letters.</p>
<p>We have an appeal process. The main thing they look for is that students know why they were in trouble, and what they’re going to do differently this time. We don’t want students/parents to waste their money if they aren’t making progress toward a degree.</p>
<p>Due to my job, I see information on student having academic difficulties. Since both of my kids grew up here and were very involved in lots of things, I come across a lot of names I recognize. It happens. Some students recover, others find other paths. One of my co-workers (now in his 40s) had a rocky start to his college career, but turned it around.</p>
<p>I’m sure this is difficult, but I’m also sure you aren’t alone/the only one in this situation.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about Calimom’s D’s experience. That must have been terrifying, too. I would also report this to the credit card company as they seem creepy enough to also use the CC number or sell it to other creeps. </p>
<p>And to OHMom, I feel for you. I am still waiting on grades of S and he was never a great predictor of his high school midterms and finals outcomes, so I am a bit nervous waiting on his first semester grades. I know he has been working hard, but only he knows if he took advantage of all his college offers in terms of getting help or tutoring where needed.</p>
<p>And finally, my own D is home. We had a little snow storm here over the last 24hours, but she made it safe and sound. Too bad she immediately left to meet up with her buddies! Oh, well. :)</p>
<p>Is it normal to suspend a student after one semester? I am a bit surprised by that. Very sorry to hear about OHMom’s son. First semester is tough, with a lot of adjustments, but find out the cause to see if how to fix it.</p>
<p>OHmom - I hope it works out for your son, and that he pinpoints what he can do to improve should he get to go back. </p>
<p>D was pretty social the first few days back, but has stayed in the last couple of days and is catching up on sleep and family time.</p>
<p>OH mom - sorry to hear of the rough start. Agree with the others that whatever the outcome the most important issue is does he understand how things went wrong and what he could do differently to change the outcome.</p>
<p>Calimon- there is probably some taxi licensing agency where you could file a complaint. Private cars can charge what they want - but they have an obligation to tell you the fare up-front - not hold you hostage once you are in the car. I would also immediately write up reviews on yelp, etc., and file a complaint with the BBB. Do it now before the passion subsides.</p>
<p>D2 came home with lots of sweet stories about carolling at the airport Friday night. People were so grateful and gracious even in the midst of the stress of holiday travel. Safe travels to all who still have miles to go.</p>
<p>OHMom - Hugs to you and your son. I don’t have much to add to what others have said. Hoping the outcome after the 27th is a positive one. </p>
<p>Calimom- This was an awful situation for your daughter. Hugs to you both. I would also add that you carefully monitor your debit card account several times a day and get a new debit card with a new number. That car company sounds very dishonest and probably has a history of this kind of practice.</p>
<p>OHMom - sorry to hear of this, but it shall pass. The child of a friend had a similar experience at a private college about 5 years ago. The college was very clear to the parents that the student was throwing money away (after just one semester). They did not want to be part of it. He took some time off and then resumed is education at a state university at a much more affordable cost. For him, it seemed to be a maturity issue. I am sure that each case is different.</p>
<p>I’m sorry this will long and rambly because I need to get this stuff out…I haven’t slept well for the past couple of nights, worrying about what will happen and what i should be doing…</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the support and ideas. You guys are literally the only adults I can share this with right at the moment and it really helps to be able to “talk”. Also, you are unique among even my friends in understanding how much work went into choosing the right college, making it work financially, powering down the helicopter.</p>
<p>Speaking of helicopters, my emotions swing wildly back and forth between “I should have never landed that thing! If only I’d insisted on being more in the loop, if I’d made seeing seeing his progress officially a condition of his going I could have stopped this!” I mean, his college is 45 minutes away. I could have gone there every day and checked his homework if I’d wanted to, right? And then the other “beat myself up as a parent” side says I did too much for him in this process, all the financial aid stuff, arranging audition dates, pushing him to work on essays and deadlines and stuff…I didn’t let him be invested himself in all this, I did too much. </p>
<p>I imagine the truth is, that he is an adult and made the choices he did on his own. But that doesn’t mean I stop wondering what I did wrong.</p>
<p>…and this brings up some serious personal stuff because I did the exact same thing when I was a freshman. I chose not to return to that school, even though it was also a “one semester off” deal, I returned to college elsewhere. Boy my parents were devastated though, it was a very good school I screwed up at. I’d enjoy talking to my mom about this, actually, because she’s been through exactly the same thing. But I will respect S’s wishes and hold off a couple of days.</p>
<p>Enough about me though. </p>
<p>This is HIS life and I am trying hard to figure out how to best support him in whatever is next. He wants to go back. He seems to know what went wrong, or is finding out. Since he got the letter, one grade was changed up when a missing paper was found (online…he had turned it in but it wasn’t recorded), and another won’t be final because his final project was due today, per his agreement with his instructor because of the illness that brought him home right before finals. So perhaps things aren’t quite as bad as we thought, but none of these little adjustments are going to give him the minimum GPA, I don’t think.</p>
<p>When I ask what went wrong, he says he didn’t go to class as much as he should have, a month in there especially when he was “depressed” (“why didn’t he tell me”, helicopter mom says??). He never really checked his grades online. I think he suspected he wasn’t doing well but thought he’d pass and so avoided dealing with it, but I am not sure. He seems to have fallen into a crack with his advisor (who changed early on due to a major change), or his school’s advisor program isn’t one where the advisor contacts a freshman who is not doing well. Attendance of classes at this school is on a sort of point system where it becomes difficult to pass if you miss too many classes, regardless of how you do on the assigned work.</p>
<p>He knows if he is allowed to return he will have to do REALLY well. He will have to work harder, make every class. He says he wants this.</p>
<p>So I have done what i can to support his efforts to go back. I went online and found the financial aid SAP statement and it appears that his FA is not re-evaluated until after two semesters for the minimum GPA and % of courses attempted are completed stuff. So if he does appeal successfully, returns in January and brings his GPA up enough, the two semester average would be OK. Right now he says this is what he wants to do.</p>
<p>So he has contacted all his professors to see if their grades are final and if there were, as in one case, papers that were lost (they use an online system). He turned in the final video project today as the one prof requested. </p>
<p>He will be writing an appeal letter. The appeal process is very specific. # of words, what items must be included. If he is allowed to go back, he’ll be on academic probation and have a weekly meeting (“glory hallelujah, a mandatory meeting!” mom says).</p>
<p>So…that’s where we are right now. Thanks for reading all this to the end if you did.</p>
<p>Sympathy to OHMomof2 on the academic problems, and horrors on CaliMom’s cab story. Thank goodness her D got out of that situation safely, but I too would be contacting CitiBank about the charge.</p>
<p>Calimom: That sounds really shady. Yes car services can charge whatever they want but they generally name the price when the ride is booked. What sounds really wrong to me is him pulling over and demanding payment before she got to the airport. And insisting on credit card. None of that is legal. </p>
<p>I’d contest the charge with the issuing card, but if you don’t feel like going through it all I understand that too, it can just be a lesson to make sure the price is settled before the ride if there is no meter.</p>