<p>I have to agree with the roommate issue. If you recall my numerous negative, crying phone calls of last term - they have all disappeared since she switched roommates. Greatly relieved. Even my daughter said the other day how much better it is being relaxed in her own room and being able to study, do homework, and sleep in her own room. She’s not great friends with her roommate, they have some very different cultural issues, but they do get along very well, help each other out, and know what areas of life to not discuss. Great experience in my opinion.</p>
<p>Oh and she’s got her roommate and suitemates all lined up for next year, now if the lottery works her way, we’re all set!</p>
<p>D seems to have been very lucky on the roommate/suitemate situation. They are diverse, but get along great. They will be rooming together next year…so they are all set. It is a huge relief to all concerned.</p>
<p>D will be rooming with her current roomie again next year. This time it will be in a suite (two doubles connected) with a third roomie. D is campaigning to have her own private side.</p>
<p>S is doing well academically so far - he says “this semester is ‘easy’”. Hopefully that translates into grades that will make the year’s GPA high enough to get off academic probation.</p>
<p>He’s already talking to roommates for next year. He loves his current one (they get along really well plus he’s not there much, girlfriend) but they can do a larger group-suite thing next year.</p>
<p>Funny to be reading here about sophomore year stuff, huh?</p>
<p>OHMomof2 - Glad to hear that your S is feeling better about this semester. Really hoping that it all works out for him.</p>
<p>My S is going to continue to room with his randomly-assigned first year roommate. They are not the best of friends, and have some very different interests, but get along well and have had some influence on each other. My S has become more knowledgeable/interested in sports and has gone to hockey, soccer and fencing matches. He reports that his roommate has become interested in music and even attended a symphony concert with my S.</p>
<p>I think my son may be living with another posters son from this thread next year - lol. </p>
<p>I have a situation here, and I really don’t like the thread for the year for my daughters grade. My daughter is really weak in math. Ironically, she gets A’s in math class because she’s taken the slowest track, homework, projects, extra credit and lower expectations have her at the top of that class. She looks at those questions on the act/sat and freaks out. </p>
<p>She is currently getting act tutoring. She retains it when they do it, then loses it afterwards. And she panics, feels dumb, then just writes it off as I’m not good at math.</p>
<p>Last night after her session she ran and jumped on me and just said it’s really frustrating to feel so stupid. And she sat on me for about half an hour as we talked about ways to not freak out when you first look at a math problem.</p>
<p>Anyone here not have really strong math kids, and are there any tips anyone could share with me? I feel like somehow she skated through school and never really learned math.</p>
<p>My older daughter - a math wiz, younger daughter so definitely not. So not only was I dealing with younger daughter’s inability in math but she kept looking at her older sister winning all sorts of awards for math - not a fun time.</p>
<p>I think it’s most important to help her put things into perspective and alleviate panic with math. Remind her that everyone can’t be good at everything and she has (I’m sure) many areas in which she is exceptional. My younger daughter is incredibly creative and great with her hands, she also is amazing at interpreting stories/books, finding their hidden meanings, whatever. Colleges are looking for individuals not robots, allow her to emphasize her strengths and not worry about her weaknesses. Yes, she needs to try to improve her math abilities but she shouldn’t stress (which makes her abilities worse of course). Help her understand that it’s okay to not be the best in math and that there will be colleges for her regardless of her SAT/ACT math grade.</p>
<p>You might also want to show her all the great schools where SAT/ACT test scores are optional. That’s another thing we did to alleviate the stress and pressure of the tests for my younger daughter. If a school does not accept her because of her test scores then it’s the wrong school for her anyway. </p>
<p>Just give her permission to not be good at math, she needs to try, but it’s okay to be uneven in her talents and abilities. There will still be a college for her and she will still succeed in life.</p>
<p>I feel for you, it’s a hard time, but it’s truly an insignificant moment in your daughter’s lifetime. Help her to see that (while still working to improve).</p>
<p>eyemamom - first of all, you have a kid who runs and jumps in your lap for half an hour to talk. Awwww! </p>
<p>Are there some problems she can handle with no anxiety? Do you think some kind of self-talk would help? Like, give her an thought process when she’s reading through a problem to help her detach a not hit her panic button. When she first looks at a problem, her first job is to categorize it, whether it’s green for “easy” , yellow for “hard but doable”, red for “skip for now” (or any other categories she comes up with). Maybe talk to her about looking at it like she would look at a bug under a microscope. Just feeling a little clinical and detached from it, almost like police detectives or doctors have to do in order to do their job. </p>
<p>Maybe help her identify a specific goal that seems fairly achievable, like if the section has 25 questions, she needs to hope to get 14 (or 17, or 19) - whatever goal makes sense. That way, as she skips two problems because they seem too hard for now, she doesn’t ratchet up, it just feels like part of the plan, since she’s only aiming to get 14 correct. It feels strategic instead of feeling like it’s too hard.</p>
<p>Have you checked out any of the books by Danica McKellar? Amazon has them. She was Winnie on The Wonder Years, if you remember that show. She has a math degree from UCLA or somewhere, and has written three books that are specifically aimed at empowering girls to feel confident in math, mostly pre-alg and algebra. I haven’t seen them, but it may be worth trying, if your D has any extra time at all.</p>
<p>S’s randomly-assigned (but whose interests put him in the same residential college) roomate has worked out well. I think he’s planning on re-enlisting for the residential college but I haven’t heard anything about roomate plans. To hear him tell it, his suitemates were relieved he (the unknown-at-the-time Texan) wasn’t a George W clone. I don’t know why. If even half of what you hear is true, he would’ve been a lot of fun at parties. I feel for those who haven’t been so lucky. I had an off-campus roomate who once walked through a closed door. Forget the deposit; I just wanted out alive.</p>
<p>OHMomof2 – Glad to hear the boy’s doing better.</p>
<p>eyemamom – Based on your description, I’m on the fence. Is she really losing something she learned or is it the panic effect that makes it seem that way? You’ve had good advice so far, so I can’t add much, but I understand where you’re coming from because math is probably my D’s least favorite subject.</p>
<p>Congratulations to oldfort’s D and 2016BarnardMom’s D on progress on the greek front!</p>
<p>Barnardmom - glad your D got into her favorite!</p>
<p>Eyemamom - as a math teacher, I see all types of talent. Some students do have a difficult time processing math - those tend to be much better in other areas. I’ll second the suggestion to try to break it down clinically for tackling it and definitely try to help her see that not all humans CAN have the same talents. (For instance, I’m art-challenged and certainly would never have set track records as other classmates did.)</p>
<p>Then work to find a college that fits her and will let her shine using her abilities.</p>
<p>My youngest lives in the shadow of my middle son (gifted in everything academic and then some). We’ve tried for years to help him see his gifts are just as good, but in different areas. It sure isn’t an easy task. Society likes to label and put everyone on a ladder based upon those labels. It’s our job to try to help our kids not do that.</p>
<p>Going back to math, it’s also true that math brains develop at different ages, though our schools expect them more or less to all develop the same. Some don’t develop the ability to do abstract math until early adulthood. I’ve had far more than one parent (taking cc classes) come to me mentioning how easy it seems now and wondering why they couldn’t have grasped it in high school… Just because it’s hard for her to grasp now doesn’t mean it will always be that way. When in college, if she needs a math credit, it could be wise to delay that course a year or two if possible.</p>
<p>D is stressing about housing for next year, and feeling completely helpless. She says she’s just going to wait until all of the drama subsides and then hope that there’s room for her somewhere. She says that she doesn’t care who she lives with. I don’t believe her, and my heart just aches for her.</p>
I feel for those who haven’t been so lucky. I had an off-campus roomate who once walked through a closed door. Forget the deposit; I just wanted out alive.</p>