That’s great! Hope he likes what he buys!
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My son (with ASD) has been having increasing stress (possibly getting into the range of mental health issues) as the school year has gone on.
Classes are going well! He spends far less than 20 hours/week on his classes and in 3 terms has received 7 As and 2 Bs. He also seems to be feeling more confident that he is studying something that he is interested in.
But I think the social stress is building up too much. We had to go pick him up one evening during the 3rd term because he was very upset and saying things that didn’t make sense. He spent the night at home and seemed fine the next day.
We thought about requiring him to live at home next year, but it is a 30+ minute commute, and it would create a different set schedule of problems. And he really doesn’t want to live at home; he feels like it would be a step backward.
He was home last week for spring break. 4th term will be over in 6.5 weeks now, and he’ll spend the summer at home. We’re trying to figure out the best way to support and help him. He refuses to see a counselor (he has had 3 different ones and said none of them were helpful and he won’t consider another).
Anyway, academics going very well; everything else a bit of a mess. 
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I am happy your son is in college. Hope things get better for him. I have a sixteen year old in 10th grade who is also in ASD.
We are hoping he would go to local college close to our home. We are not sure if he is able to live in campus.
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D23 is doing ok. She’s home for spring break and she’s put on a little weight and is laying around the house in a way that is not her usual self and not what she was like over Christmas break. There was an issue with a boy that wasn’t a boyfriend but she wanted him to be and frankly, I also think she’s been hitting the frat parties a little too hard. Cheer season is over and the freshmen 15 is definitely a thing which I think is contributing to her not feeling great about herself at the moment.
But she still loves her school and her grades are fine so I’m chalking it up to life experience but I’ll save a small lecture about college boys and beer before she leaves. Can’t wait. 
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He is into lots of things but yes, a music major. His “big brother” at his fraternity is a talented guitarist from London I guess and in a few local bands. My son is hoping to learn a bit more about the indie music scene on campus. He did say it was a bit nerve wracking choosing music cause you have to watch the vibe and “not suck” or people will leave!
He is down 20 lbs now and back to a more normal weight for him. He realized how much he bulked up for high school sports and now just wants to work on being healthy and fit for himself.
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My adhd 23 year old gets like this from lack of sleep! Hope your son finds his groove!
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My D really found her groove first semester. She had some hits and some misses in terms of joining clubs and orgs but overall it was good. Academically she hit it out of the park. She also met some great friends and has her rooming plans all lined up for next year.
This semester has been a bit harder for her. She’s in less writing-based classes, which are her strength, and so she’s having to work a bit harder. Then, she came down with Mono. That’s been three weeks now and is really taking a toll.
Then she came home for spring break this week and her high school bf broke up with her. So she’s struggling. Fortunately, her break coincides with the spring breaks of some of her good friends from hs and they are helping to keep her in better spirits this week. I predict that the rest of this semester will remain rocky as she continues to navigate dealing with Mono and the fallout from this breakup. She’ll be home again in a few weeks for Easter and then we’ll be on campus a few weeks after that for her dance show (hopefully -depends on Mono restrictions) and I’ll be glad to have the chance to check in on her again.
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Well, that’s a long story! He is good in so many things such as math, spelling, grammar and has phenomenal memory for things he loves such as which pop star released his first album in what year etc but will forget the names of his Teachers from past years. So we take one day at a time. My husband’s close relative who had similar issues went to a top engineering college in a different country and did well and has a job which pays well. So my husband keeps using that scenario for inspiration.
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The twins are home for Spring Break. I can’t believe freshman year is almost over!!! They are both doing so well I’m afraid to brag and attract evil eye/some calamity on them 
(i know, i know, it’s a cultural thing).
Twin 1: Even though he stayed “local”’we don’t see him much! He comes home maybe one weekend a month? His classes are going fabulous and he’s doing so well, anticipating 4 A’s and 1 B this semester. He’s loving his job as a student ambassador for the College of Engineering. This week, he had to go into work 2 days to work an event and give tours. He gave a presentation and sat on the Student led Q&A session for the COE.
Twin 2: Still living his best Austin life at UT!! He has made a great circle of friends and is rushing a frat this semester. It’s a faith based service fraternity. The pledge process has been pretty hectic but he’s managed to handle it with his classes
and not let his grades slip. He’s doing better this semester than last and is applying to become a mentor for the PACE program under which he was admitted to UT. He’ll be working as a junior counselor for Texas Boys State this summer and is also applying for an internship with a state representative’s office 
.
Being an empty nester has gotten easier this semester. I miss the boys but watching them from afar is pretty cool too.
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My son was home for Spring Break last week, and it was good seeing him again… although really only around dinner occasionally as most of his high school friends were on spring break as well and he was hanging out with them.
He seems to be doing really well this first year. He’s gotten more serious about his grades and coursework than he was in high school, and it seems to be paying off. He also signed up for 2 math classes this summer so he can get a little ahead and either take his time with some of the harder coursework next year, or add a physics minor. Now I need to make sure he doesn’t burn out, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem yet.
Still trying to figure out what he wants to do, but he has a good roadmap, which seems like a good place to be as an 18 (almost 19!) year old.
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My daughter was at Sarah Lawrence starting in Fall and had an awful first semester. She didn’t make any friends and struggled with the food, the dorm, and generally felt very isolated without a car or anything that wasn’t a 20 min walk away. The only thing that went well was that she got great grades. I was really worried about her mental health because she just lost her spark. Thankfully she knows herself and was proactive and insistent that she was going transfer. She started at NYU in January and is thriving. Makes me laugh bc when we were looking at schools she only wanted less than 10k students with a traditional campus not in the middle of a city and she absolutely refused to look at anything else. Now she’s at the largest (private) school in the country in the biggest city with a completely decentralized campus living her best life. She is so damn headstrong, but she’s figuring out and doing it her way so c’est la vie.
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My son also is home for spring break and in the midst of getting everything finalized to transfer for the fall. After insisting all Junior and senior year of HS that he had been stuck in our state all through COVID and wanted to go to school far away, he decided his current college was just TOO far away. He’s excited to be closer and where he will have a bunch of friends from HS, as well as only be 1 hour—not 10 hours—from his girlfriend.
It feels strange to be going through the same process as last year (just signed the housing contract & researched dining plans), but glad he’s happy. I think his current school could have worked out fine if he’d given it a bit longer, but hopefully he’ll have a great experience at the new university AND we’ll be able to see him more. He’s trying to get his two closest friends from his current school to transfer with him 
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We are too. D23 has been home this semester filling out apps. She is more vested this time because her school did not end up being a good fit(last year she thought she’d be fine anywhere so wasn’t interested in doing much research or any visits). We are heading out of town next weekend to visit 3 schools. I am trying to stay pretty out of it. Her schools are still super reachy, so not getting any hopes up. And her backup plan is to take classes at her dad’s college this fall and transfer to the state school in the spring where she turned down full tuition last year (that stings).
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Wishing @AnonMomof2 and @MBWhitney all the best in the transfer process! My S22 transferred out of his LAC after freshman year and decided on a more mid sized university. It’s been the best decision and he’s flourishing in his new environment! His original choice was just not a good social fit for him and felt suffocating. After 4 years at boarding school (which he loved during his time there) he didn’t want to stay at a university that felt like another 4 years in a small, restrictive environment.
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We have given all three of our children the same advice during the college admission process - “Do your best to chose a school you think is right for you, but understand this is a choice you can remake. Transferring isn’t a sign of failure, it is a sign you recognize when something isn’t working and figure out a different solution”.
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Sending my kid back to school when she’s sick and sad was a million times harder than dropping her off in September when she was happy and excited 
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Son was back for spring break and we had a wonderful time together. It is so sad to see him go off after a break. Doing well in school but no real social life to speak of, kind of like HS. Seems to be quite happy and looking forward to enjoying the summer. Got his own apartment for fall and is super excited about that too. Definitely hustling a lot more. Good to see them grow up.
My last two bottles of Sexual Chocolate beer went missing…still trying to sort that one out. Any clues? 
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I cannot believe it has been a year since our kids were all making their final decisions, and in 6-8 weeks their freshman years will be complete! D23 traveled with new friends for spring break, and we missed her, but then we went to see her dance company performance recently and had the best time! The student-run company is unbelievable with what they do on a limited club budget. They sold tickets via tables on Locust and she had two prospective students approach her (after their campus tour) and ask all about ballet/dance at Penn. I think the grind of finals will begin soon, and then she is home for a week or so before heading back to campus for summer research. She continues to be happy and we are so grateful for all of the opportunities for growth there.
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D23 has sent me the livestream links to all the dance team halftime performances. We’ve enjoyed watching her in those and catching some of the student color commentary of the basketball games (unintentionally hilarious at times).
She is figuring out her summer plans right now. She will be taking a summer school course on campus but may also be offered a fantastic opportunity in her desired field; she has the last interview this week. If everyone can send good vibes, they’d be much appreciated.
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Sophomore housing lottery started today. S23 was really torn between staying at the frat house or with his buddies (not in the same frat). As pledge class president, the frat was really pushing for him to stay in the house. I am happy my son got a first lottery day pick and he chose a double suite with a good buddy. The bonus is 2 other friends are in the double across the hall.
Had to let him make his own choices but he is a kid who really thrives on wearing lots of different hats and I think him living in the frat would have been just too much of one hat.
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