<p>I too love Poetgirl’s advice!. If he wants advice you can give it.</p>
<p>One thing that strikes me is that many kids aren’t happy their first semester. Is the problem really the school, an image problem or is it really a bad fit? It seems like this kid needs to talk that through with someone if he hasn’t. I would expect that teaching is “uneven” at most schools. He might need more of a lesson in seeking out the better profs for him and the community he is looking for than an actual transfer since it seems he decided this school was wrong before he even got there. Don’t get me wrong, the school might be wrong, but it might also be that he decided that before even giving it a chance.</p>
<p>The other thing that I wonder is if he is just picking brand names or if he really knows anything about the schools he is applying to. I would want to ask him why he selected the schools he is choosing. If he shows some depth in his reasoning and if you have the knowlege of less compeititve schools that have similar characteristics you can share that. You can ask if he is aware of the admission stats for transfers to the schools he is applying to. I find that that this is very sobering and it makes a rejection easier to take when you understand your odds. When my S and I began the college search we knew nothing and began with the Princeton Review guide to colleges. It was a quick and dirty way to narrow down the choices. When my S applied to competitive schools I thought it was important that he know that every one was a reach. Not because he didn’t have the stats but because there were limited spaces, many kids with great stats, and it is impossible to know exactly what will be striking to the individual reading the application. I know this is obvious but it is easy for some kids to forget that sometimes rejections say more about the specifics of what the admissions committee wants than it does about the student who was rejected. He should know that helps to cast a wide net to a range of schools with characteristics that he can love. If nothing else he probably knows more about what he doesn’t like now than before he went to college.</p>
<p>This kid is lucky to have you to help him.</p>