<p>I agree completely with oldfort. I do think that the frustations with situations at the school are things that you are likely to come across at most colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your support (and thank you for the most part for not tearing me apart!). </p>
<p>S has another week and he will be home and will have completed first semester exams. I hope with his workload plate empty, we will be able to have some good conversation about “Plan B” with a healthy dose of also gearing up for the next semester and making the best of it. It will be interesting to hear his views on what he might be looking for when considering other options - I think one will be to be a little closer to home.</p>
<p>abasket, why would people tear you apart? </p>
<p>I happen to think that your frustrations are very understandable. I have shared some of the same frustrations. I just don’t think that the grass will necessarily be greener somewhere else. If your son hits it off with a small group of friends (at this school or a new one), that could really make a huge difference!</p>
<p>Oh, and one more thing. </p>
<p>So apparently no one reading this HAS taken upon themselves to call the school and “complain”? That is kind of interesting to me. I haven’t as I have mentioned, but may go ahead and write a letter just for my own satisfaction of getting it down on paper, but will take the advice and not go ahead and sent. :)</p>
<p>(sometimes people at CC can take one question in turn it into a “quit helicoptering” or “stay out of your kids life” stance and it CAN get ugly!!! - before you know it, the thread takes on a new, not helpful life!!!) :)</p>
<p>^^ Oh, okay, that’s true. </p>
<p>I happen to think that you have legitimate concerns and frustrations. I don’t know how many parents have called to complain. I have not, but at my youngest son’s current school they have CALLED US! They called all parents of freshmen (at least this year) and they really wanted to know how things are going (good and bad). I don’t know if they act on complaints, but they had parents from the parent committee make calls. When I expressed a complaint, that parent told me that she heard the same complaint from other parents. Overall, I must say that we are very pleased with our son’s choice and our son is very happy with the choice that he has made.</p>
<p>Complaining would have to be directed at different departments, as your complaints are varied. You’d have to do several letters/e-mails to make the biggest difference. When D’s school sent me a survey, asking me what I thought of their orientation, I let them have it. It was the biggest waste of time. </p>
<p>I think part of the problem is both of us have other children attending other colleges. They are happy and the schools appear to be running much better. You can’t help but compare the schools.</p>
<p>I did make one complaint to D1´s school when she was a freshman. I was disgusted by their communal bathroom when I had use. I called up their housing/maintenance department and asked them how often they cleaned those bathrooms. I told them that it was a health hazard, and they needed to clean it at least once a day. D1 did tell me that the bathrooms were a lot cleaner after my call.</p>
<p>I feel for you and your son.Have read your previous post and could of written some of them myself.it has been a long 4 months and I wish my D would just transfer but she is trying to make it work.One thing she does like is the classes so that is what is keeping her there.Unfortunately your son doesn’t have that.Stress takes toll on student and family and I was at my breaking point two weeks ago and actually told her she is done there out of frustration.Well for some reason some things are clicking and she has two weekends in a row with no meltdowns.It’s a tough decision to transfer and me waiting for her to decide and telling her if your not happy do something about it was not working so I made the decision and for some reason things are not so bad, go figure.IMO if its not working move on.No guarantee things will be better else where but who wants to be miserable for four years.maybe just the psychological effect of knowing he doesn’t have to put up with this for four years may help him figure things out.</p>
<p>abasket, well if your son is unhappy, I can totally see why you’d be unhappy too. That’s just how we moms and dads are. Here’s hoping he feels better about things next semester. And if not… well, you’ve read how happy many posters were with their transfers. Sometimes that’s what it takes.</p>
<p>I recommend a long conversation with S to make sure it goes beyond the challenges of adjusting to a new environment. If it’s a bad fit, then transferring may be the best option. I was in that situation many, many years ago – it was the wrong place for me and not worth the cost and difficulty of attending college on the other end of the country. I had to confront that reality and then transferred to a place that was great for me. Interestingly, one of my friends at the new college transferred to my first university in his jr year. It was great for him too. Nothing wrong with finding the right fit in sophomore or jr. year.</p>