<p>I am the parent of a freshman who also had a problem with housing. The person that my S spoke with agreed that it was an error on their part (won’t go into the lengthy details), but once they understood the problem they did everything to work with my son. He is very satisfied with the compromise, and they also made a notation that if something that he wants opens up (they did tell him that it is very likely to happen over the summer, and they will contact him. They let him know that he is on the top of the list to get in b/c of their error). Should it not happen, he won’t be as happy, but he can deal with it. They still got him an okay room, just not the building and location that he would have chosen. I did not, and will not call. I am pleased with how my S and the school handled the situation.</p>
<p>Caligali: Yes there is something a little odd about the whole substance free dorm business. For the first year, my d. didn’t sign up for that, thinking it would be strange. In the ordinary dorms though it seems as if the out of control drinkers are tolerated in a way that I don’t remember so much from my time in college. The freshman orientation starts right out explaining that underage drinking is not accepted in the dorms and that civil behavior is expected of everyone…and then evening rolls around and drunken fools are yelling in the halls and messing up the bathrooms and throwing furniture around.</p>
<p>An update:
thanks for all the advice. I did hold off on doing anything while I waited for daughter to fix it. And now, apparently, she has gotten everything arranged. She may get a room she likes or she may get a less desirable room; I won’t worry about that, now that she is able to pick a room with the roommate she likes. I think that will go a long way towards making her feel comfortable and at home at her school, because all along she has been busy with lots of social activities and friends, but she still hasn’t felt like she really fits in. Normal, I think, for freshman year, but still uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Great news in that update. Clearly you are feeling better. I had a feeling the outcome would be better than your daughter opined.</p>
<p>Learning to deal with Bureaocracy is a special talent, whilst I would not make the call for my kid (most of the time!) I would take the time to help them come up with a script to deal with it effectively. Showing excess politeness and respect and not venting on the first person can be exceedingly helpful, especially when dealing with people who receive a lot of being dumped upon- like say, a cell phone billing dept, cable TV, an insurance company, etc. Being polite and not placing blame (even when merited by the company, it is not usually the fault of the person with whom you are speaking) when most people do rant and rave can get you miles ahead within the realm of the power of that person. it’s never too early to learn these lessons in lfe :)</p>
<p>congratulations to D of orangepurple! College is about learning and learning to deal with whatever life throws at you. She has jumped her first big hurdle!
congrats to orangepurple for letting D work it out. That is one of the hardest things to do.</p>