<p>Thanks so much for this thread! It has been so helpful for both parents and new students.<br>
We are on the drive back now and miss him so much already, but he sure is at an amazing school.</p>
<p>I also want to thank everyone who contributed to this thread for helping make the college transition (especially for the parents) much easier. The info shared was very helpful. Even though it rained the entire time we were there this weekend - this was a deja vu of Bulldog Days! - the weather didn’t dampen the spirit of friendliness and cooperation that is Yale. Move in was a breeze, as we were met at the curb by smiling upperclassmen wearing cool t-shirts. Everything was out of the car and into my son’s room within 5 mins. I’m so happy for my son, but it was sad for us to leave without him.</p>
<p>I agree-this thread has been wonderfully helpful. </p>
<p>And, the help and welcome we received at Yale were incredible. We were very impressed with the swarm of move-in helpers getting everything up 4 flights of stairs in a flash, with the food, with the dean we met, with the whole experience. It seems that our daughters suitemates are going to be compatible, that much thought went into their being matched up.</p>
<p>Our younger daughter is 16 and was often mistaken for being an incoming freshman, and was given many warm welcomes to Yale too! She would have been happy to stay and just forget about the next 2 years of high school.</p>
<p>:-) Yes my 16-year old S went along with his brother to bazaar last year, and was aggressively recruited by many Yale organizations who thought he was an incoming freshman as well! He really wanted to join them and start at Yale right then and there. Now we have our fingers crossed as he begins the application process so the dream could possibly be realized.</p>
<p>Ditto our HS sophomore D who was ready to sign up for Yale with the first cheer as we pulled up the loaded vehicle to L-Dub. She loved, loved, loved it and has returned to HS with a new focus. Not sure her brother has having his sister join him in mind as he works through shopping period. We were amazed at how many Yalie sibs we heard about during move-in weekend.</p>
<p>Hope everyone is settling in. Anybody else have a freshman still struggling with a schedule? So many possibilities, so little time.</p>
<p>Question: Do second-semester freshmen ever take 5 credits? Do any students ever take 5 credits? Or is 4.5 the absolute max that a sane person takes on?</p>
<p>Nine credits per two semesters is the norm but most people take 5-4 or 4-5 or 5-5 or whatever. Only labs and language classes are 0.5 and 1.5 credits respectively. Once a person stops taking labs or language, people usually take the 5-4 or 4-5 route. Five credits any given semester isn’t too crazy. One year I did 3-6! (not recommended!)</p>
<p>My S seems to have decided upon DS and Arabic. We have talked with him several times and he assures us that he can handle a challenging language with the demands of DS. Is this realistic for him? He has sought the advice of many people and received conflicting views ; he finally simply listened to his own instincts. He is so excited about this course load, wants to be challenged, and is just thrilled to be in Y’s stimulating environment. He is a fast reader (which will help with DS) and his father has studied Arabic (non-native speaker but fluent). Thoughts?</p>
<p>In hindsight, my four years were the richest learning environment I could have experienced. My regret is that I didn’t push myself more and that I didn’t squeeze more gems out of Yale’s abundant offerings. Let your DS advance on his path. Most likely, his previous accomplishments (which got him noticed by Yale) will give him a good guide of what’s enough/too much.</p>
<p>I agree with T26E4 - he should go for it. D was not in DS, but took five courses in the fall of her freshman year, which everyone, except her advisor, said would be too much. She did very well, enjoyed every minute of it, and counts it as one of her favorite semesters (she’s now a senior).</p>
<p>Thanks T26E4 - I think you are right. In discussing his courses, he said he wanted to be excited about his courses, not just taking things to satisfy requirements (an easier course like Galaxy and Stars ) or to continue on an established path (he has already studied Spanish). DH and I might find it daunting, but this courseload inspires him. </p>
<p>And thanks Booklady. Yes, certain advisors have said it will be too much. So good to hear this from those who’ve been there. I think he will love it… he is finally in his element, with his peers.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, T2. </p>
<p>I agree with you, centraleagle, that they got where they are with pretty good instincts, and so they should trust those instincts now as they choose courses. I’d be a little happier if my son would just communicate his instincts home a bit more often. It’s odd not to be directly in the loop anymore, but that’s part of this process, I suppose. My problem, not his.</p>
<p>Oh yes, wjb! From completely wound up in the loop to being expected to vacate said loop as quickly as possible! This is hard, and yes, it is my problem not his. Crumbs thrown here and there, we take what we can get - a text one day, maybe a call during the week, but scant details. I want details simply because I’m accustomed to details - for the last 18 years thank you very much! The “cold turkey” nature of this separation is so jarring - no wonder some parents on CC talk about a hole, a true aching, in themselves. Every day is a tiny bit better, but I think the mother in me will always grieve the loss of those details, even while the parent in me celebrates the larger picture.</p>
<p>I will say that occasionally - i.e., during midterms/finals, those 5 credit semesters must seem daunting, especially when they are involved in a lot of other activities. For the third year, I have suggested (only once per pre-semester) to my DD to limit her commitments, but of course this advice falls on deaf ears. Sooooo, I am sure at one point in this semester I will get a call about how there is not enough time to do everything. I suppose it is a little like childbirth, once the moment passes and all ends well, selective amnesia takes over so the process is repeated each semester. </p>
<p>I only post this so that new parents don’t think they are the only ones getting said calls.</p>
<p>I remember being a first year student (not at Yale) and looking at the catalog, and what was offered, and coming up with six courses that I thought that I could quite reasonably take, when I saw how much time was in the day. My advisor suggested that it might be a bit much.</p>
<p>Funny, what I wound up doing was shopping the courses, narrowing it down to five, and then I wound up auditing a poetry writing workshop and going to all the meetings, so that I put more work into the course I wasn’t taking for credit, than for the other ones. </p>
<p>I think shopping period is a great idea for the students although it’s very, very hard on the profs, who can’t tell who’s really in the course or not, whose names and faces they need to be working on learning and who seems to be involved but is really just sightseeing. Ah well, a high quality problem to have!</p>
<p>centraleagle–Your son may do fine with both DS and Arabic, but if his grades are low because he took on too much, be supportive. I found freshman year to be a difficult academic transition and DS and Arabic sound like a LOT to me. My parents were understanding about my grades and wouldn’t have gotten in my way if I had dropped the second semester of a new language that was kicking my butt. Language courses move MUCH faster than in high school. Your son may pull it all off brilliantly, but be supportive if he overreached.</p>
<p>wjb–Lots (most?) freshman take 5 courses second semester without a problem.</p>
<p>thanks worknprogress and admissionsaddict - this is all good advice that I will try to remember. This is a new chapter for me as well…</p>
<p>centraleagle, my S was in DS and started in Arabic, then dropped it because it was requiring about 4 hours of HW per day. In retrospect, he wishes he hadn’t dropped it because the work load calmed down after the first few weeks (he knows people who stayed in it) and because it put him behind in his quest to become fluent.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone. I just cut and pasted some of your comments and sent an email to my son just to give him some reinforcement for his decision. (I kept it brief and unemotional - just like I’m supposed to at this point!) While he might roll his eyes at my continued mention of “CC this and CC that”, he appreciates good advice when he hears it!</p>
<p>It’s nice to know that my husband & I aren’t the only ones who have been cut out of the loop cold turkey. We are not used to being in the dark about S’s daily activities and I must say, this has been tough. But, with each day it gets a little better. We’re getting some phone calls now, mostly when he needs something, but we’ll take whatever crumbs are thrown our way!</p>