Mine got a touse bid and had an incredible freshman year. Bonded with his pledge class and has a tight group of brothers whom I'm guessing he'll be close with from decades from now. Made a fantastic GPA, helped in no small part by older fraternity brothers in his major and the house test banks. Gets invited to the best parties, tailgates and mixers on campus, and took a gorgeous girl to his formal on the lake. He's already networking with alums for lucrative internships and jobs (and he just finished freshman year!). The future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades.

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

Harvard was magical.

Kid is living the crimson dream.

Stuff it haters!

Well, at least you’re being humble about it.

There were highs and lows honestly. But excited to go back for sophomore fall. A little out of sorts being back home without the usual grind and missing the college friends

Anonymous wrote:This forum gets so angst-y about admissions, but I’m guessing ultimately everything turns out pretty darn great upon matriculation. Would love to hear about your DC’s first year experience!

I mean, not necessarily. Many freshman go into college with high expectations as though they won at life and then get hit with being the low men on the totem pole in all ways. Especially hard for the boys.

Why do people use words like “magical” for this kind of thing? Glad your kids are happy but the idea of college being magical (or school in general as I’ve seen people describe their schools like that too) is ridiculous

Yes- DC had a great year socially, emotionally, and surprisingly, academically. Better first year GPA as a college freshman than a HS freshman!

There were some disappointments... turns out that teenagers don't magically mature at HS graduation. So there were some social hiccups and stupid backstabbing/ gossiping/ exclusionary games; but my kid found a good little group toward the end of the first semester. In the same vein, they were shocked by how badly some kids behave in the dorm... smoking weed in the stairwell, running down the hall screaming and banging on the walls/ doors in the middle of the night, pulling the fire alarm.

Academics were a massive, happy surprise. My kid went to an IB high school, and is breezing through a pretty selective college. Made dean's list both semesters, despite having struggled in HS. And truly enjoyed their classes. Hooray for IB and the foundation it provided for the type of work/ thinking college entails.

They're super excited to go back!

Yes.

Harvard was magical.

Kid is living the crimson dream.

Stuff it haters!

I've had two college kids so far. I'll give you a quick highlight/lowlight.

#1: State flagship, business major. Highs: Loved his college town and adjusted easily to academics. Lows: Broke up with high school girlfriend, didn't really join any activities.

#2: LAC, psych major. Highs: Did mostly well academically, loved the campus vibe and adjusted well socially. Lows: Struggled in one class that took a hit on the GPA; didn't get as involved as I had thought they would.

BUT, both were happy and excited to go back sophomore year. Kept some old friends but also made new ones. The lack of involvement really bothered me, but overall contentment and solid academics added up to good news, IMO.

My son loved his freshman year. Had a few things fall into place to make it great year. Grades improved from Fall to Spring semester. I think he would also say that his social life improved as well.

Anonymous wrote:This forum gets so angst-y about admissions, but I’m guessing ultimately everything turns out pretty darn great upon matriculation. Would love to hear about your DC’s first year experience!

I don’t know. Kids seem to transfer a lot more than they used to. When there’s so much hype built up around a process and an experience, many kids are bound to feel let down.

Kid was really happy. Got involved in lots of campus activities, made more friends than in high school. Academically, she needs to improve her study skills. We have a plan to support that next year.

Anonymous wrote:Why?

As a counterbalance to the angst!

Why?

This forum gets so angst-y about admissions, but I’m guessing ultimately everything turns out pretty darn great upon matriculation. Would love to hear about your DC’s first year experience!