It can be a difficult experience. You work so hard to get there and then everyone is super competitive and vying for the same things. There will be fun parts along the way but the overall experience isn't best described, IMO, as "fun." I made really good friends though and that helps.

Anonymous wrote:Have they landed any internship?

My college sophomore is on one in Europe right now and has one lined up for winter break which should parlay into a summer one.

Yes!!! Loves it. Unhooked kid. Club sport, other club, lots of friends- loves classes.

They can read and write papers without AI. That will keep them busy and not get bored.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd is a sophomore transfer at Cornell. Loves the academics. Really struggling with finding community and connecting with others. The weekends are hard. She’s an outgoing kid and easily connects with others. It’s just really hard. She said that everyone is studying all the time. She’s working hard, but knows how to balance it with down time. It’s hard to find others to take breaks with. We’ve been encouraging her to go join “fun” clubs.

I think she’s going to be okay and will find her people. But yes, it’s hard right now.

College should not be this hard.

With the grade inflation at ALL colleges, they are making it easier for the kids this generation.

High school education didn’t do a good job prepping them.

Have a freshman at Harvard - overall very happy - enjoying classes , professors , extracurricular life. Speakers , friends and exploring the city. Working hard academically but making time to be active and have friends. Feels like there isn’t enough time to go to all the opportunities on campus .

Anonymous wrote:DC freshman very happy at Columbia. DC is very outgoing and a joiner, applied for and accepted into several clubs/also playing an intramural sport. No problem finding friend groups but says friend groups don't necessarily mix (yet). Academics somewhat challenging, depends on class, but is locking in and adapting.
There is much bigger party scene than we parents anticipated, Greek scene is small so parties are open to all.
+1 on waiting to see what our Californian thinks of living in cold/ice/snow (as opposed to just visiting it).

There's barely any snow in NYC anymore. But it will be brutally cold sometimes.

DC freshman very happy at Columbia. DC is very outgoing and a joiner, applied for and accepted into several clubs/also playing an intramural sport. No problem finding friend groups but says friend groups don't necessarily mix (yet). Academics somewhat challenging, depends on class, but is locking in and adapting.
There is much bigger party scene than we parents anticipated, Greek scene is small so parties are open to all.
+1 on waiting to see what our Californian thinks of living in cold/ice/snow (as opposed to just visiting it).

We have a freshman at Penn who has friends at a couple of different ivies as well as Uchicago. They are all doing ok, socializing, in clubs/arts, challenging classes is the hardest to adjust to! Parents weekend was great too

We just had parents weekend at Harvard. My DC is loving it, although not sleeping enough per his own report. Loved meeting a number of his friends, seemed like a great group of kids. Feels like the right choice for him, although I will be interesting to see how he feels when its starts snowing (he's born and raised in California).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd is a sophomore transfer at Cornell. Loves the academics. Really struggling with finding community and connecting with others. The weekends are hard. She’s an outgoing kid and easily connects with others. It’s just really hard. She said that everyone is studying all the time. She’s working hard, but knows how to balance it with down time. It’s hard to find others to take breaks with. We’ve been encouraging her to go join “fun” clubs.

I think she’s going to be okay and will find her people. But yes, it’s hard right now.

Cornell is a very very cliquey school socially. Did she rush this fall?

No. Like I said, I’m sure it’s all going to be fine. I think that it’s just a little harder for transfers. Not impossible. We’re going up for parents weekend on Friday. I’ll get a better sense of what’s going on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard freshman very happy overall. Loves the community and classes, access to professors and guest speakers.

Plenty to do on weekends but disappointed that more kids don’t go to football games. That’s the only complaint.

That's always been the case re: football, with the exception of the Harvard-Yale game. It's mystifying to me why H pours money into that sport.

Because its Harvard, and they want to win at everything. Which is what the football team appears to be doing this year in spades.

For a counterpoint, DC is a freshman at Cornell and enjoying the first semester. Is it perfect? No - usual freshman concerns about finding friend group, making sure they picked right classes, etc.

But overall Cornell is turning out to be the right school. Yes, classes can be tough (especially in STEM), but DC said Cornell has the level of intensity they were looking for. Friends appear to be like-minded. That level of intensity might not be for everyone, but isn't that what you'd expect for Cornell? That's why DC applied there.

As for cliquey, DC fortunately hasn't seen that yet, or is at least avoiding groups where that's a thing.

Haven't been through a Cornell winter yet, but so far really happy DC is there.

Anonymous wrote:Harvard freshman very happy overall. Loves the community and classes, access to professors and guest speakers.

Plenty to do on weekends but disappointed that more kids don’t go to football games. That’s the only complaint.

That's always been the case re: football, with the exception of the Harvard-Yale game. It's mystifying to me why H pours money into that sport.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is at an Ivy and over the weekend, as part of a larger gathering we saw the parents of 3 former classmates who are also at Ivies.
The common theme was that none of the kids are particularly happy so far--difficulty finding community, missing school spirit, wishing there was more to do on campus and frankly being bored. What is also common is that none of them feel like they can complain and they all say some version of "I figure it has to get better."
The schools are Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth and Yale.

It's pretty common.
You might find this helpful: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1242842.page

'

I found some inconsistencies with that old summary very accurate based on my freshman's HS friends so far. We should revisit it all post-Thanksgiving. Can someone remember to make a post? Here's that summary - would be helpful to add your personal experience by school? esp where it conflicted with what's written.


Yale: Its what I expected. Go to NYC more than I thought. I've met a lot of kids from similar private schools across the country. Classes are really interesting. Love my professors.

Harvard: Yes, we do go to MIT to socialize. More striverish than I expected. But Im keeping an open mind. Classes are ok.

Penn: Miserable. Can't get into frat parties. Social dynamics are driven by cliques that formed in New York high schools.

Williams: Social life dominated by bratty NY douchebags. Its kind of ehh. Thought it would be more intellectual tbh.

Duke: Less work than expected; way more fun than expected. Not dreading going back to school. Feels like home.

Northwestern: It's meh; not much of a social life; taking mid-terms every 2 weeks. What I expected though.

UChicago: Econ classes are tough but everything else is really manageable. Very very fun. Very social. Hazing so far involves bottlecaps.

Cornell: Its cold and gray. And a lot of drinking. Worried about rush. And hazing. Social life is exhausting - constantly reaching out to people to make plans. Nothing is organic.

Vanderbilt: Great fall. Love love the football weekends. School is much harder than I thought. Social life can be cliquey and sometimes exhausting.

Michigan: It's amazing. Yes, it's big. But it's amazing. Did I say its big? Oh and the hazing is scaring us.

Emory: Its pretty boring. Thinking about transferring. Everyone is pre-med. And leaves campus A LOT. Not much to do on campus.

Georgetown: Can be socially exhausting as everyone is super extroverted and always "putting themselves out there". A lot of money everywhere. Maybe sharp-elbowed in a passive-aggressive way. Smart social assertive normal kids.

UCLA: love the weather, but its kind of hard to find your people. And sometimes it feels like I go to school at an outdoor mall.

WashU: started out kind of slow and miserable. Much better. Great professors.

Wake: Exceeded expectations. I wasn't excited to go. But its been really really great. No social pressure bc of how the freshmen are grouped together with housing and classes; I cannot relate to all the comments about college being "socially exhausting". Can't wait to get back to my people there.

Wisconsin: weirdly more social pressure than expected; constantly texting folks to make plans for meeting up (dining halls, library, working out) as its not natural because of how spread out everyone is. Its socially exhausting.

Indiana (Kelley): Love my school, love my major, love my people. Found my place.

Tulane: my roommate hasn't gone to class yet this year. There are only 8 people who attend my stats class regularly (in a class of 80). I may transfer.

U-Miami: Have a great tan. Very fun. But its more work than people think.

Bucknell: School isn't hard. Very social. Already have an internship. Go out 3-4 nights a week. Can't wait to get back.

NYU: loving the city. Classes are as expected. But love the city.

Wesleyan: a little too activist, purple-haired protest vibe but its better now. First few weeks were hard. Classes are great though. And schoolwork isn't hard.