This is very true. I went to college at age 18 and it was the first time I had been away from home away from adults for any duration longer than a sleepover. I thought I was ready but clearly I was not. Neither were a lot of people in my dorm. Things I was not used to:Some kids aren't ready to live away from home and when they do, they crash and burn pretty hard.
if she is ready, then, personally, i would recommend that she live in a college town just to get the full experience.
What does she want to do?
- trying to sleep in a room with a stranger who did not share a common bedtime
- trying to live with a very messy roommate with personal issues
- daily using bathrooms shared by many people where there was minimal privacy
- having to manage my own finances
- dealing with parental/friend issues when far from home
- different food (had an upset stomach for weeks)
I had been taking care of my schoolwork/schedule myself for high school so classes were not the main issue for me, it was more not sleeping or eating well and stress. I did poorly in my first year and took a year off to work. This was the case for a large amount of people in my cohort, many of whom switched to the military, trade schools, or jobs.
The year off allowed me time to grow up and realize making minimum wage sucked. When I returned to college I was a more mature commuter and this worked out much better for my personality. I did very well after that.
If your daughter has experience away from home already and has thrived she will probably be fine. I never did summer camps or camping trips and we never took vacations so I had little experience away from home and it showed.
Statistics: Posted by Elsebet — Wed Apr 03, 2024 1:10 pm — Replies 103 — Views 4638