Christine VanDeVelde: Home

Photograph by Daniel Milnor

A feast of doubts for college freshmen come Thanksgiving

It's called the "turkey drop" – when first-year college students break up with their high school sweethearts over the Thanksgiving holiday. But there's a risk that freshmen might break up with their college, too.

The turkey drop is just one of the precipitating factors. Homesickness, roommate conflicts, academic pressures, difficulty forming new friendships – any of them can cause college freshmen to leap to the conclusion that they've chosen the wrong school and that transferring to another is the answer.

In most cases, though, students shouldn't let a moment of self-doubt make them start the college application process all over again.

It can happen no matter how mature or accomplished a student is... MORE>>

This year, 'senioritis' may have dire consequences

Senioritis" — skipping class, missing tests, attending parties instead of athletic practice, and generally slacking off at the end of the last year of high school — is practically a rite of spring. But this year there may be serious consequences — including having college acceptance withdrawn — for those who don't finish with a strong academic record.

In the past, when students received the fat envelope, the suspense of the college application process was largely over. That's not necessarily so this year. Because in the 2009 college admission season — with the largest high school graduating classes in history, record numbers of applications and dwindling economic resources — colleges simply don't know how many students are going to be able to accept their offers.

To cope with that uncertainty, many colleges are admitting more students than in the past. If they find they have over-enrolled their incoming class, they may be more likely to revoke an offer of admission to those who haven't maintained top grades or fallen short in some other way... MORE>>