My son has just under a month until he'll be moving home after his first year at college.  So far, so good. He's managed to get decent grades, get a very minimal part-time job on campus (begged someone to give him a few more hours, although still not what he hoped for), and he met his first girlfriend.

He'd hoped to take summer school on his campus and possibly live up there, but the $110 per week for the room was a little steep for his budget.  Then the courses offered this summer weren't really what he needed, so he's opting for community college and transferring them in.  He's talked to his advisors and everyone's on board with his choices.

He's gone through the lottery and chosen his dorm for next year, although he had to give up his vegan roommate so the roommate could be bumped into the full apartment style dorms and possibly survive another year on campus.  My son's in his last choice of dorms, since the school has made several decisions to move grad students on campus from an off-campus apartment complex, took the neighborhood houses off the choice list and offered those to visiting faculty.  He was overly optimistic that there would be a chance he'd be able to get into at least one of the apartment dorms.  There might be a miracle given the school mostly pulls from a 30-mile radius and some kids might opt to drive, but he's made peace with his new roommates and his dorm (right across the way from the full kitchen for when he wants to cook).  The dorms were built for the Dallas Cowboys summer practices, but what was awesome in the 1970s apparently don't command the same panache in 2009.

He's starting to look around for a job (not knocking himself out though), but he's gotten his registration appointment for the community college, where he's taking either six or nine units.  If he takes Intersession next January, he'll have enough units to be a senior and he'll move up in the housing lottery quite a bit for next year.  He's interested in a couple of online only courses, and at least one that meets at the school itself.

The big news is that when he gets out next month, he's supposed to go to the DMV and test for his permit to drive (please, please, please!). 

I can't believe that a year ago he was wrestling with the decision on which school to go to.  I now have friends schlepping their kids across country doing the same things.

Has anyone had any success with an online only class?  Is your colllege student looking at summer school or a job, or both?  How many units would it take for you to be concerned it's too much?  How do you handle curfews and other issues when an adult moves back for such a short time to make the most of it?