Of course, it makes a big difference not just where you study but WHAT you study. Ensure the subject matter is challenging, not just the level.
ITA. And fwiw... I am not sure that I buy that a person who is PG can only identify with people who are also PG - surely there are going to be people that your ds can find who he identifies with in other ways - through shared interests.
Which doesn't mean that all college campuses are going to be a good fit for all students. We had a *lot* of students transfer out of our relatively small university after freshman year - because the social part of life wasn't working out. I'm not so sure it was the actual mix of students or the campus itself as much as it happened because so many of the freshmen were away from home (in a far-away sense) for the first time and they missed what was familiar, missed old friends, etc. The people I knew who left after their first year all went on to other colleges and were all happy - sometimes in very similar circumstances to what they'd left at the first college. I remember wanting to leave more than a few times too during that first year too, but I lived close to home and was able to "get away" on the weekends.
Freshman classes (at our school) were typically a lot of requirements across majors, and not the most exciting classes. Once you'd gotten past that first year and were taking courses in your major, that's when the rigor started and when you started finding yourself taught by interesting profs rather than not-quite-so-interesting grad students. So that's the other thing to think through - is he really going to be unhappy forever at his current uni, or does he just need to stick it out and try sophomore year and higher level courses in his major.
Best wishes,
polarbear
