Duke, I think, has a lot of info. on gifted students. This is an excellent time to ask them about what your child is experiencing, to know more, scientifically. The sensitivity thread runs through a lot of posts.
So maybe Duke next summer could have at least two options - one for people who never want to be alone and one for people who want alone time (broad generalizations).
For the moment, you really have to know your teen - is it so bad that coming home is the only option, are there better arrangements to be made like a nearby off campus house with a host family. How much negative emotion will the student feel coming home ahead of schedule. Regret can be problematic because you might not know how strongly you might feel it until you are feeling it.
There is nothing wrong with experiencing negative emotions as long as you have supportive people around you. The trouble is if you have family members who don't like too much emotion for too long and they just want you to hide the emotion. You clearly allow your child to talk and show emotion.
Go with whatever the gut instinct is. If you know about it, it must be bad from the teen's perspective. See if you can figure out the worst parts and fix them. Ask the teen how bad it is for them and try to gauge is it a 10 out of 10, then come home and be proud of yourself for trying in the first place.
