Maybe it was just because it was their first week back in school, but I’ve noticed that when the school bus stops in my neighborhood, the young kids run to get on it. They look so excited that they almost can’t be bothered to say good-bye to their parents. The second the doors open, they bound up the stairs like they don’t feel the extra weight of their backpacks and lunchboxes. School isn’t about their GPAs, getting into AP chem, or improving their weakest subjects. It’s a fun place that’s all about discovery.
The happiest and most successful college applicants are the ones who enjoy learning. They may not love every subject, but they always have a favorite class and teacher. They don’t want to turn off their brains when school lets out for the summer. And they can’t wait for the intellectual supermarket of college, whether or not they end up at a prestigious school.
If I could give one piece of college admissions advice to those parents at the bus stop, here it is: help your kids keep running to the bus. Don't worry so much about getting them into the right private school or whether or not they can add and subtract as well as the neighbor's kid. Just keep them running to the bus, and the rest will take care of itself.