I can’t imagine a more effective public relations strategy for colleges than the one that occurs naturally when their students arrive home for the holidays. Just about all of them will be gushing with stories about their lives on campus, what they’re learning, who they’re meeting, etc.

For students who are still in high school, I wish there were an effective way to juxtapose these happy and fulfilled college students today with their former high school selves.

You’d likely see that plenty of them had the same stresses, disappointments, and frustrations that have sadly become so common in the college admissions process. From narrowly-missed A’s, to test scores that just wouldn’t break the desired barrier, to disappointing decisions from their most desirable colleges, these students have all been where today’s high school students are.

And yet here they are today, happy, excited, and proud of where they go to school. It’s not because they are just a lucky rare few for whom things work out. The truth is that when you have so many great colleges from which to choose, just about everybody ends up someplace where they can have a fulfilling and enjoyable four years.

Are there exceptions? Sure. Things sometimes don’t work out between a student and a college, often for reasons that could never have been predicted. Jobs, relationships, and life work very much the same way. But those situations, thankfully, are the exception. An initial adjustment to—followed by a fully-fledged enjoyment of—college is far more the norm.

High school students and their parents, I hope you’ll pay attention to what those current college students are saying when they’re home. And I hope you’ll take that as evidence that there are good things waiting for you on the other side of all of this college-planning pandemonium, no matter which school you ultimately decide to call home for four years.