The admissions decision drama is about to start. Everyone involved—students, parents and counselors—can find some comfort in the fact that like a predictable movie, we can all guess the plot and how it’s going to end (spoiler alert!).
The drama will start with the early application decisions. Some students will celebrate getting accepted to their dream schools, while those who are denied and who refused to work on their other applications will spend their holiday breaks slogging through their remaining work.
It will continue with the remaining decisions arriving between now and mid-March. You’ll see tears of both victory and college decision despair.
There will be backstabbing, as heartbroken applicants tear down the qualifications of kids who were admitted. When you hear, “He only got in because (insert any unsubstantiated reason here),” it’s happening.
Admitted students will buy sweatshirts. Those denied will write appeals and second guess their test scores, GPAs, and whether or not they should have done more community service.
Parents are going to use words like “thrilled” or “devastated” to describe their kids’ mental states.
Some families will laud the assistance of anyone who promised to write letters of recommendation or to otherwise put in a good word. Others will blame their connections for seemingly failing them when they needed help most.
Here’s how it all ends.
In September 2013, pretty much all of the students will be packing their bags to head off to colleges they’re excited about. It may not be to a school that was their first, second, or fifth choice, but nobody who’s moving into a dorm cares where the school sat in the original collegiate pecking order.
Parents will watch their kids leave for college. The pride they’ll feel will make up for any sadness about the empty nests.
Kids will start their collegiate lives with new friends, classes, and experiences.
Just about everyone will feel thankful that the process turned out like it did.
If you want proof that this is how the drama ends, hang around a few college freshmen who come home for the holidays this winter. Look how proud they are of where they go to school and how happy they seem, even if they were suffering from a dream school’s denial just one year ago.
So here’s my advice. If you’re a senior or the parent of a senior, remember that this is all going to be OK. It’s easy to fall in love with one desired college admissions outcome, but remember that plenty of people who didn’t get into the school they thought was the one still found collegiate love somewhere else.
If you’re a freshman, sophomore, or junior, remember that the drama you’ll see play out in the next few months is mostly exaggerated. Your future success and happiness will depend a lot more on your character and your work ethic than on one school’s admissions decision.
And if you’re a counselor, keep being a supportive, understanding ear for parents and kids. For those students and parents who can’t see past the immediate drama, feel free to spoil the ending for them by reminding them how it’s all going to turn out.