| College angst, Pt. 1 | |
| Avoid talking to parents of other
seniors. It will only make you feel worse
to hear how many applications Johnny
has finished, and which schools Mary is
applying to.
Take pressure off by evaluating deadlines. Many deadlines are Jan. 1, but some aren't until Jan. 10 or 20, or early February. One way to narrow your list is to eliminate schools with deadlines that are too difficult to meet. Words to never escape your lips:  ''If you don't get going, you aren't going
to get into any school!'' ''All your friends are finished!'' ''How can you be so irresponsible?'' ''You're going to get stuck at some
Podunk school!''The student who procrastinates on applications is likely to be the same person who puts off packing next August. A teen who is totally stuck may be sending a loud non-verbal message: ''I don't want to go to college now!'' Put that on the table: ''I'm getting the sense that you aren't ready.'' Until recently, the advice to students who were taking a year off (known as a gap year) was to apply and then defer. Now college coaches report that applying during the gap year can distinguish an application. Students who applied for early acceptance and learned this week that they were rejected or deferred may feel the disappointment more powerfully than you — or they — expected. Give them time to wallow in it before expecting them to create a timeline for jumping back into the process. |
 |