Dear Senior Parents

Dear Senior Parents,

If we were on an airplane, this would be the time when the captain tells us to fasten our seatbelts because we are about to encounter some turbulence. The next few weeks are big ones for students who applied to colleges through binding Early Decision plans, and many other students will be hearing back from schools they applied to through rolling and Early Action plans. Students are stressed, and some of you may be too, so we wanted to send some important reminders.

Your children are amazing people with bright futures. They are deeply loved—by you, by their friends, and by us. This might be a good time to remind them that no college decision will change that. (We love the letter Frank Bruni describes at the end of this column).

The college process can seem capricious at times, and in a small community where students know each other well and apply to some of the same schools, we sometimes hear about students or parents second-guessing a college’s decisions or playing the “If Only” game (If only that 89 was a 90, if only I’d volunteered here instead of there…) While it may be tough, we encourage you not to indulge this line of thinking. Colleges are balancing so many factors as they are trying to build their classes, and decisions may not always make sense. If you need help understanding an outcome or just need to vent, know that we are here. We believe that this process works even though it’s not always smooth sailing.

Students will experience admissions decisions in different ways. Those who aren’t admitted may cry or mope, or they may stoically move on to the next set of applications. Those who are accepted may be elated and relieved, or they may have mixed feelings because the “admit” means that they really will be leaving home next year and heading to college. The one response we want to avoid is coasting through the rest of the semester and year. Colleges will expect students to keep performing at the same level they have through high school, so we will join with you in reminding seniors whose college plans are set that this is not the time to check out.

We are here to meet with students and families if we need to regroup after early notifications, and we are available over break to help students who are submitting more applications. Let us know how we can support you during this time.

Best wishes,

Stefanie, Dave, and Denise, Dawson's College Counseling team