Dropping Off the Firstborn at College
People have been very kind this week, asking me how I am doing, whether we have heard from Emily, how the drop off went. Honestly, it is still a bit of a blur, and I hope that when the focus clears,...
View ArticleThe First 30 Days of College: New places, new faces and classes too
Watching Emily’s entrée to college has been something like watching the manic episode of a kindergartner at her first trip to an amusement park. There are lots of fun things to do, and so many people...
View ArticleSecond Verse, Same as the First
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons. “Getting In,” our column on college admissions, continues with writer Elizabeth Frederick moving on to child number two. Will she be wiser the second time around??...
View ArticleSandy Brings College Applicants Halloween Fright
It is no coincidence, I think, that the last two pulses of media input I have received have been: 1) a story on NPR paying homage to the Halloween season which described the scientifically...
View ArticleWelcome Home, Little One: A Student Returns After the First Semester Away at...
The first visit home from college is not without its bumps… With painstaking attention to her preferences, I spent time last week preparing for Emily’s first return from college. She has been gone...
View ArticleJust Older, No Wiser: College Admissions the Second Time Around
As it turns out, we learned nothing last year. I was hoping we would have gained some insights from having watched our oldest trudge through Senior year, trying to figure out where to apply, how to...
View ArticleDeferred: The Nice No
Poor, sweet Grace. She got deferred by her early action school yesterday. Results were posted electronically at 4pm, and students were able to log on to a secure website, and learn what fates the...
View ArticleWith One College Acceptance in Her Pocket, Should Student Withdraw from Some...
Halleluiah! Grace got into college! It is not her first choice school, but it is an excellent option that delivers peace of mind. I can’t tell if she is happy or just relieved. My reaction to her...
View ArticleTo Transfer or Not to Transfer? That is the Question for Unhappy College Co-ed
It is hard for any of us, much less a confused, unhappy nineteen year old, to sift through the many truths of life for clarity. Such is the challenge for Emily, who thinks she wants to transfer. She...
View ArticleGetting In: The Ivy League
Nassau Hall, Princeton University. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Most of the Ivies will release regular admissions news this Thursday, March 28. Brown, Columbia, Princeton, University of...
View ArticleVictory Lap!
She’s in! And has had a few days to celebrate with the victory lap. Grace got in to her first-choice college. Honestly, I don’t think she absolutely knew it was her first-choice until after she...
View ArticleA Season of Lasts: Waxing Sentimental As High School Senior Heads Toward...
Her last spring concert. There she stands, on the stepped up bleachers, facing the darkened auditorium, so many spring concerts behind her. She is beautiful. Radiant. With the light of possibility...
View ArticleWalking Forward, Looking Back
Graduation was more than a month ago, even though it feels like we’ve just stopped celebrating. Grace didn’t want it all to end – the parties, the excitement, friends all talking about the fun they...
View ArticleProof of a Happy Childhood
How is it over? I don’t think I looked away, but somehow I didn’t see it happening right now. Her childhood is over. Grace has grown up. And Monday, she leaves. I am stunned by the truth I have...
View ArticleTo Grace, From Mom – A Love Letter
Dear Grace, I miss you. I know it hasn’t been a whole week yet, but I do. I miss you like the sun would miss the moon, or the waves would miss the shore. For 18 years, we have been companion forces...
View ArticleParents’ Weekend: All Major Credit Cards Accepted
Parents’ Weekend. A trip to the grocery store for healthy snacks to keep in the dorm room. A trip to the local Mall for new fall clothes. Nice meals out with roommates and new friends. A pitch from...
View ArticleJohn is on the Grid
More from our writer, Elizabeth Frederick, who takes us on her third journey through the college application process in her column Getting In. This time she chronicles the experience with her son, a...
View ArticleThe SAT Name Game
Mastering the SAT takes ingenuity and a little luck is necessary. Elizabeth Frederick’s son John found this to be the case, even in getting the correct name on her son’s test. So often in life, it is...
View ArticleCollege Counseling
I am so grateful for the questionnaire that we were asked to complete by the private college counselors we have engaged to help us build John’s college list for applications. It asks questions like:...
View ArticleSpring Break, On Campus
True to the right of passage, we will spend the 10 days of John’s junior year spring break touring college campuses. We have a list blending the suggestions of our private counselors, and a few that...
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