I love the idea of filling out the Common Application as an adult, but it also fills me with terror, so I can imagine how high school students feel. P.S. I never saw my son's Common App, and I lived.
I love this and am looking forward to subsequent parts of the series. I think we all assign too much importance and power to so many things: decisions about courses and/or activities (one over another isn't going to be the deciding factor), the Common App is just a form, the Admissions Officers are just people. Yes, put your best foot forward, but let's face it: so, so much of this process is random, dumb luck and a numbers game. That's at once crushing and a relief. I'm all about aiming high but also seeking out your people. My kid doesn't do research in his spare time, have a national ranking in a sport or a 1500 SAT score capacity....so, he's unlikely to belong at a place that gathers those people together. And what I really want him to have when he eventually goes to college is a sense of having found his place - one where he will be challenged and thrive, discover parts of himself he didn't know existed and have FUN.
Yes, a million times yes to this: "the Common App is just a form, the Admissions Officers are just people" as well as to everything else you wrote. Especially the finding your own place part. I mean, isn't that all every human being should aspire to? To be in a place where you feel like you truly belong, have fun, thrive, and get pushed to your potential but not beyond endurance?
Even though I no longer have a college applicant, I can’t quit this wisdom. Though I might warn parents of your counsel as it can result in a child living 3,000 miles away ;)And I have not read Priestdaddy but now MUST.
I will ignore that thinly veiled micro aggression and agree that you must, indeed, read Priestdaddy, posthaste. It's a combination of riotously funny, unapologetically raunchy, and heart-attack serious—like absolutely nothing you've ever read. Also, because she's a poet first and foremost, the kinds of things she does with language are insane, and it makes me soooooo happy that books like this make it out into the world and people read them.
I love the idea of filling out the Common Application as an adult, but it also fills me with terror, so I can imagine how high school students feel. P.S. I never saw my son's Common App, and I lived.
My guess is that you not only lived, but also had a much happier fall as a result!
I love this and am looking forward to subsequent parts of the series. I think we all assign too much importance and power to so many things: decisions about courses and/or activities (one over another isn't going to be the deciding factor), the Common App is just a form, the Admissions Officers are just people. Yes, put your best foot forward, but let's face it: so, so much of this process is random, dumb luck and a numbers game. That's at once crushing and a relief. I'm all about aiming high but also seeking out your people. My kid doesn't do research in his spare time, have a national ranking in a sport or a 1500 SAT score capacity....so, he's unlikely to belong at a place that gathers those people together. And what I really want him to have when he eventually goes to college is a sense of having found his place - one where he will be challenged and thrive, discover parts of himself he didn't know existed and have FUN.
Yes, a million times yes to this: "the Common App is just a form, the Admissions Officers are just people" as well as to everything else you wrote. Especially the finding your own place part. I mean, isn't that all every human being should aspire to? To be in a place where you feel like you truly belong, have fun, thrive, and get pushed to your potential but not beyond endurance?
Even though I no longer have a college applicant, I can’t quit this wisdom. Though I might warn parents of your counsel as it can result in a child living 3,000 miles away ;)And I have not read Priestdaddy but now MUST.
I will ignore that thinly veiled micro aggression and agree that you must, indeed, read Priestdaddy, posthaste. It's a combination of riotously funny, unapologetically raunchy, and heart-attack serious—like absolutely nothing you've ever read. Also, because she's a poet first and foremost, the kinds of things she does with language are insane, and it makes me soooooo happy that books like this make it out into the world and people read them.
Your message/s are so important. Keep this up!!!!