THE APPLICATION PROCES: advice for parents

[Anonymous]

I did not write this, but I copied it from someone’s response on another thread. It is so true and good that I wanted to repost it here. This is what will help your kids the most:

Parents need to do a better job of helping kids understand that in the end, they should work hard in school for themselves, so they are educated adults and can de prepared for any college they attend, not just so they can get into a college they want. It’s the growth mindset vs. fixed mindset; excellent vs. success. When parents to do, while they may feel disappointed if they don’t get in to a college they like, they shouldn’t feel devastated and that all their hard work was for nothing. To be so stressed that a student pulls applications feels so sad to me.
Also, help your students understand that at many schools it’s a near lottery, just look at the numbers, think of all the high schools in the entire country and take the top 10% from every high school then add some international students and that is the applicant pool.
Last, I think that college have done a good job of making students believe they need to perfect environment to be happy in college. From a mental health standpoint, it’s not healthy to have our kids believe that external conditions are necessary for their happiness. Instead, help kids understand that college is where you are learning for 4 years, it’s transient and they can find contentment and fun at any number of schools if they attend with the right attitude.