How is your HS senior feeling/acting these days?

[Anonymous]

My D is just beginning to get motivated, working on her essay and trying to decide if she wants to apply ED to one of her top two choices. I think she cares more about getting the process over with than with where she ends up, which I'm struggling with. I'm not doing so well with the "whatever happens" approach but doing my best to keep my angst to myself...

[Anonymous]

In my house college applications are that "thing we must not speak of". We know our daughter is feeling the added stress of application season on top of her classes and fall sports. My D says she has a handle on the applications and has been diligently working on her essays since the summer. She won't let us read her essays but has reviewed them with her English teacher and HS counselor. So we are staying clear and letting her take ownership of the process. She applied to a rolling admissions safety school (her idea) and got in so at least she knows she's going to college next year. She still manages to go out with her friends and teammates on weekends and seems excited about her school's Homecoming. So I guess she's handling it as well as can be expected. My worry is my slacker S who will be applying in 2 years--can't see him willingly spending time on essays and applications...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opposite of all the other kids mentioned so far. Still unmotivated and hasn't done a thing to look at college info on his own. They are working on the essay in school. He hasn't done anything else. He had to look at the Common App prompts to pick one to work one. But that's it. It's like pulling teeth. We are trying to do a weekly college meeting to avoid constant nagging. Not working so well. Pretty sure he's going to end up at big lower tier public or possibly small not-highly-ranked LAC if it offers enough aid. I have done a lot of research and we've done a lot of college tours but he just doesn't seem to care that much. I vacillate between being terrified he'll lose his way at the big school and feeling it's okay, lots of people are happy with it and if he's ok with it, I need to chill. Bottom line, I'm the one who's worried and I can't wait until this is all over.

Is a a procrastinator? I remember waiting until the deadlines loomed for mailing out my applications (no online process back in the day). The applications are a little time consuming but the essays are fairly straight forward and short. Once you've done one, the others come together pretty easy.

Maybe write down a list of deadlines for the schools he is interested in and give him the list. Sometimes it helps to see that you don't have as much time as you think you do.

Does he know what he wants to major in?

Yeah, he's totally a procrastinator, which he comes by genetically. He expressed interested in applying ED to one school and I told him to look up the deadlines, which he did. Also he knows that the state school he likes has an early scholarship deadline. If not ED, I feel like there's quite a bit of time for regular decision, except for getting recommendations. He's interested in chemistry and political science at the moment.