Senior year is apparently the worst year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Last year was worse with the pandemic. My kid checked out and shut down. He got the school and package he wanted but it was a joyless and lonely process and year.

+1. Last year was so much worse.

Seeing all the prom-related and other special activities at our HS for Seniors this year, feeling bummed for all that DS missed last year. So thankful he attends a college with a welcoming and social dorm/campus environment!

I would be surprised if any of those kids think about those things. One of my family members (and her mother) were obsessed about prom, homecoming, etc. etc. all the things she would miss. I chatted with her one day and told her how I was very excited about those things when I was in HS too. That's valid. BUT. As soon as that cap and gown was put away, I barely glanced backward for a minute to thing about high school. Any part of it. I had COLLEGE in front of me.

And you know what, that kid is in college now and having a great time. She doesn't miss HS even a little and does not feel "sad" over what she missed. You shouldn't either.

High school was superior to college for me in just about every way. My standard of living was way lower in college and I had to worry about paying for classes unlike in hs.

So you were sitting around thinking about proms gone by? Senior skip days? And all of those little traditions? Really?

That's too bad.

No. But I hated sharing a room, eating sh*t cafeteria food, etc.

Awww. You poor thing.

You poor thing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year was worse with the pandemic. My kid checked out and shut down. He got the school and package he wanted but it was a joyless and lonely process and year.

+1. Last year was so much worse.

Seeing all the prom-related and other special activities at our HS for Seniors this year, feeling bummed for all that DS missed last year. So thankful he attends a college with a welcoming and social dorm/campus environment!

I would be surprised if any of those kids think about those things. One of my family members (and her mother) were obsessed about prom, homecoming, etc. etc. all the things she would miss. I chatted with her one day and told her how I was very excited about those things when I was in HS too. That's valid. BUT. As soon as that cap and gown was put away, I barely glanced backward for a minute to thing about high school. Any part of it. I had COLLEGE in front of me.

And you know what, that kid is in college now and having a great time. She doesn't miss HS even a little and does not feel "sad" over what she missed. You shouldn't either.

High school was superior to college for me in just about every way. My standard of living was way lower in college and I had to worry about paying for classes unlike in hs.

So you were sitting around thinking about proms gone by? Senior skip days? And all of those little traditions? Really?

That's too bad.

You’re an ass. A lot of kids are bullied in college and/or socially excluded just like in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love how the answer on DCUM is always to have your kid set their sights lower as a way of finding happiness. If you have a high stats kid who has a shot at a T10 school, is it always a better decision to throw away your lottery ticket? I agree that it's a fine decision to ED at somewhere a little safer to just be finished with the process, but if a kid wants to try to get into their dream school, I don't think that there's anything wrong with it. Most students at HYPS, etc. are there because they won a lottery. Is it better not to try??

My kid applied to 12 schools and it was a slog. Yes, it was a choice, but it was a slog nonetheless. 28 extra essays, doing extra essays/interviews when some of their target and match schools identified them as scholarship candidates, etc. At the end of it all, my kid got into two top schools. Was it worth some misery during senior year for him to reach for the stars, yes. But that doesn't mean that the process isn't absolutely miserable.

It's great that your kid got into these schools- congratulations.

But I think the issue is that- for way too many kids AND parents- there's a notion that these T10/T25/TWhatever schools are demonstrably, objectively better than other schools...which is simply not the case. There are many, many amazing schools/programs and what is the "best" school for person A's high stats (STEM-loving/shy/outdoorsy) kid may not be the best school for my high stats (city-loving/bibliophile/humanities) kid.

And then these same kids/parents define a "dream" school as basically any T10 school--which doesn't make any sense...MIT is a very different school than Dartmouth, which is a very different school than Columbia. If your kid really, truly LOVES MIT, then they should absolutely apply there (and maybe Caltech)...but they should also visit/fall in love with a host of other STEM-focused schools/programs so that if they don't get into MIT/Caltech, they are in at another school that they love that is a great fit for their interests, rather than rejected from all the other lottery schools (many of which were not great fits anyway but simply checked the prestige box).

+1000
The "top x" lists are absurd. Tons of posts about this with regards to the uselessness of rankings...there is no one school (or 10 or 20 or 50) that is better for all kids (or even all "high stats" kids). The sooner people can wake up to this fact and stop giving USNews's list any credibility, the sooner we can break the fever.

[Anonymous]

FWIW I was miserable in HS: depressed, lonely. College was not perfect, but it was SO MUCH BETTER.