I can’t say this to my kid’s face, of course, but...

[Anonymous]

I give up. It’s hard to to stay optimistic. He worked his ass off at his private school, got mid-1500 on his SAT, continued his in person volunteering throughout the pandemic (which I was not excited about, but he wanted to do it). He has had one B+ his entire 4 years of college, the rest As. His teachers speak highly of him and I believe they must have written good letters.

His counselor said his list was solid. He’s been waitlisted or rejected nearly everywhere. He has one acceptance to a “likely” and that’s it. Only one place teaming and it’s a huge reach, esp this year.

It’s hard to stay positive, happy, and upbeat for my kid. He is unexcited about the one place he got in. I know I should try to point out the positives of getting in that one place but it is so hard. I wish he would defer and take a gap year. I brought it up once but he said he isn’t interested.

I’m not thrilled with his college counselor at school. She hasn’t even checked in on his to see how he is doing. I give up on that process too. He is crushed. I am crushed for him.

I’d anyone else having this horrible of a situation? And please don’t say, “my love sucks too, my daughter only got into Emory and not Brown” or some such nonsense. His safety he got in is a safety for everyone.

[Anonymous]

*one place remaining, not teaming

[Anonymous]

*My list, not love

I shouldn’t type before my second cup of coffee

[Anonymous]

Can he apply for some rolling admissions or consider taking out a year (and spending it productively) then applying again?

[Anonymous]

This is an excellent opportunity to teach him resilience. At least he has one acceptance so he is going somewhere. Maybe an attitude adjustment is needed for both of you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry--that sucks. It is a lottery, which means there are people who lose out even though they have done everything right.

The only thing I can suggest, is to connect him with some folks who have taken a gap year, so he can learn more about it. A gap year can be amazing--and not just a placeholder while you defer college.

[Anonymous]

He could attend the safety and then transfer for junior year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give up. It’s hard to to stay optimistic. He worked his ass off at his private school, got mid-1500 on his SAT, continued his in person volunteering throughout the pandemic (which I was not excited about, but he wanted to do it). He has had one B+ his entire 4 years of college, the rest As. His teachers speak highly of him and I believe they must have written good letters.

His counselor said his list was solid. He’s been waitlisted or rejected nearly everywhere. He has one acceptance to a “likely” and that’s it. Only one place teaming and it’s a huge reach, esp this year.

It’s hard to stay positive, happy, and upbeat for my kid. He is unexcited about the one place he got in. I know I should try to point out the positives of getting in that one place but it is so hard. I wish he would defer and take a gap year. I brought it up once but he said he isn’t interested.

I’m not thrilled with his college counselor at school. She hasn’t even checked in on his to see how he is doing. I give up on that process too. He is crushed. I am crushed for him.

I’d anyone else having this horrible of a situation? And please don’t say, “my love sucks too, my daughter only got into Emory and not Brown” or some such nonsense. His safety he got in is a safety for everyone.

What does this mean? He didn't get into Emory (or similar) with >1500 SAT and near straight A average??

[Anonymous]

That's why I despise the American college exceptionalism.

Everywhere else, students are accepted on academic merit, with thresholds for grades and/or exams, which universities tweak for international students with different high school systems.

This makes the most sense, because universities remain places of higher learning, and judging based on extra-curriculars that don't have standardized norms makes comparing students impossible.

So at least in other countries, you know where you are. You're not messed around and have hopes dashed after waiting for months. As soon as you know your exam results, you also know where you're getting in.

[Anonymous]

How is everyone else doing in his school? Is it the school or there’s something wrong with his application that you haven’t noticed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an excellent opportunity to teach him resilience. At least he has one acceptance so he is going somewhere. Maybe an attitude adjustment is needed for both of you.

You try to get into, say, 10 or 12 colleges and basically get rejected everywhere after working hard and see what your attitude is like. YOU an attitude adjustment and need to learn about empathy.

Look it up. Loser.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorrt, OP. It’s been a train wreck if a year..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I give up. It’s hard to to stay optimistic. He worked his ass off at his private school, got mid-1500 on his SAT, continued his in person volunteering throughout the pandemic (which I was not excited about, but he wanted to do it). He has had one B+ his entire 4 years of college, the rest As. His teachers speak highly of him and I believe they must have written good letters.

His counselor said his list was solid. He’s been waitlisted or rejected nearly everywhere. He has one acceptance to a “likely” and that’s it. Only one place teaming and it’s a huge reach, esp this year.

It’s hard to stay positive, happy, and upbeat for my kid. He is unexcited about the one place he got in. I know I should try to point out the positives of getting in that one place but it is so hard. I wish he would defer and take a gap year. I brought it up once but he said he isn’t interested.

I’m not thrilled with his college counselor at school. She hasn’t even checked in on his to see how he is doing. I give up on that process too. He is crushed. I am crushed for him.

I’d anyone else having this horrible of a situation? And please don’t say, “my love sucks too, my daughter only got into Emory and not Brown” or some such nonsense. His safety he got in is a safety for everyone.

What does this mean? He didn't get into Emory (or similar) with >1500 SAT and near straight A average??

+1

We need to see the schools (or do similar ones if you feel your actual list is too personal to share) to have an opinion on what went wrong.

[Anonymous]

His life will go on and he will be happy. He'll look back and be thankful for the time he had where ever he goes. Right now in the thick of it, it feels gut wrenching. That won't last forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I give up. It’s hard to to stay optimistic. He worked his ass off at his private school, got mid-1500 on his SAT, continued his in person volunteering throughout the pandemic (which I was not excited about, but he wanted to do it). He has had one B+ his entire 4 years of college, the rest As. His teachers speak highly of him and I believe they must have written good letters.

His counselor said his list was solid. He’s been waitlisted or rejected nearly everywhere. He has one acceptance to a “likely” and that’s it. Only one place teaming and it’s a huge reach, esp this year.

It’s hard to stay positive, happy, and upbeat for my kid. He is unexcited about the one place he got in. I know I should try to point out the positives of getting in that one place but it is so hard. I wish he would defer and take a gap year. I brought it up once but he said he isn’t interested.

I’m not thrilled with his college counselor at school. She hasn’t even checked in on his to see how he is doing. I give up on that process too. He is crushed. I am crushed for him.

I’d anyone else having this horrible of a situation? And please don’t say, “my love sucks too, my daughter only got into Emory and not Brown” or some such nonsense. His safety he got in is a safety for everyone.

Referring to the other post where the daughter was upset because she didn’t get in where she wanted but got in W&M with merit.

What does this mean? He didn't get into Emory (or similar) with >1500 SAT and near straight A average??