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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP again. How big a deal is being "excited" about a college, anyway? Anyone's child end up loving a school they only grudgingly attended? Looking for some hope here.[/quote]

I think there's a pretty big gap between being "excited" and going "grudgingly."

I was a bit concerned because DD didn't seem really excited about any of her options, at any point in the process. It's not like she had a dream school she didn't get into, she had a lot of options, and she's ready to go to college. As we talked about it recently she shared that she's not really expecting college to be this amazing, life peak experience because through her summer camp job she's spent a lot of time with older staff who are already well into college. They generally like their schools but have given her a very realistic view of what college is like. Sure, it's a good next step in life and she's satisfied with her choice, a place that meets most of the things on the pretty long list of what she wanted and it will be fine. That's probably a healthy mindset to have vs over-the-moon-excited which probably has unrealistic expectations.

Going grudgingly, however, seems like a really bad mindset to start off with.[/quote]

That's pretty much how I felt about college, even in the middle of it. It was just that natural next step, you know? I suppose I just figure if he could get excited about something else, anywhere else, the rejection won't sting as much.[/quote]

I think when a kid has latched on to one a stand out dream school, it's unlikely they will get excited about something else at this point in the process. So you come at it logically. Put the best app together that you can for dream school, get really clear on the factors that are important to you and put together a list of alternatives that can meet most of the needs. If they don't get into dream school you cope with the rejection then and focus on the options you have. At that point he may be able to see them more clearly. [/quote]

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