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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a parent of a college sophomore and a high school senior, so I've been on this site a lot over the past few years.

I've recognized a sort of cadence to the threads:
August-November - optimism. Families asking for school suggestions for their "high stats" student. Everyone underestimates the importance of safety schools. Everyone is high on life and possibilities.

November 15 - December 15
venom or bragging
Depending on how your ED decision lands, you are either estatic and bragging about being a "good parent" or you are lashing out about "hooks." (See the recent thread about legacy preference for reference)

The world is "unfair" for the first time in your precious snowflake's life...

December - everyone is refreshing the IG decision page every 10 minutes, you are looking up schools you've never heard of before and rabbit holing into some random kid from California. Your "high stats" kids scramble to look for safety schools that don't hurt their pride too much.

Panic at the disco

January- April
The honeymoon phase for ED admits. They are happily goofing off in class and gloating.

Dork rumspringa

April - 
The honeymoon ends for ED admits as all of their peers receive news from colleges. Most feel some buyers remorse "X got into XYZ?! Why did I ED?! I could have gotten in too!" 
Everyone is so exhausted and desensitized by this point that the yeses and nos just collect in a bucket to be analyzed and thought about at the last possible moment. You probably don't even check the IG "decisions" pages anymore. It's just exhausting.

May
No one cares anymore. because it all, mostly, worked out for most kids. Sure, there is a striver or two who got screwed because they didn't have any real safeties, but they usually get off a waitlist at Michigan or somewhere equivalent by August.

Travel safely my fellow parents. You will survive this. 
[/quote]

Now that we're further along, I wanted to add to this a little:

March-April:

Dreams are dashed even when kids get a surprise admit to dream school, as parents bemoan their inability to pay for the dream school. It's sooooo unfair! And the rest of us wonder why parents let their kid apply to a 90K a year school they knew they could not afford. Lots of hand wringing about how colleges cost too much and it's not fair to consider home equity.

Those who did not get in are certain someone else got an unfair advantage and "took" their kid's spot. Legacy! Sports! Donors! First gen! Had to be something.

And some make themselves feel better by insisting it's yield control. [/quote]

Boy parents: it was a bad year for boys. So unfair!
Girl parents: it was a bad year for girls. So unfair! [/quote]

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