jsmom

The same goes in our house. The wait I think is far more brutal for me than it is for my D. She's heard back and been accepted to 5 schools (2 came just the past few days). She applied to 9 - so still waiting to hear from 4. She's uncertain where she wants to go and wants to see what all the options are including scholarship/aid and then begin to narrow choices down and then revisit. She did not want to revisit a school that she may rule out. So in the meantime, she's trying to just have fun with her friends realizing that time will soon be coming to a close as well. We try to let her initiate the college talk. I asked her if she wanted me to text her if she's out and a large envelope arrived in the mail and she said "no it can wait until I get home". So I guess she's just much better at compartmentalizing and dealing with things than I am!

Schmoomcgoo

Can I ever relate to that! My daughter out-and-out refused to apply to any schools in the state of Michigan! (We moved here a few years ago from California and she may never forgive us.) So many of her friends have had acceptances since October (maybe earlier, even) or even known where they will go.

Map, what a brutal reality check! Since my daughter applied to no in-state schools I've always known that when she goes to school she will be far away and visits home will be infrequent, but the nearest I've approached the "last milestone" tallying is to acknowledge this is her last semester of high school! I know it's the right thing for her, so that helps, but...I think I approach knowing what a panic attack feels like when I think in terms of "this is the last haircut at home" and such.

No doubt we'll all find solace in "Boo Hoo My Kid's Gone" threads come Fall!

jude_36

I always thought that I was a well-rounded person, that I had lots of interests of my own outside that of being a parent, but I have to say that I am really struggling with all of this. I want my child to go off and live her own life, but I really have been doing the 'this is the last XXXX before she's gone' for a while now.

And now the waiting to find out WHERE she's going to end up, and the worrying about her heart being broken when she gets rejected... I already told my youngest that she just isn't going to college.

And DTDad, I would never call myself a 'weepy' kind of person, but that tide has turned, and I find myself welling up over the littlest things. I think it's a combination of hormones and life changes.

citymom

Welcome!
I am also trying to vent here instead of driving my family crazy. It will be a tough wait for us and then a tough decision period as well.
For weeks we struggled with a lonely acceptance to a super-safety. No early calls, no likely letters. I could hardly function, only waited for mail. It felt that everyone is close to the end of the admission process and we are so far behind!
Last weekend made things slightly better. Now DD has three acceptances in hand. All from safeties so far. But at least one is from her "real" safety (the school she loves and is ready to go to). And getting into Honors College in another school gave her another reasonable option.
But there are still 8 apps to go. And the first waitlist ....Well, she liked the school less than her favorite safety, but you start questioning your chances after waitlists. Hopefully couple schools will reply this week.

2blue

I was doing well, but now I'm getting antsy again. So far, my son has had either acceptances or likely letters from 7 of 12 schools, one of which he has decided to withdraw his application from. He has received two financial aid offers. One could be done, but it would really hurt. The other was far better than we expected. We don't think he will hear any more about acceptances till the 31st or 1st, but boy, are we watching the mailbox for FA offers. He has only visited one of his schools, so April will be hectic. We envisioned him getting into six of the twelve at most, eliminating half based on FA, and visiting the final three. Now to see how that scenario plays out. The good thing is he is very pragmatic about the FA end of things. It must be tough for the parents and kids when the kid is set upon school A, whatever the cost.

My son is dealing with waiting just fine. He has been having a very busy senior year, plus working on scholarship applications, complete with more essays. I think this year has been one long essay writing session for him. We've both been surprised with how busy this senior year has been.

coureur

One of the most delicious things about having the acceptances roll in is that the admissions shoe instantly moves to the other foot. Now instead of your kid having to plead with the schools and try so hard to demonstrate his/her excellence and sincere "interest," it's now the schools' turn to grovel, to recruit your kid, to show how wonderful they are, to demonstrate *their* "interest." Instead of your kid competing with the other kids for a spot at the college, the college is now competing with the other colleges to land your kid and keep their yield up.

wedgedrive

Knitmom,
Thank you for starting this thread. I am relieved to see quite a few of us parents finding we are more fretful about admission decisions than our children! I am doing my best to not ask DD if she has received any e-mails from colleges. She appears quite blase about the whole thing. She has been accepted at her safely, but hasn't heard from anywhere else. The kids talking about 'likely letter' or e-mail stuff on this site has been driving me nuts!

Oh, and in terms of missing our D, I was shopping in a mega store for the NHS dinner and stopped at the wrapping paper display, thinking I'd buy some graduation paper early to have on hand. I stood there and stood there, unable to make a decision, the whole time feeling sadder and sadder. I finally gave it up and Like Scarlett O'Hara, I said to myself , "I'll decide this another day!"

knitmom

It is so good to see I'm not alone in all of the various moods and obsessions that come along with this process! The "likely letter" stuff has bothered me, too, since she has received nothing like that. Just silence.

As for thinking about graduation itself and all the "lasts" that come with it, I have been explaining to D since she was a freshman that I am likely to be a weepy mess at commencement. (When S finishes in 2 yrs, the tears will be of relief, but that's a story for another day! LOL)

deb922

I am so nervous. My D on the other hand seems to be playing it cool. She is much more involved in her HS drama. Me, I know too much and it's killing me.

gladmom

knitmom: you are not alone. My son has EA to his first choice school, but we are still anxiously awaiting the final FA package, which will determine if he can go. We probably won't get it until RD decisions go out, and not by email either. The snail mail notice of his EA admission came a full week after the early notification email. I, too, go to sleep thinking about FA, wondering if we will be ecstatic or miserable after the letter comes. His school, Stanford, has enhanced their FA, but we are on a cusp and don't know if we will be required to pay full or no tuition, or something in between. If we have to pay full tuition, it will be practically impossible to finance. Plus, my husband and I will be 65 and retiring after my son graduates, so that complicates matters even more.

Neither my husband or son wants to talk about this anymore, so here I am, talking to people I don't know on the other side of a machine. Better to share our angst with people who also want to vent.

zfam

Glad I found you all, may I join in too? We are anxiously awaiting to hear if son receives appt to the Coast Guard Academy. He seems most even-keeled of all, guess I am doing all the worrying & stressing for him. No one (friends & family) really understands unless they've been thru the ordeal, and even then they tend to brush off your fretful concerns. I feel a kinship here!

knitmom

even-keeled . . . Coast Guard <g>
We have to laugh when we can!

Glad we can all share the angst! When does he expect to hear, zfam?

zfam

thought I'd slip that in portside, knitmom(tks for noticing;-)..heck at this a chuckle is nice. We hope to hear by mid-Apr. I feel so out-of-the-loop, the service academies seem to be on such a different track than "regular" college. We went thru that process last year with oldest daughter. But it's ok,in the end, all parents share the same anxieties and concerns.

mountains

I am no longer allowed to talk about anything (and I mean, anything) college-related to S, so H has been kind enough to listen to my angst and speculations. S is so busy with ECs and academics (and the Wii Brawl) that he seems detached from the whole thing.

He was deferred ED, so you figure we have now mastered the waiting game (I wish)! All I keep thinking - this will be over in about two weeks. Oh yeah, I am fully aware of the next phase, too. I'll deal with it then. For now, Haagen-Dazs is providing a great deal of comfort.

somemom

After two kids taking me through the journey you all are now "enjoying" with reaches and mega-reaches, notifications April 1, etc. D3 learned from the proces, chose an LAC type of school, just one, with rolling admissions, got in with merit in the fall.

Then she thought maybe she would apply to one state U in case the small school did not work out to her fancy by spring, but the state U takes apps quite late (March due date) so D3 had to decide by March 1 whether or not to even apply. We received LAC finaid package, reviewed the numbers, no app to state U, she is going to to one school she applied to! Wow, how much easier than her sisters journey! I am reveling in the simplicity....but I am not trying to rub it in if you are stressed and waiting. D3 watched the other two go through this and decided "no thanks!" I guess she learned from CC too! I could not have done this without CC