Thanks ucbalumnus - nice recent win at Big Game!
The public high school they attend is very competitive, and the students definitely wind each other up. I dont think that my sophmores friends are actively talking about this amongst each other right now, but because he has seen this process first hand with his older brother and he has a couple of friends also with senior sibs going through the same thing - it has come up in conversation. My husband and I have consistently told both our boys there are several paths for each journey and that no one way is the best or right, that it’s just a different path. Whether that means having a less stressful high school experience and considering community college first, or going to a school that is not in the top WHATEVER number, it all leads to continued growth. We really have been supportive of what internally movitates our boys and are very careful to try and keep stress at a minimum when possible. Our family has been through some serious life stuff with my cancer diagnosis and we try to remind our kids that mental health and wellness are just as important as where they end up after high school. This whole process is so much more complicated and stressful now with how many schools these kids apply to with reaches, matches, safeties etc. In the old days when I applied decades ago, it was vastly different. And finally yes, I think his older brother will look at not getting into one of his top 4-5 choices as a failure because he has worked so hard for years. We have told him he will end up at the school where he was meant to attend and that his effort has been tremendous and he should take such pride in that, but you know when mom and dad say things sometimes it’s ignored lol. I am actually kind of relieved that my younger one is evaluating if all this intense focus is worth it, in the long run. He will be ok, and yes we have already pointed out to him that there are PLENTY of schools he can attend without the crazy stats and 8-10 AP courses if that’s not how he wants to exist the next couple of years. lol
I was just hoping that maybe some other parents have gone through same and could share their experiences.