<p>I have a senior boy (this may be part of the problem) who has worked very hard for the past four years and earned great grades, great scores, good ECA’s. He has wonderful prospects. We have been trying to get him to fill out his college applications since AUGUST and he’s done a page here, a little there, and now, with a week to go, he has completed maybe half of the 10 applications he was planning to send out. When we’re not watching him, he’s on the Internet (Facebook, Youtube, cartoons). He will burn hours away on the Internet. Now we are in crisis mode, and his only Early Action application was deferred. The past couple of weeks have been HELL. I don’t know what’s going on. Anything similar out there? Is this a boy thing?</p>
<p>Oh you knew my son last year. </p>
<p>When I tell you that he hit the submit button at the 11th hour of the last day to submit the last application (was Jan 15th in his case) I would not be exaggerating.</p>
<p>The more I asked about it, the more he put it off.</p>
<p>FWIW, he was accepted at that school (and is there now)</p>
<p>This is our first child (1 of 2, 2 being 13-year-old daughter) and I’m having difficulty understanding it. He doesn’t have the sterling EC profile that some kids do (president of this, editor of that, inventor of the other thing), but he’s done very well otherwise, and you would think that filling out these applications would be something he would be more eager to do. I mean, this is what he worked so hard for, right?</p>
<p>My son is a procrastinator. I think he did it just to aggravate me. He has what I have called a “stubbornality disorder”.</p>
<p>The more I bothered I am about something he does or does not do, the more he does it, or doesn’t do it.</p>
<p>But you know what? he got the applications in, he got accepted to college, he made it thru the first semester (with no helicoptering on my part) and afaik, he did all the work (final grades aren’t here yet, but midterms were b+ thru A.</p>
<p>Maybe your son is like mine, the more you pester him, the slower he goes. Believe me, it drove me INSANE to live with this for 18 years (hey mom, do we have any poster board, colored ink, etc… at 10 pm at night before a project is due). </p>
<p>But he survives in spite of my hysteria over it. And frankly I think we are both Much happier with me not knowing every detail (now that he is away at school).</p>
<p>You’re son will get it done, I’m sure.</p>
<p>College is a real big step, to some it feels sort of like being thrown in the pool in order to learn how to swim.</p>
<p>Talk to him without making threats or cajoling and ask him what he would like to be doing the next year, really like doing. It’s possible that he may not have been doing all this stuff just to be meet some self-directed goal but to please you. Or he is just a bit nervous about the next step and is just putting it off.</p>
<p>Hallomar, your son could be my 19 year olds’ twin. After being deferred 2 years ago, he finished and submitted all the rest of his applications on Dec 31. Have faith. He’ll get it done.</p>