I'm in! Now what?

keld
Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:16:44 +0000

Long-time lurker, occasional poster on another account, first-time thread starter. You parents are generally knowledgeable and helpful, so I thought this would be the forum to place my query.

In short, after a long and arduous college admissions process, one that only proves that the holistic approach is indeed thus, I have finally been accepted after wait list into my top choice HYP. I’m very excited to attend this wonderful college and know that I will have a wonderful time, but I guess I’m still a little worried. You see, my case is perhaps a little different from that of most of my accomplished future classmates. My grades have been inconsistent for the last few years due to personal turmoil, including the deterioration of mental health. In light of my history, then, I’m a little nervous that I won’t be able to handle my dream school.

Initially I wrote a long post detailing my situation, but now I feel a few quick, general questions to both parents and students will be sufficient, and I can provide more detailed information if by some odd chance you must hear more about my circumstances before offering advice:


How do you best deal with a high-stress, challenging environment of the sort found at a HYP? I’m very prone to stress right now and so am worried that I might be overwhelmed. Happy, yes, but overwhelmed.
If you are currently enrolled in an Ivy or have children there, what have course workloads looked like on a detailed level? Obviously everyone’s schedule is unique, but what sort of hours have you/your child been clocking in terms of homework?
What sort of questions should I be asking myself in order to figure out whether this is a good decision to make? I have not yet accepted the offer, so technically I still have some time to think about it. I really have been hoping for this school for what seems like forever, but I’m nervous now, and I guess I’m hoping to figure out if this is just typical cold feet or an instinct I should pay closer attention to.


I may have further questions later on, but I hope someone will be able to give me advice for any of the above.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to pondering your responses.