Orientation - Parents Still in 'competitive' mode

bizymom
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:30:53 +0000

it may not have been a “competition” but rather part of them coming to terms with where their kid ended up.

i knew a kid who got rejected at a lot of top schools and felt he was “settling” when he accepted admission at a really fine school that just wasn’t one of the ivies’ he’d had his heart set on. after he attended the orientation and heard about how many kids there had also been ivy rejects, or better yet had rejected an ivy, he (and his parents) suddenly felt better - ie their description of the school changed from one they referred to as a school that “only ranked #X” (an expression they used during the application process), to rather a school with a lot of “ivy caliber kids who just hadn’t gone to an ivy.”

yea, it can be insulting to someone for whom that school was a happy first choice, but it was part of his dealing with it. two years later he is a happy enthusiastic supporter of the school who himself would be insulted by anyone who didn’t regard it as a top school.