<p>Hi all,
I have been lurking here occasionally for some time, and have been finding myself checking in more and more often as decision dates near, so today I came out of the shadows and registered.</p>
<p>My D has been accepted to Michigan, and awaits decisions from Brown, Claremont McKenna, Columbia, Georgetown, George Washington, Rice and William & Mary.</p>
<p>We have tried to obsess only the proper amount 
but as RD dates approach, Iām thinking that apprehension loves company!</p>
<p>Pah. People waiting with an acceptance in hand donāt know the true meaning of APPREHENSION!! :)</p>
<p>Seriously, though, welcome. I think it is better to vent online than drive our kids crazy, even though reading about otherās acceptances and likely letters and so on heightens our own tension to excruciating levels.</p>
<p>Knitmom,</p>
<p>Your post is not asking for advice but I will share how we are dealing. We are taking the ālove the one your withā (song lyrics) approach. My S has been accepted in one school/program he would be happy attending. We have him fully engaged in the process of that school. Yesterday he attended a day long session for students at that school, met professors, students and spent time at the office of minority affairs to sign up for summer co-op and pre-frosh summer offerings. Iām pretty pragmatic, the bird in the hand theory is in full effect in our house. So I guess my point, have you all taken advantage of all that UM has to offer for accepted students? Even if you D does not end up going there itās a GREAT time killer :)</p>
<p>Hi knitmom, Iām the same as you. Iāve been reading these posts for quite a long time, but only registered this month when I finally couldnāt stand it anymore!</p>
<p>My daughter seems to be weathering the wait quite well, while <em>I</em> am a total wreck. She got another acceptance yesterday, so now weāre two down, six to go. I just keep telling myself that this will all be over in two weeksā¦</p>
<p>With five acceptances in hand and waiting on UVA, it may seem as if the āwaitingā doesnāt apply. But for many, the wait for financial aid packages is just as brutal. </p>
<p>My son appears oblivious and is going about his life as normal. I wake up in the morning thinking about financial aid and go to bed at night dreaming of great packages. I calculate how much āmoreā Iād be willing to pay for DSās preferred school and I fantasize about laying out 3-4 great packages and telling my son to āpickā his favorite. </p>
<p>I go to this board way to often, to the point where there is usually nothing for me to read and comment on. Considering that heās had most of his EA acceptances for a while, this has been going on way to long. I wonder what ever happened to my real life.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome, guys! And Consolation, this:</p>
<p>āI think it is better to vent online than drive our kids crazy, even though reading about otherās acceptances and likely letters and so on heightens our own tension to excruciating levels.ā</p>
<p>is EXACTLY what is going on with me! Ditto jude_36:</p>
<p>āMy daughter seems to be weathering the wait quite well, while <em>I</em> am a total wreck.ā</p>
<p>DTDad, I appreciate the advice. Itās a little tricky in that Michigan is her absolute last choice (too close to home, too many family ties), they donāt really have her intended major (IntRel), and she applied mostly to appease dad & granddad. Still, she was relieved to have an acceptance, in part because sheās one of very few at her school who is applying to anything but in-state Uās, and her college-bound classmates have known for months where theyāll be next year.</p>
<p>Knitmom, </p>
<p>That does make a big diffrence if itās her last choice, the engage tatic might not be as effective :)</p>
<p>My son and I have developed a ritual to help pass the time of identifying milestone āholidaysā to celebrate between now and āsuper Mondayā (March 31, when he hears from the majority of his schools). These include such major occasions as āthe last haircut youāll haveā, āthe last check Iāll write to your high schoolā, and āthe last meeting of (fill in blank with various extracurricular activities)ā before results come in. Less tongue-in-cheek and making me quite sentimental is his upcoming ālast birthday celebration at homeā, an excellent reminder to me to be careful not to wish away any precious time.</p>
<p>Iām so happy that DD has two acceptances, one to the state school and one to the private school we like best. </p>
<p>She also has two rejections from two of her reaches, which, in the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, Iām pretty happy about (āThey would have been too stressful!ā). Iām really grateful for the Alphabetic List of Schools here at CCālooking at the kids who have been turned down at these reaches is very, very sobering. I think this was a tough, tough year.</p>
<p>Very true, map, that itās all too easy to wish away these days. The phrase D & I have been using is āDwell in possibility . . .ā It is good to still be able to dream before the hard realities and thin envelopes set in!</p>
<p>Knitmom - I want to tell you that my son is a freshman at University of Michigan -OOS - and absolutely loves it. He was never the most ougoing and I worried about him being so far away from home at a big state u. He has pledged a fraternity, made tons of friends - already planning summer trips with them, and is much more mature than I have ever seen. I would highly recommend this school!</p>
<p>Sorry, Knitmom. I didnāt read all the posts to realize that UM is her last choice!</p>
<p>Map,</p>
<p>Funny you should mention the ālastā things. My wife has developed a pattern of crying at strange times. I never connected the dots but your post has given me some insight into whatās going on. She is ticking off events before our dear son leaves homeā¦</p>
<p>Gosh I just started cryingā¦ wowā¦</p>
<p>Not talking about it at all seems to be the preferred method in our house. I texted son during his lunch period yesterday about a large envelope and did not hear back, and he was not jumping for joy when he got home after rehearsal. I think heās been doing a lot of thinking about about what path he wants to take. (He had an interview for a gap position last weekend, so things are nowhere near settled and wonāt be for a whileā¦) So I am not going to ask at all. Not at all, honest! Thereās no need to bring it upāhe has not forgotten, just because he doesnāt talk about it. So knitmom, this is a good ideaāI hope it helps me continue to bite my tongue.</p>
<p>Interesting set of schools to which your daughter applied! Big, little, in-between. North, south, east, west. Big city, small city, suburban, exurban. Iād say you had covered the waterfront, except that Ann Arbor isnāt really near the water.</p>
<p>The same goes in our house. The wait I think is far more brutal for me than it is for my D. Sheās 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. Sheās 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, sheās 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 sheās out and a large envelope arrived in the mail and she said āno it can wait until I get homeā. So I guess sheās just much better at compartmentalizing and dealing with things than I am!</p>
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<p>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.</p>
<p>Map, what a brutal reality check! Since my daughter applied to no in-state schools Iāve always known that when she goes to school she will be far away and visits home will be infrequent, but the nearest Iāve approached the ālast milestoneā tallying is to acknowledge this is her last semester of high school! I know itās the right thing for her, so that helps, butā¦I think I approach knowing what a panic attack feels like when I think in terms of āthis is the last haircut at homeā and such.</p>
<p>No doubt weāll all find solace in āBoo Hoo My Kidās Goneā threads come Fall!</p>
<p>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 āthis is the last XXXX before sheās goneā for a while now. </p>
<p>And now the waiting to find out WHERE sheās going to end up, and the worrying about her heart being broken when she gets rejectedā¦ I already told my youngest that she just isnāt going to college.</p>
<p>And DTDad, I would never call myself a āweepyā kind of person, but that tide has turned, and I find myself welling up over the littlest things. I think itās a combination of hormones and life changes.</p>
<p>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 ārealā 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 ā¦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.</p>
<p>I was doing well, but now Iām 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 donāt 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.</p>
<p>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. Weāve both been surprised with how busy this senior year has been.</p>