<p>wecandothis: I’ve been through the college thing with three of my own children, and yes, they can drive you crazy!!! </p>
<p>This is not an excuse for your daughter’s lack of responsibility in getting her scholarship application in, but…try to remember that what’s of paramount importance to us, as adults, is at the bottom of the priority scale for adolescents. Their priorities are actually (to our dismay!) very normal in terms of the stage of adolescent development they’re in. Right now, boyfriends, girlfriends, shopping, music, school dances, etc. are at the top of their list. So, try not to be upset. Think of it this way: you’ve got a “normal” daughter. And yes, “normal” adolescents drive their parents crazy!!! Yes, I drove my parents crazy, too, when I was a teenager!</p>
<p>In my opinion, if UCLA is affordable to your family, I think it would be too harsh of a punishment to tell her that she can’t go because she messed up on the scholarship thing. BUT, let her know that you’re extremely upset because it’s not easy to meet college expenses. Adolescence is all about learning lessons…hopefully she’ll learn from this.</p>