This is an interesting question. I think this year was incredibly difficult to be a senior, and we handled things very differently as a result.
I never planned to have access to S21’s portals, but our HS changed its instructional model over the summer due to COVID, moving from a six year-long class model to compressing 3 year long classes into each semester. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time to really adapt the curriculum or teaching style, and it was a tumultous change for seniors right during application season. He was having some health issues as well, and he asked me to help manage getting his apps submitted (no, I did not write essays). In any other year, I’d have refused because I am big on accountability, but he was clearly overwhelmed. He’s always been a terrific, independent, earnest, and responsible student and we have never had to get involved but I was concerned about his mental and physical health.
Unfortunately, it meant he continued to disengage from the process, and now it’s a frustration point. I know he’s not checking his email at all, for example, because I find things out here on CC that he hasn’t mentioned to us. In fact, he wouldn’t even know any decisions have been released if I didn’t tell him.
I’m fairly confident that he’s going to miss an important deadline and not actually get to attend his school of choice. But I am remaining silent and not getting involved in that part. He has to have accountability and responsibility, and if his failure to stay on top of to-dos means he misses out on his top choice, so be it.
I have some regrets about helping, but don’t know if the alternative would have been any better. . Just another reason COVID turned this year upside down. There was no good approach.