Hello fellow parents, and welcome!
These are deeply stressful times, so please don’t shame yourself if you’re feeling stressed out! You have landed here, where we are all working on becoming more chill. It’s a work in progress. Acknowledging your stress means that you are already 100 times chiller than that parent who is bragging about how hands off and chill they are about their child’s college admissions process. (We all know them.) Yes, there are fires, floods, a pandemic, the days are getting shorter and back-to-school plans are meeting various degrees of success among high schools. Let’s acknowledge the darkness, but let’s not wallow in it. Through it all, your child can travel successfully (and safely) through college admissions.
Let’s start with where you can find help for what ails you…
From me: Yes, I am the caped crusader for the CPR by night, but I’m a College Essay and Application Coach by day. You get a 10% discount on my services, so be sure to identify yourself loud and proud as a CPR member if you reach out to me for help.
From Summit View Learning for math tutoring: This online tutoring outfit can help your kid through calculus.
From Tiffany Clay, Financial Aid Consultant to help you fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile. Contact her at nexxttstep@gmail.com.
Now let’s work through the stress about standardized testing together…
I’ve gathered from a candid discussion on our CPR Facebook Group that skepticism remains among parents about colleges’ abrupt shifts to test-optional admission policies. I hope I can help set your mind at ease.
For seniors: I belong to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the leading association in the field, that initiated this pledge:
Nearly 400 NACAC-Member Colleges and Universities Affirm Test Optional Means Test Optional
For juniors: A poll of admission leaders from 433 colleges, conducted by the reputable Inside Higher Ed, revealed that “More than two-thirds of colleges (68 percent) that switched (to test-optional) because of the pandemic said that they expect to stay that way. The figure was 60 percent at public institutions and 79 percent at private institutions.”
Are we feeling calmer yet?
Let’s stay sane…
…with some daily humor from The New Yorker
Let’s conclude with some empowering tips…
Continue focusing on what you can control (virtual college visits, writing those applications, doing well in school, washing hands) instead of what you can’t (standardized testing, anything that can’t happen IRL this year, natural disasters).
Double-check college websites for application deadlines which may have changed (for seniors), as well as added resources for getting to know the school from afar (for juniors).
Re-read the sections in College Admissions Cracked about deadlines (most have not changed) and how to deal with fall stressors (for everyone).
New on my website, I’ve archived monthly newsletters. If you’re like me and like to stay a month or so ahead, check out all the advice from last October’s newsletter edition.
Next month, more on navigating the financial aid process. (The financial aid form fun begins October 1.) For now, keep breathing.
Warmly,
Jill
