Hello Friend, and Welcome!
Please listen up (literally) because the College Essay Confidence audiobook, read by yours truly, is now available! Then if you’re not sick of hearing my voice, while on your roadtrip exploring colleges (juniors) or journeying to an admitted student event (seniors) you can listen to my recent podcast appearances here:
- Jill Shulman’s College Essay Confidence – What Every College-Bound Student Needs! on Writers’ Voice.
- Why Confidence is the Key To a Great College Admissions Essay on Shift: College Admissions in a Changing World.
But enough about me. Let’s focus on what’s happening with you.
May 1 is the big national college decision day, the impending deadline most colleges give students to decide whether to accept an offer of admission. It’s a day when the student wields all the power to make a choice about the next stage of their life.
For some students, the decision is easy. They will enroll at their first-choice college, and excitement fills the air in your home. Then there are the other students—dare I say, most students? For them (maybe you)…
The financial decision usually trumps all other criteria about which college to attend. Financial aid offers from colleges rarely include enough money to help anyone sleep comfortably at night, so please don’t be shy about calling the financial aid office and asking for more. In College Admissions Cracked, I provide scripts to help make those calls less awkward.
The geographical decision often involves how far away from home the prospective student wants to travel to college. I empathize. One of my own children attended college a couple of hours’ drive away, while getting to my other child’s college required an airplane flight. Guess which kid I saw more frequently during their college years? Gather the family and discuss the financial implications (the price of those plane tickets was not insignificant) and your feelings, if attending a college far from home is on the table. Speaking of feelings…
The emotional decision is the one everyone talks about. Which college feels right? I’m going to give it to you straight (I always do). Any college can feel right when a student arrives with a positive attitude to take advantage of everything the college has to offer. And any college can feel wrong if toured on a day when wind gusts blew pounding rain under your umbrella (do try to visit again if that college is a consideration). Just sayin’. I’ve provided lots of tools to help you handle your (very valid) emotions in College Essay Confidence (for students) and College Admissions Cracked (for parents). In truth, all the strategies I include in both books can help all of us on any emotional occasion.
The waitlist twist can be confusing. If your kid landed on a waitlist, it means the college knows your child is perfectly capable of success there. Waitlists move more these days than they did five years ago, so your child should alert the college if they want to remain on the waitlist. A free resource on my website, What To Do Besides Wait When Waitlisted, provides specifics. Then it’s time to move on, choose a different college that has professed their love with an acceptance letter, pay the deposit, and celebrate! Even if admitted off a waitlist later, many students conclude that the college where they’ve already committed is the best fit.
Spring fever is real, especially at the tail end of a grueling junior year. They say that “the hardest year of college is junior year of high school.” (I’m not sure who “they” is, but the sentiment holds.) Parents of juniors, do encourage your kid to finish the year academically strong, but also encourage them to enjoy those sports play-offs, theater performances, and all the other pleasures of life outside the classroom in the spring.
Summer college essay writing before senior year begins is recommended. If you’re looking for help, I wrote College Essay Confidence to entertain and guide rising seniors step-by-step through the personal essay, as if their own private essay coach is whispering in their ear (and providing hugs when necessary). Or if you”re seeking one-on-one essay/application coaching, you can contact me here.
Wherever you are in your journey, like the flower bulbs this time of year, I hope you focus most of your energy on blooming.
Warmly,
Jill
