Dear Fellow Parents and Friends,
First thing first, I’m running a Book Giveaway Sweepstakes starting today through November 26! Enter to win one of 7 FREE COPIES of COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CRACKED for yourself or a friend in need of calming vibes for the holidays.
This Thanksgiving, I feel grateful for…
…our future generation. I’ve been working with so many students this year (some offspring of this group!) who have confirmed my faith in our kids’ abilities to become vehicles for positive change on this earth. Thank you for raising them.
…the early college application deadlines coming and going with families remaining intact. I know regular decision application deadlines are still looming, but your kid has got this, and so do you.
…Smith College announcing they will replace loans (borrowed money) with grants (free money) on their financial aid awards, setting a precedent for making a college education more affordable. Raucous applause!
…Amherst College setting a precedent by removing legacy preference from their roster of admission criteria, driving the process one more step toward equity. Huzzah!
…the 1,795+ colleges and universities who have seen the light and continue to make the SAT and ACT tests optional for applicants.
…more colleges dumping additional supplemental essay requirements this year. Though they did so for self-serving reasons (when it’s easier to apply, they receive more applications for the same size class, so their selectivity rate lowers, and rankings rise), it saves hours of stress for applying students, so I consider it a win.
… surprising silver linings of pandemic upheavals such as: more kids getting more sleep, more awareness of learning differences among students, a resurgence of teacher and school access appreciation, and family bonding resulting from being cooped up for so many months with only blood relatives.
…this growing community of parents joining our Chill Parents’ Revolution, supporting our kids and each other through another admissions season.
…a roof overhead, bounteous locally-grown food, health and safety for loved ones, my usual list resonating ten-fold during this year of ongoing global crises.
…this sanity-saver
I’m re-gifting a previously shared recipe in time to save you stove space and eliminate some stress while prepping for Thanksgiving dinner. If you make this slow-cooker turkey breast and gravy recipe the day before (or Thanksgiving morning while the turkey is roasting), you will not be sorry. You’ll avoid the last minute gravy-making dash, and you’ll have extra turkey for pot pies on Black Friday (when, fingers crossed, you’ll win my book giveaway sweepstakes).
Have a happy, healthy holiday!
Warmly,
Jill
