Over vacation, I read Piero Ferrucci’s The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life, a wonderfully written reminder for the mental, physical and emotional benefits of appreciating the simple gifts we have been given and not trying to control events or outcomes for which we have no direct control.
Much of this book reminded me of the college counseling process, and how nervous parents and students become about the whole college application process. I recently talked to parents who convinced themselves that it would be okay to behave unethically in their quest to get their child into the “best” college – because where their child went to college would be paramount in setting the course for the child’s entire future. Unfortunately, these parents, well-intentioned as they were, failed to realize the disastrous message their actions would send their child in the long-run.
At Green Ivy, our college counseling students have been very fortunate, and will be attending schools including Princeton, Brown, Stanford, Notre Dame, American U, Villanova, LMU, Santa Clara, Texas, Colorado and Cal Poly next year – to name a few. More important than the name of the school, however, is how we work together to find the right school that matches the interests, personality and learning style of the individual student. To us, It is only a success if students come home from school and visit me to say that they are educationally engaged, socially stimulated and generally happy with their college choice.
Please, parents, don’t worry – it really does all work out in the end!
Numbers-wise, this was a tough year in admissions – and some schools saw record numbers of applicants and record low admissions rate – this chart from the NY Times is really revealing….I included this to be informative, not stressful. Ultimately, there is the right school out there for every student, and the most important thing is for parents to be supportive, realistic and informed about their child’s options given their academic, athletic and extracurricular abilities.