Less than two weeks remain of Philip’s junior year at Hermes High School. We now have the scores from his first attempt at the SATs and finals will quickly establish his grades and grade point average going into any early notification college application process.
While Philip is correctly focused on the home stretch of his junior year, I have been quietly compiling data on colleges. Amelia and I are pleased to see that Philip’s SAT scores came in high enough that he can be reasonably certain about getting into Sierra State University, so long as he does not screw up and delivers a well-assembled application early in the admissions cycle.
The first big action item for Philip in the early part of summer will be to select his long-shot — the dream college just barely within his reach that will require his absolute dedication, including taking advantage of the school’s most favorable early-notification program in order to gain admittance. I had the privilege of getting into my long-shot years ago. My grades were quite acceptable but my test scores were far below the school’s published statistics. I had done a few interesting things that found their way into my application essays. But if I had to name one thing that made the difference, it was completing and mailing my “Early Decision” application before the month of September was over. On top of that I did everything else I could reasonably do to show my interest and dedication. I took full advantage of campus visitation opportunities, including staying overnight in a dormitory with student volunteers from the school’s admissions office.
Unlike other days that might be candidates for my happiest, getting into my first choice college holds a special place because it was the least certain. We had nine months of pregnancy before each child was born with check-ups to confirm the health of Philip and Chloe long before their births. I’d known Amelia for years long before the day she agreed to marry me. Our wedding and honeymoon were likewise planned and followed expectations. But getting into my first choice college was not guaranteed. In fact, since it was a long-shot, it was actually more unlikely than likely in my mind at the time.
That said, plenty of high school seniors win a place at their first choice college. Philip does not need to be any different. When I surveyed the students who did not win admission into their first choice college back when I was applying, the most common theme was simply taking too long to select a first choice college. The second most common theme was the desire the rack up “trophy” college acceptance letters from competitive schools. And the final theme was submitting the applications as close to the deadline as possible.
Very few of my peers had simply aimed too high with their long-shot. But among the handful who did aim too high, none of them slacked with their applications to second and third choice schools and were normally quite satisfied with their admissions outcome.
The summer before the big college application push was an exciting time to think about life and to think about what I truly wanted out of the college years. It could be stressful at times but for the most part it became its own fond memory. Like me at that age, Philip enjoys taking a private walk to unwind and reflect. For me as his father, I know that it is now more about what I had instilled into him over the last seventeen years and has very little to do with what I can instill into him in the mere months that remain. As a parent, I certainly find it scary. But I would be more frightened by just about any other alternative.
No comments:
Post a Comment