May Day! May Day!

No, that's not the cry of a pilot whose plane is about to crash and burn.  It's the cry of a high school senior who must make a decision about where to go to college.  After all the acceptance letters have arrived, after you've visited, or re-visited, the schools where your child has actually been accepted, it's time for the final decision.  Deposits must be mailed by May 1 in order for the student to secure his/her place in the freshman class.

Those of you who read my blog may know -- or at least suspect -- which college Becca chose.  In truth, she mailed her deposit into the school of her choice in early April, even before we attended the admitted students event.   And to be completely honest, it wasn't the school I thought she'd choose.  But then again, I wouldn't have guessed which school Jen would attend, either.

Jen had little interest in college for most of her high school career. didn't tour colleges in her junior year, didn't even want to talk about t.  when you asked her what she wanted to do, she'd tell you she wanted to attend a college here on Long island, live in the dorm during the week and come home every weekend.

Until senior year.  Her guidance counselor suggested she give herself the option of going away, and suggested a few colleges she thought would be suitable.

So Jen applied to several schools on the Island, one in upstate New York, and two schools in New England.  She was accepted at two Long island schools and weight listed at the third, but once those acceptance letters came from the New England schools, she no longer had any interest in the Long island schools.  February, March and April were spent on road trips visiting both schools, attending events for accepted students and evaluating Jen's options.  One school was a small private college in an urban setting, the other a large public university in a more rural environment.   She didn't make her decision until the last week in April. 

She loves her school -- the large public university.  she is just a few exams away from completing her sophomore year, with plans to go back next year and live off campus.  (trust me, the "off campus" part caused me a few new gray hairs....)

Becca, on the other hand, began preparing for college from the first day of high school.  Put lots of pressure on herself to do well on the PSAT and SAT exams, pushed to take honors and AP classes, educated herself on the various types of colleges and universities and their admission requirements.   The day after Jen moved into her freshman dorm, Becca announced "it's my turn", and began planning our college road trips.  Ultimately she decided she wanted an urban campus, preferably in another state (we made several trips to Boston and to Washington, DC), a school with lots of opportunity for internships.  In fact, she applied "early decision" to her dream school in Boston...and was not accepted.  I was a bit surprised -- her guidance counselor told us it was a "reach/obtainable" school and she had a very good chance if she applied "early decision".

Five admission letters finally arrived -- one from the school Jen attends, one from a small college in upstate New York (a safety school her guidance counselor suggested), one in Philadelphia, one in DC and one in NYC, and she was wait-listed at a school in Florida.

The decision was easy.  She chose the school in NYC.  Told me it's where she wanted to go even before we saw the place on  accepted students day, sent in her deposit in early April. She'll be living on campus in Manhattan, but she's close enough to get home any time she wants to.  On the way home from our tour of the school, she went through the course catelogue with genuine excitement -- there were dozens of classes she wants to take.  and even better, her best friend since kindergarten will be attending another large NYC university, so the girls will be able to get together periodically.

Funny, isn't it?  The girl who wanted to stay close to home wound up 2 states away and the one who wanted to leave home will actually stay close...

Comments

[Ora]

Rosie is a lot like Becca, while Abe was more like Jen in talking about colleges before the fact. Abe basically let me make a lot of the decisions (he is special needs after all) and is going to school down the street and living at home next year. Rosie, a sophomore, is already talking about where she wants to go. She doesn't really know except that the answer is definitely not near home!

[songbird]

I hope Abe has a great freshman year at college. Get your travelling gear together, I'm sure Rosie will want to check out a lot of different schools.

[Daisy]

Sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders! I'm glad she's excited about college and got into her choice school.