Parents and College Rejection

Parents and College Rejection April 19, 2013 Parents need to have a blueprint for how to handle their childs rejection from the college of their dreamsjust in case (photo credit: Jawed Karim). Theres an article on The Huffington Post by Hilary Levey Friedman about whether or not parents are prepared should their child be rejected from the college of their dreams. What will they say to their child who had dreams of attending Princeton but didnt even make the waitlist? What will they say to their child who had dreamed of studying in Manhattan on Columbias iconic campus? What will they say to their child who worked so hard for so many years in the hope of getting into one of the best universities in the countryonly to fail to do so? Parents should be prepared for these outcomes as the vast majority of students applying to highly selective colleges dont get into their first choice college (hey, what can we say, the majority of college applicants arent clients of Ivy Coach). Were not here to give parenting advice but the best strategy is likely to be supportive of your child, to help convince them that one or many of the schools that they did gain admission to can indeed by a college or colleges or their dreams as well. They just have to check it out some more, get to know some students who go there, take a look at the beautiful campus, and get excited about all of the academic, athletic, and social opportunities at the school(s). Just because this school may not have been an initial dream school doesnt mean it cant become the dream school through the backdoor. Ms. Friedman writes about how basically not every child is a winner, how theres only one spot at the top of the podium, and how parents need to help their children come to terms with wherever they end up placing in college admissions and in life. College admissions, after all, is a cutthroat process but so too is the job market. If you dont achieve your dream job right away, there are other opportunities out there. And maybe the new path you choose will lead to a new dream job. Or maybe it too will lead to the old dream job. College rejection is, in this way, a great microcosm of the real world. While youre here, parents, check out this video on parental stress in the college admissions process.