<p>I'm getting really frustrated with DS. He completed 3 apps before Thanksgiving and has done ALMOST NOTHING since then. He's upstairs getting his beauty sleep now, at 11:30 am. He has 7 supplements to do. I'm not a nagger, but his procrastination on this is making me NUTS!!!</p>
<p>I know it's his life, but I'm feeling so helpless...I'm going out to take a walk.</p>
<p>As long as his safety is in, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
He's also approaching exam time, so is very busy and stressed now.</p>
<p>My son is in the same boat. He got into his safety yesterday. (Yay!) Stanford is due on the 15th, I've made sure he reread the essays so he could cogitate on them even if he wrote nothing, but I knew perfectly well he wouldn't tackle the application until he hears from MIT (7 minutes from now if he were here or had given me his password!).</p>
<p>In short, I too would be aggravated, but he'll probably pull it off. How different are all those supplements?</p>
<p>Bethie:</p>
<p>Did your son put in an ED/EA application and is awaiting results? It's psychologically very hard to write essays while waiting for news as it implies lack of confidence that he will be receiving good news. Right now must be a time of great ambivalence and anxiety.</p>
<p>Just had our version of the same conversation with my wife. I am encouraging her to back off and let S sink or swim on his own at this point. If he applies or doesn't apply, gets in or doesn't get in, let it be his doing and his decision. At this point if he wants to go to college that's fine with me and if he doesn't that would also be fine. He can take a gap year or go to community college and transfer later if and when he is enthusiastic enough about college to want to go. One thing I will not tolerate is one or two or 10 years from now hearing, "Gee, I wish you had pushed me a little harder when I was a senior in hs."</p>
<p>My daughter has four more applications to complete by January 1 -- if she doesn't get into her ED school next week.</p>
<p>It would be psychologically very difficult for her to put in the effort to write those extra essays now, and it might very well be a waste of time. </p>
<p>As long as the applications could be completed during the last half of December, and in her case they can, I don't see a problem. Of course, her transcripts have already been sent to those schools, her teacher recommendations have been lined up, and in the case of Common App schools, her Common App has been submitted. It's only the essays/supplements that are pending.</p>
<p>bethievt~</p>
<p>If it makes you feel any better, my son was in this same position two years ago. Granted my son had so many fall activities, including evening college classes, XC, and debate, that it was difficult for him to find the slots of time available to complete these things, but it was still frustrating to watch.</p>
<p>marite is dead on though...my son had a difficult time completing anything else until after he heard back from his EA school. SO much energy/emotion went into that (unsuccessful) app. that he was pretty drained.</p>
<p>The cause is NOT lost though! S pressed the "submit" button on his Penn app about 11 minutes before the deadline, and he was accepted. Don't worry...these things will get done. They may not be done when YOU want them to be, but they WILL be done!</p>
<p>Hang in there....and {{{{{hugs!!!}}}}}</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>bethievt, just make sure that it's just the application that he's procrastinating about -- meaning the parts that he fills out and submits himself.</p>
<p>At this point, he should have already submitted transcript/counselor evaluation and teacher evaluation requests for all of his colleges to the appropriate people at school. If he hasn't done that, insist that he do it Monday.</p>
<p>Beth(ievt), I feel your pain. Fortunately, his guidance office at school said that any requests for recommendations or transcripts have to be in Monday. This might be the last weekend for application stress at the WashDad home.</p>
<p>Then we get acceptance stress.</p>
<p>(Jr is still asleep, but at least it's only 9:30 here...)</p>
<p>Solidarity here. At one point, my son was working at a pace where he would have had all his applications in by May 2007. A combination of getting into a match-safety and picking up the pace a bit has advanced his projected completion date to about February 15, except everything is due January 1. He has three more applications left (out of seven). Partially, he's waiting for December 15 maybe to cut out one application (or two); partially, it's just that it's hard and stressful for him, and his school doesn't cut people any breaks because most of the kids apply to 2-3 schools. Also, he has a retail job, and it's Christmas season, and they want a lot of hours from him. Intellectually, he knows that if he gets bad news next week (as is more likely than not) it will be harder, not easier, to finish the remaining applications, and he ought to be working on them now, but emotionally, no way.</p>
<p>He HAS done all the recommendation and score requests, at least.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone,</p>
<p>This is helpful. At least he's awake now; calmly munching on popovers and sipping hot chocolate.</p>
<p>He's sent 2 EAs to his safer schools, but can't wait til he hears from them bec they don't reply til mid-Jan when the other apps are all due. He has been busy with extra chorus rehearsals and performing in nursing homes and extra dance rehearsals for a holiday performance and even a tiny bit of paying work.</p>
<p>And I do <em>know</em> that it's his job to do it or not; it's just hard to separate myself from his process, though it's what I need to be working on now. Thanks for the support.</p>
<p>coming from a student who really likes staying out till 2 am and sleeping till noon, please go wake him up, slap him, and tell him to pull it together for a month. he'll thank you later.</p>
<p>^^<em>roflmao</em></p>
<p>I don't get it, what's wrong with waking up at noon or 1 on a weekend?? OP makes it sound like it's a sin.</p>
<p>Bother, deferred at MIT - time to take off the duct tape and start nagging about that Stanford application!</p>
<p>No sin; I used to do the same thing. If he were working on apps til 2am that would be great!</p>
<p>Progress report</p>
<p>After a lengthy perusal of the latest Rolling Stone, S sits down in front of the computer to "work on apps". One hour (of mostly internet surfing) later, he'd composed 2 lines of copy.</p>
<p>Me: You seem a little unfocused."</p>
<p>S: "No more than usual."</p>
<p>Me: "I just don't want to see you get stressed out later if you leave this until the last minute."</p>
<p>S: "I'm not stressed out. Stress would be bad."</p>
<p>Me: "Stress IS bad; that's my point."</p>
<p>S: "I'll take your word for it."</p>
<p>In the ensuing 2 hours he did complete half of one supplement while surfing the internet some more. At one point he wanted to be congratulated for bookmarking two huge sites about the Apocalypse instead of reading them.</p>
<p>
[quote]
At one point he wanted to be congratulated for bookmarking two huge sites about the Apocalypse instead of reading them.
[/quote]
roflmao!! Well that's progress, of sorts;)</p>
<p>Bethie you should copy your last post and then look at it again in about 10 years. I've been in your shoes and I know how excruciating it can be- but this too shall pass.</p>
<p>But on a more serious note, is there anyone else who could serve as a cattle prod besides you? It just seems that often the mother can be the least successful at squeezing the work out of kids that age.</p>
<p>Bethie, my daughter was much the same last year. Most of her applications were completed the week between Christmas and New Years. When deadlines are more than a week away, teenagers tend to think they have all the time in the world.</p>
<p>We finished D's apps - aside from Stanford, essentially ON New Year's. And I was actually in China at the time, and I sent in a supplementary recommendation for my D myself to Princeton, due to alumna thing. Imagine faxing to the US so they could mail with the app? So, hmm, guess I'm not helping am I:)</p>
<p>I actually could tell this would be funny later WHILE it was happening. He's a lot of fun and does manage to get stuff done eventually. He's less of a procrastinator than I was at his age. My Mom just didn't have the leisure time to go nuts about it that I have.</p>