<p>Because we live overseas in a mail-challenged country, our son couldn't rely on the envelope route. Since his ED school was not especially given to e-mail communication, he knew he needed to get it over with by telephone. So he called the admissions office on December 15 at around 10:00 p.m. our time and was told that the admissions rep would call him back. We all went to bed. When the phone rang at I don't know what time (it probably wasn't all that late, but I was sound asleep) I answered it, said just a minute please, and went to my son's room to wake him up. I closed the door and went back to bed. I believe I levitated while waiting. He came into our room quietly, looking shellshocked and said, "I'm in." We hugged and went back to sleep. Woke up happy.</p>
<p>The next day the admissions officer e-mailed apologizing (quite unnecessarily)for waking us up. I work in international business and always say no one ever calls in the middle of the night with good news, but this was the happy exception.</p>
<p>What a nice thread!
It was so nice that so many acceptances come in the 'fat' envelopes, which is a tipoff! Some fat envelopes had congrats right on the front, which also helps nosy parents!
Now, the great excitment is not the acceptances, but the scholarship letters, which are starting to arrive. Now, these are great fun!!</p>
<p>The big reaction for us wasn't the college acceptances but the SAT scores. My daughter had taken PSAT's twice, always scoring around 1200. Good, solid score but since she didn't have outstanding GPA it was limiting her college choices. (As I've written on other threads, she struggled throughout soph/jr year with deep depression and all her energy went to that - not academics. Sometimes, I'm amazed she did as well as she did during that time considering what she was dealing with on a mental health level).</p>
<p>She planned to take the SAT's twice during jr. year - Jan and May. Fall sr. year was out of the question due to marching band schedule. She was sick as a dog for the Jan. one and we rescheduled to April. I secretly prayed that she would just at least keep a 1200 but wasn't entirely confident of that. She asked her dad for his credit card to pay the $15 when the early scores were available very late one night while she was on-line. We came downstairs the next morning to find she had printed her scores off and left the page in the middle of the kitchen counter with a big "HELL YES" written on the sheet and arrows all over the page pointing to her score - a 1360. In one fell swoop, all those "maybe" schools became definites and the bar got raised.</p>
<p>No MIT or Harvard or Swarthmore but equally as jubilant for us. Her pride in herself for having achieved that score was one of the biggest things in lifting her out of her depression. There at last was concrete evidence that she wasn't stupid and that kick started her self-esteem. Doing great today, got into one of her "bubble" schools and getting the best grades she's ever gotten. Our cup runneth over...</p>
<p>I know as parents it is difficult to see our kids in any kind of pain. Your daughter sounds like a special young woman whose life lessons have taught her so much. We all fall down at some times, for many it is easier to stay down but it is a true testament to ones character to get back up. She not only got up but came up like a phoenix rising out of the ashes. </p>
<p>As the Psalm says:</p>
<p>Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning.</p>
<p>Her morning is the beginning of many beautiful days to come. I am so happy for you and your family. Thanks so much for sharing your story because it is the stories like yours, NJres and Jami's that gives us hope and renews our spirit. You have given encouragement for other families going through similar situations and shows that God is still in the blessing business.</p>
<p>All the best to you and yours this holiday season</p>
<p>I know I'm a big sap, and our family is in that pressure bubble of waiting for ED, butI got positively teary-eyed reading some of your stories! Keep them coming, even if she gets bad news in Dec, your stories give the promise that happier days are ahead, with a great adventure at the end.</p>
<p>Also hugs to Fredo, your daughter's struggles must date back to before I found CC. I agree with Sybbie, what a blessing to you her happiness is now. I foresee similar struggles with my son - definitely academic, and I worry about depression and self-esteem issues - I hope he can find his bubble school too.</p>
<p>My daughter had me stand next to her as she checked her e-mail. When she saw that there was a message from Columbia she looked back at me as I was standing behind looking at the screen over her shoulder. We were both so hopeful and I could see how terribly stressed she was. She had worked so hard and wanted it so badly. When the e-mail opened with a "Congratulations!" we read no further and did a happy, happy dance around the room. Her Dad got an immediate call. We went out to dinner that night and ate piles of pasta. You would have thought that our family had just run a marathon.....and I guess in some ways the college process is just that.</p>
<p>My Dad is still alive, though elderly, and he is very excited about my kids and their futures. (His typical backhanded compliment to me is that my kids are "much nicer than you were, so you're probably a better parent than I was.") As I was writing this memory I realized that the reason I am definitely more keyed up and involved in the whole college process than my husband probably stems from my Dad and his incredible support/prodding etc. As a kid you often feel, "lay off, Dad." As an adult, I just mentally thank him all the time for urging me forward.</p>
<p>I hope some day my kids realize that all my prodding and nudging that they considered "annoying" and "bothering" was a demonstration of my love and desire for them to be successful and take their place in society. I don't know when that day will come but I do hope it comes soon! I'm getting too old to enjoy things and celebrate in their good fortune without taking a nap right after! LOL!</p>
<p>My reaction was manifold. In the case of my son, he only applied RD. The first favorable letter came in early March (an "early write," I guess this is now called). He'd never visited that college (Williams). It was a good omen, and so we began to plan out some travel, which turned out to be a problem because the schools that admitted him were all over the place -- on both coasts and in-between. But it all worked out well. Once he did an overnight at Chicago he quickly concluded, "This will do."</p>
<p>For my daughter, we had no way to gauge her probability of admission because she was applying mainly to art schools. But when the first two acceptances came in quite early (late February) we at least knew that her ultimate backup option -- attending the local community college -- was no longer needed. One of them started pressuring her for a decision well before the others had reached their decisions. But one by one they all came through, the last being the best and her number one choice, RISD.</p>
<p>This was basically a very calm experience for everyone in our household. The most complicated and taxing was for my daughter to get her portfolio together (the paint was barely dry on a couple of items; and RISD requires three unique drawings, beyond the standard portfolio). However, once the acceptances came in although there was some deciding to do there was no agonizing, no disappointment. For all intents and purposes, it was all over except for the need to rob a bank to pay the tuition.</p>
<p>Hah! I think I spent most of March trolling CC to see when other people received their envelopes. My son went RD on all of his schools. The minute someone would post they had received an envelope from "x" school we'd all jump on and ask them where they lived, and what size it was etc....I spent a lot of time waiting with other CC parents. Since our mail to rural South TX comes via armadillo back....</p>
<p>Our son was much more laid back about it than we were. Part of this was because he was dating a girl that would be staying in Texas for school. He didn't want to upset her. One particular evening there were FOUR envlopes that looked like acceptances in the mail-- and he kept us waiting because he wanted to go hang out with friends after debate practice. </p>
<p>The mailman and I became great friends. </p>
<p>And now I will do it all over again this March. I am hoping second son will be slightly more enthusiastic about his mail!</p>
<p>The school that my daughter now attends was the last one she heard from of the four that she had applied to. We didn't think there would be much doubt that she would get in but the aid package was key. The acceptance letter came with the fin aid package and when we saw how much merit aid she would get, she started dancing and jumping and I cried and laughed. I was so proud of her and knew that was where she wanted to go but it was too many states away. Well, not too many, just more then I would have liked. As usual, she knew what would work for her. My youngest (6th grade) assures me that he will go to a local college.</p>
<p>Ah geez....teary eyes over here reading Fredo's post and Sybbie's reply. " joy will come in the morning"...that did it. During the most difficult time in my life someone quoted that psalm to me and it's been my rock ever since. It's obviously been as important to others. Fredo, thank you for providing a prespective that many of us need to hear. I'm happy for your D. I've tried to imagine what your D felt at the moment she saw her score. It must have been incredible! </p>
<p>texas, my son's long-time GF has also applied ED to the same school as him. Not only will Dec 10 bring his news, but hers as well. Should they both get in, I can't imagine the celebration across both families. Should one get in and the other not, the news will probably be bitter-sweet to the one admitted as it will signify an upcoming separation for them as this school is binding ED. Should they both get rejected, I suppose they'll be of great support to each other and will probably move into a coordination of the list for the next round of apps :) </p>
<p>I now realize that those parents who have childen admitted EA/ED will become spectators in later months when the real "fireworks" begin.....multiple envelopes arriving, scholarship letters, etc..... I wonder if it's hard to wind down from the process while still being on CC where everyone else is still in high gear!</p>
<p>" I wonder if it's hard to wind down from the process while still being on CC where everyone else is still in high gear!"</p>
<p>momsdream--life goes on, especially here on CC. The acceptance period turns into the where-shall-I-go period which segues into the how-do-we-get-his/her-stuff-there period which morphs into the we-just-dropped-him/her-off period. </p>
<p>And then, of course, we recent veterans can give advice to the next year's crop of CC parents.</p>
<p>My daughter's strong first choice was Yale, and she had taken it very hard when her EA application had been deferred in December. Over the next 3 1/2 months she was accepted at a number of schools that probably would have been OK; but her heart wasn't in any of them, and she was waiting anxiously to hear from Yale and three other Ivies, plus Amherst and Stanford, on April 1.</p>
<p>We figured that most of the decisions would be online around the end of the day, and my husband and I left work early so that she wouldnt be alone. When she got home from school, there were letters waiting from Stanford and Amherst--both waitlists. Around 5 she started trying to log on to various websites, with frustrating jams on most of them. I think she heard from U. Penn first--another waitlist. (Although I hadnt said it to her, my big fear was that shed be waitlisted at all of these schools and then spend the whole summer sweating it out.) Then Brown--which she loved almost as much as Yale, especially since shed had a wonderful time at a summer program there--rejected her outright, or, as they put it, denied her admission. Thats when she started crying inconsolably. She kept trying to get through on Yales website, even though it wasnt yet 6 oclock, when theyd said the decisions would be posted.</p>
<p>Suddenly a new page came up--but it was very confusing: mostly statistics and contact information about Yale and her stated major and interests. She sat there looking at it, and finally said in amazement: I think I got in. My husband and I rushed to the computer, worried that there might be some misunderstanding (although the online deferral letter had been so blunt that there was no possible way to mistake its intention). At the very top of the page was a small line that said Welcome Class of 2008, but it still was hard to believe this was an actual acceptance. </p>
<p>My daughter started clicking links on the page, and finally got to the page that was supposed to have come up first, complete with a bulldog and the Yale fight song, which morphed into an acceptance letter. (There was apparently some glitch in the program that had made the secondary information come up first.) We started screaming and crying, and her younger sister--who had retreated from all the drama to take a bath--hesitantly asked whether that was good or bad. We screamed, She got into Yale! She got into Yale! and everyone jumped up and down, and started calling friends and family and drinking champagne. I still get chills when I think about that day; and today, Thanksgiving, Im still thankful that she not only got what she wanted but that she loves it as much as she thought she would.</p>
<p>Editrix, that is a wonderful story! We all understand how very disappointing the rejection can be - especially if your kid has his/her heart set on it! </p>