<p>Woke up to see CC extensively mentioned in the paper out here in CA! The article is about the pressue seniors face waiting for college decisions this time of year. My d knows the feeling! But she is definitely calmer than me.</p>
<p>Glad to know I'm not the only one. My S is anxious, but I am on pins and needles. What's with that? I've already been through this once with an older S, so you would think I would be relaxed about it. I should take lessons from my S who meditates and says "it will all work out in the end."</p>
<p>here is the article:</p>
<p>*High school senior Winnie Garet would be perfectly calm as she awaits decisions from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Brown universities if only she could avoid her friends and family.</p>
<p>"Just a few people at school who are crazed can infect everybody else," said Winnie, 17, a student at San Marino High School. "And at home the one who's actually hopping around is my little brother, who's like constantly, 'Are you in yet? Did you get into Harvard?' "</p>
<p>This is the season of high anxiety for thousands of students awaiting word on their college applications. The pressure is on for many high-achieving students to get into elite schools. It is fed by their own hopes and frequently by the high expectations of parents, some of whom moved to communities like San Marino for the schools.</p>
<p>Students are employing tried-and-true coping mechanisms, such as concentrating even more on class work, hitting the gym or going to a movie on a school night. Still, the stress of facing what many students perceive as the most important moment of their lives can create tensions among friends and family and lead to squabbles that can mar what should be happy occasions.</p>
<p>It is an annual frenzy that many high school counselors view as inevitable.</p>
<p>"If you've been in this business long enough, this is the time you want to look them in the eye and tell them it's going to be all right, 'cause many of them don't believe it will be all right," said Mary Fitzpatrick Johnson, assistant principal for guidance and instruction at San Marino High.</p>
<p>"They can make the most unbalanced statements like, 'My whole life depends on this,' and I try to be very calm and tell them I hope that's not the case," she said.</p>
<p>Consider this exchange from a discussion group on the popular website <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com</a> , which provides information and advice on a range of college issues:</p>
<p>austinj: "I wonder if I can hibernate for 7 days "</p>
<p>MeanieChristinie: "Counting down makes it go slower. Being sick with the flu, as I am now, makes it go slower."</p>
<p>lastcall17: "How are you guys enduring this?! I keep checking online hoping there will be some like magical note or something AGHH!!!! I just can't stand the wait.!!!!"</p>
<p>Sally F. Rubenstone, a senior counselor and editor at the College Confidential website, said that seniors are especially alert during this time to signals or signs of admission verdicts. Students take to wearing lucky socks or T-shirts until the long-awaited letters arrive. They are also on the lookout for omens.*</p>
<p>I am with you Maryc and Mystified. My D is handling things much better that I. </p>
<p>We have a collective bargain when it comes to mail: anything from schools A and B I can open, anything from schools C and D I not only cannot open, but I also cannot tell her she has mail waiting from the schools.</p>
<p>All be over five weeks from now...</p>
<p>D is my last of four going off to college, but you'd think it was my first! I am not allowed to open ANY mail this week, but I have been instructed to send her a text message on her cell if a BIG envelope arrives.</p>
<p>I've a suggestion for any kid who thinks their entire future rests on whether they get into an Ivy school... instead of going to the gym or the movies to cope, go volunteer your time someplace where kids are worried about where they will get their next meal instead of which Ivy/Ivy-like college they will get into. There are people right under our noses with real problems -- I get tired of reading newspaper articles abou how "difficult" a time of year this is for our kids as they await decisions from Stanford and Yale.</p>