Parent more anxious than student!

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
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<p>ulcerita, not only does your D have a level head about the college application process, her and your gratitude for her K-12 experience is also incredibly thoughtful. Many students and parents are quick to place blame on teachers, counselors, schools, etc when things don’t go well and to know that your D and family have valued her education is comforting.</p>

<p>She might even want to send thank you notes to her favorite teachers/counselors. Those can go a long way towards helping us in the education field feel valued and appreciated!</p>

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<p>ulcerita,<br>
Without question that last response was one of the most refreshing posts I have ever read on this forum. As an public school teacher of more than 25 years, we just don’t hear comments like the ones you shared any more. Seriously, you made my night. Can you to move to central Virginia and be our PTA president? :slight_smile: </p>

<p>W&M Admission, the idea about the thank you notes to teachers is an awesome one as well. Three years ago, when my oldest was at the end of his senior year (and had some time on his hands), I had him pick a couple teachers from each level of his K-12 education to write thank you’s to. I was at one of the schools last year- his elementary school. I stopped by the room of one of those teachers he wrote to and there, taped on the wall behind her desk was his note and a picture of his class from 12 years before. She said she looks at it everyday and won’t remove it until she retires because it makes her appreciate herself and what she does day in and day out.</p>

<p>Without getting to gushy, it means so much to know that there are still kids like your daughter and parents like you out there who are unequivocally supportive. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!</p>

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<p>KandK, while current high schoolers likely are unfamiliar with actual snail mail thank you notes in the age of ever-growing electronic communication, we’d guess those who remember the days of thank you notes would greatly appreciate them.</p>

<p>In fact, that’s why we sometimes send hand-written postcards to some of our applicants. We’re not sure anything has come along that replaces the sincerity and thoughtfulness of a hand-written note</p>

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<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>and thank you for the nice discussion! </p>

<p>I talked with my kids about this topic and we had so much fun remembering all of their wonderful teachers throughout their educational ‘career’. My daughter really wants to write to a former teacher who taught her to sew in elementary school (this teacher volunteered to teach an after-school class in dollmaking, which my daughter loved); my daughter bought a sewing machine 3 years ago and is now is obsessed with designing and making cute party dresses from my old table cloths! I was reminded that, sometimes, the teachers who receive the most attention and accolades, for their high test scores and clipped professional demeanor, are not perhaps the most memorable, to the students individually. …and, like your experience, KandK, these teachers must treasure knowing how beloved they are in a child’s life. Your story is so sweet!</p>

<p>Interestingly, many of the adults to whom they want to write thank-you notes include non-teachers: the favorite bus-driver, the beloved building engineer from their elementary school (who has near-rockstar status among the kindergarteners for his gentle smile and awesome basketball skills), respected coaches, and one very eccentric hall monitor. I was so impressed with the idea that all adults who work with children possess an astonishing amount of power to influence lives; a great reminder! </p>

<p>One concept that emerged from our discussion: my daughter remarked that, despite her ability to solve complicated math problems or discuss literature, she feels that she knows nothing of survival skills that could actually save her life! We talked about the role of schools, and education itself, beyond simple practicality and survival, and how the college application process judges students on higher order thinking, rather than problem-solving in a survival situation…regardless of how useful those skills could be. It defines a situation where she must stand-and-deliver, according to someone else’s definition of success, and, in this particular process, she is not the one in control of the standards (…get used to it, girl!). </p>

<p>I added that, because my children attend a large, urban, multicultural school system, they indeed are receiving a social education that no money can buy: how to get along with all types of people, in often unfamiliar social settings and situations. This ability to smoothly improvise social behavior, without appearing awkward, is invaluable; they’ve received this benefit as a side-dish to their main course of academic instruction…but it is peripheral to their selection as a college applicant. Both survival skills and street smarts are valuable tools to possess; they simply are not measured in the college application process, which selects top academic performers. </p>

<p>We really had fun talking about these things…thank you all for stimulating such interesting conversation at our dinner table!</p>

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<p>I have a question for W&M Admission: when do you think you will have determined a release date? Will you know soon when you are going to release decisions, or will you not know/post this information until the date is very near?</p>

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<p>W&M Admissions,</p>

<p>I am a great believer in handwritten notes and letters as well, much to my children’s chagrin! :slight_smile: DD sent a handwritten thank-you to the lovely young woman who conducted her personal interview this summer. I didn’t even have to ask her… she knew from years of reminders. Letter-writing has become somewhat of a lost art, sadly.</p>

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<p>darn it…late typo on an last post…“too”, not “to” </p>

<p>Can’t stand to leave it there :)</p>

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<p>ulcerita, sounds like you have raised some amazing young students who any college would be lucky to yield.</p>

<p>onebluegoldfish, we do not yet have an exact date for when we will release decisions. Committee is a very fluid process and we can’t always predict exactly when that process will be completed. As soon as we know when we will release decisions we will post that date on our website, our blog, our social media sites and CC.</p>

<p>Mom4Life, our interviewers loved receiving thank you notes so what your D sent was greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>thank you,</p>

<p>I’d like to echo the other parents and students who have thanked you, W&M Admission, for your willingness to reply and remain so vigilant, here, on these threads. No other school that I’ve been following on this website has maintained such a constant and transparently helpful presence on the discussion boards; it’s really appreciated, and speaks so well of W&M, as a school, and community, of invested people.</p>

<p>thanks again!</p>

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<p>ulcerita, that’s so nice of you to say. We have heard that a lot lately on various threads and really appreciate how grateful CC members are for our presence. We’re just happy to communicate with students and families in whatever environment works for them and to be putting forth helpful information about our process.</p>