<p>Have y’all seen Every Little Step, the documentary about A Chorus Line? It features footage of the cattle calls and callbacks for the 2006 Broadway revival of the show. </p>
<p>What is sobering is how terrific almost everyone is at the callbacks. You just know that every one of those performers was the best from their high school and/or town, that they all could do an amazing job if someone would just give them a chance. Close analogy to the selective school application process.</p>
<p>Thank you, truly, for all the beautiful posts and PMs today. None of my non-virtual friends grasp this; their children have not tried to reach beyond our state flagship or nearby OOS flagships. So this circle of support has been so helpful.</p>
<p>I skipped out of work/home to do a Zumba class this morning to shake off some stress. That helped. Both the principal and our guidance counselor have checked in our our son today and will allow him to take a mental health afternoon after his AP Government test. </p>
<p>Last night, he sent an e-mail to the vice chancellor of research at Mizzou who is a graduate of our high school–and was a physics/nuclear engineering major at MIT! This man and my husband have a mutual friend. That mutual friend wrote the vice chancellor about our son last fall. The vice chancellor sent a really nice letter to our son. Last night’s e-mail said, “I am coming to Mizzou. How can I be assured of doing the research I want to do.” I can see in our sons’ G-mail account that he has a reply back already from the vice chancellor.</p>
<p>So, the sun will come up again tomorrow. We will practice the waltz tonight and I will take missypie’s advice and try not to show how hurt I am.</p>
<p>As for what to say to kids who experience this, I just keep telling him that I love him and am so proud of him. If he weren’t my child, I think I would say, “I’m so sorry for your disappointment. You are a wonderful young man/woman and I’m so glad you are friends with ____.” Something like that. No mention now of how things will work out, how it’s the school’s loss etc. </p>
<p>Again, thank you all for being so compassionate and understanding.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It is a delicate dance, because you have to try to not show how hurt you are while *not *acting as if you don’t care. (It’s so hard to be the perfect parent!)</p>
<p>Just a quick light post in between all of the articulate and passionate posts about dreams, reality, lottery chances, feelings, family love and more. Many readers have commented in their posting comments that it has been hard to keep up with all the posts. They are right.</p>
<p>Post #10,000 was posted on 2/24 at 12:16PM and post #11,000 was posted yesterday, 3/14, at 6:33 PM. That was only 18 days for 1,000 posts.</p>
<p>My prediction is that this board will get to 12,000 and possibly 13,000 posts even faster.</p>
<p>Now, back to the world of college application decisions …</p>
<p>I, too, am sorry to hear about the MIT results for OWM, Scoutsmom and Phbmom. For everyone second guessing whether they should have done something differently, please remember that if you had done whatever it might be, your child would be a different person than s/he is now. Every experience, especially at this age, moulds the mind and character in ways subtle or overt, and if you love the child you have, you made the right choices. </p>
<p>Since I have no college updates, I wanted to share my foal update. Current count - 9. Yesterday a chestnut filly with a big white star and snip on her face discovered running - she blasted up a hill to her mom, screeched to a halt, and puffed out her chest and waved her silly little feather-duster of a tail like she had just won the Derby. Today, two foals exploded sequentially, each doing some airs above the ground before burning up the grass in opposite directions. The other two in the field were watching closely, and I expect foal races in this field in the near future - amazing that genetics can create babies that, only weeks old, instinctively line up together and fly off their imaginary starting line to race each other around a field.</p>
<p>OWM–Like some other moms, I teared up when I read your earlier post about your son’s MIT result. It is really helpful to the rest of us who are dealing with rejections of various kinds to know that we are not alone in our emotions. </p>
<p>I’ve been gone for a while because my internet went out and I had painters in the house. I got so far behind that I thought I’d never catch up! In the last several weeks, my D has acquired National Merit finalist status, one more college acceptance, two likely letters and a prom dress. While I am, of course, happy about these things, her college choice will be up in the air until we hear about merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Foals - how lovely! I live near several horse farms and just love seeing them in the spring.</p>
<p>I am feeling for everyone right now. We all know that windows open when doors close, but that moment in between is really rough. I absolutely can relate to the “what could I have done better?” question. Last night I was feeling discouraged, and my H said, “Too bad you’re human.” Then he gave me permission to skip today - not skip work, or anything, just poof, disappear for a day, reappear Weds! That would have been awfully nice.</p>
<p>But today wasn’t so bad after all. Isn’t that so often the case? These kids are so resilient. I’m trying to learn from them!</p>
<p>Yesterday D got a really stupid mailing from a school - I won’t go into details, but it looked like an acceptance, walked like an acceptance, talked like an acceptance, until we read it for the 4th time and realized it still was only “info” not an answer. Can’t even call it a “likely letter.” The school has apologized - it was ill-timed, badly worded, useless as “info,” and really downright mean to send it NOW, when the real answers should be coming.</p>
<p>D took it pretty well - she’ll be ripped if she now gets a rejection, but I guess we’ll just have to see. Hopefully the real acceptance letter will come very soon, and we can be done with this process. It hasn’t been a top choice for her, but she really likes it, and once she held what she thought was an acceptance in her hand, it became a serious contender.</p>
<p>Our Japanese visitor is still here, and it’s her birthday! Poor kid! We’re going to try to do something special for her. Luckily neither girl has heard any terrible personal news, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for them, continuing to hear the reports of their homeland. </p>
<p>Talk about living day-to-day. That’s our theme lately. But spring is in the air, and that is so lovely. I think tomorrow I’ll wash my down coat and put it away for the season. I’m ready!</p>
<p>avon, you are such a great addition to this thread…keeping the statistics for us and all.</p>
<p>I’m staggered to know that we put up 1000 posts in 18 days…and that I read every single one of them!</p>
<p>This is a great group of friends, and I think we’ll keep posting long after decisions are made and graduations have come and gone. I predict most of us will be here, helping each other ease through the transition next fall and through the year. I know I will be. I can’t imagine not getting my daily 2011/2015 fix. :)</p>
<p>325, I loved your post!!!</p>
<p>Check the beginning of the “post-class of '10” thread. They made 1000 posts in just a few days last summer. I think we’ll be pretty close, too! Really big things are happening from now on.</p>
<p>Just have to drop in to respond about the “Internet Connected Parent” - I had to laugh!</p>
<p>While I am not generally over–connected, our older S (college senior) has been frantically calling and texting the last two days. He is on a school trip with days packed with activities and appts of which he has no control. And much to his amazement - their hotel has no internet service. While he has been away, he has received two international job offers - via e-mail - on two different continents with wildly different requests of him to skype with someone, e-mail someone, read things online, — amazing — and he doesn’t have access due to his schedule, etc.!
In a normal environment we’d hear about all this after the fact, but I am very involved as he is calling with requests for me to check things online. Pretty funny! We are so dependent these days on our “connections” and the expectation of businesses is that we are totally onboard and available!</p>
<p>On the college front - '11 S received good admission news from another school today, but with not-quite-enough funding. This is becoming a distinct pattern. I fear big disappointment or big loans on the horizon. Three more schools to go - am looking so forward to having all the info in hand!!</p>
<p>Schokolade & puma - glad you gave us some good news.</p>
<p>EmmyBet - its hard for me to be patient when schools can realize how raw all the nerves are right now. We hang on their every word/email/blog trying to read between the lines to interpret the hidden meaning…</p>
<p>325…congrats on the foals</p>
<p>^^
Puma, with good reason you are getting so many texts. Very cool about the job offers etc. Great to have a student graduating from college gainfully employed!</p>
<p>Started reading this book…and finding it BORING…
and so repetitive in the first chapters…</p>
<p>OK, I get it,
Studies show that the cell phone/internet connected generation of kids is generally TOO plugged into their devices…
There are kids who text/call/email home avg 7x a week and receive an avg of 7 text/email/calls from parents for an avg total of 13/14 per week…
And its stunting their growth and independence as adults…</p>
<p>Frankly I have a hard time imaging our student contacting us that much–AND–over the last 4 summers our student has been away and we didn’t get updates often–maybe 1x a week<br>
Our student did laundrey alone, handled social things alone, work etc etc…and didn’t have to call home for trouble shooting until kiddo was sick and wondered what to buy in a CVS.</p>
<p>The only thing we have asked for in the past have been texts or calls while traveling/between connections so we knew our student made it between flights/shuttles/etc Our student has gotten pretty skilled at navigating airports. I expect next year kiddo will also gain some skills with train terminals.
so while we are close, we have wanted kiddo to get some of these skills before Move In come this fall.</p>
<p>Evidently these big social changes have come in less than 10 years…and these kids are so plugged into their devices…we see that on hs campuses too…evidently the parents are editing papers, directing choosing majors, calling college advisors etc. The immediate gratification of getting an answer from a parent is short circuiting the young adult from finding the answer themselves…seeking out the registrar, the advisor, the bursar etc…</p>
<p>325: what a lovely image of your foals. New birth, youthful playfulness. Spring really is going to come to all of us soon, isn’t it?</p>
<p>Son is home from school. He read the e-mail from the vice chancellor of research AND a prof doing research in nuclear fusion. Both want him to come to campus to talk with them. I think we will survive, but I’m sure we will be on the emotional roller coaster for a while.</p>
<p>What am I to do with the half a Boston Cream Pie in my refrigerator?</p>
<p>^^^Send it back to those knuckleheads in Beantown.</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>j/k</p>
<p>Perhaps you could find an MIT adcom and throw it at him.</p>
<p>(Immature, I know, but that’s what I felt like doing when DS2 got deferred at dream school in Dec.)</p>
<p>Emmybet~As a parents on both thread, I try to equally post on the '10 and '11 threads.
Last year it kind of became a game we tried to catch up to the '09…I know sad.
Over the next few weeks the number of posts will drastically increase, it is the nature of the beast. Lurkers will delurke and share their joys or pains…we will see each other kids through the orientation process, move-in…and then will come home waiting to hear from the kid in college…</p>
<p>OWM~Glad to hear your S is home and that he had some positive e-mails waiting for him.
Eat the pie…you made it with love, you deserve a slice or two…and send some my way Please :D</p>
<p>owm - S and I love boston cream pie. How about sending us a slice ? 
Although I have to admit the idea that redshoes had sounds therapeutic.</p>
<p>Ok, time to tell myself to calm down. D got into her school that I was so second-guessing about this morning! Got the big envelope - is thrilled beyond compare! And I was freaking out since lots of people (including those in CA and MA reported getting it yesterday). Luckily, I hadn’t told her about it. She said she just felt like getting the mail today and there was the big envelope!! This is a kid that gets the mail from the box once a year! Being on cc is good, having a little more knowledge of when these decisions go out etc is good, but can also cause unnecessary stress as I found out :(</p>
<p>We don’t have any information on merit scholarships for this school as yet - but for now, she will be happy with the acceptance! And I will learn to savor this one for a little bit before getting anxious about the scholarships or the other decisions due!</p>
<p>arisamp - congrats to your D! </p>
<p>It’s amazing how all of this WILL make you second guess what you have done and all your decisions leading up to now.</p>
<p>S got a yes from his 2nd safety today. It is a beautiful LAC with a great reputation. He prefers the other 2 schools he’s heard from over this one, but considering the roller coaster ride he may be on the next 2 weeks…it’s nice to feel the love.</p>
<p>rom828 - thanks. Congratulations to you on your S’s acceptance as well. I understand what you mean by “feel the love”. H said it has been a while since the EA acceptances came in and it was nice to start this RD round with a good feeling, with an acceptance. We know that some rejections are definitely around the corner and more second guessing to come with it.</p>