Parents of the HS Class of 2021 (Part 2)

Yes, while it sounds like she’s very pleased and content with GT acceptance…might as well and see what else comes her way in the days ahead. She may have some compelling decisions to make! But so far so good for her!!! :hugs::+1:

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@2sk211 my daughter also got into Ga Tech but waiting on 10 more schools as well!

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No you’re not the only one discouraging your kids from becoming a doctor! My ex husband is a Dr and it is a long haul. He did graduate college a year early, but then did a 5 year residency in the middle of no where (a college town) and by the time we came back here, 3 kids later, he was 30, I was 33 and it’s a long time to begin your life. Not to mention he had 250K of medical school debt. Our kids are all really good at science and math and stem but none of them had any interest in medical school. Not sure they were overly dissuaded but they definitely weren’t pulled toward it either.

3 of my kids are in CS and 1 is in a Business Honors program, highly considering a 5 year iMPA and also talking about working a few years then going to law school. That one takes after my side of the family ;). But they do what they love, not what they feel they need to go into to make a lot of money or not and that’s real important. One of my CS’ers is contemplating now switching to ORIE or combining to be a double major with CS or minoring in that. She’s already getting a business minor. And the Business one is also getting an MIS minor and jobs she’s interviewed with for internships love that MIS piece. Funny to see how companies like both aspects of CS/Business in some regard.

I will join you as well. For me it’s 2 things— 1. waiting in general is hard. Weeks and weeks of waiting.
2. This is my first rodeo and I know just enough to be dangerous. Just enough to realize this whole process feels like such a crapshoot and has very little to do with my awesome D. Her awesomeness may not play a very big role in where she ends up getting accepted and I have to get closer to truly knowing that. So much conjecture and what if’s. She gets it more than I do. I have internalized the pressure of my parents asking why she is not going to an ivy.

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Where to begin. My D21 on her own free will has always been a dedicated, hard working student who busted her ass and got straight A’s, XC and track team captain, held down a job since summer after sophomore year etc… you know, all the things. No one made her do those things. She is driven. She did those things because because she has high standards for herself. it was hard watching her survive on very little sleep and make so many sacrifices.

She wants to be an elementary school teacher, and she has wanted this since she was in Kindergarten. if you knew her, you would know that one day she will be that teacher that every parent wants their kid to have. Because of covid things have been turned upside down and the class of 2021 are the guinea pigs. There have not been rejections, but there have been waitlists and they have been totally unexpected and they sting. I knew going into this there were no guarantees but I guess that fact that we are experiencing it, hurts.

I wonder if she is questioning all that she has sacrificed and if it was all worth it now. Will she still want to continue to have high standards for herself in the next chapter? It sucks she’s had to apply to schools she hasn’t been able to visit. It sucks she might have to go to a school she won’t get to visit first. It sucks that we don’t have very much time to make a final decision by May 1 when we don’t even have all the answers yet. I’m also annoyed how hard it is to find schools that interest her that even have her major. Don’t we want and need as many wonderful teachers as we can get?

The icing on the cake is today is my birthday and I don’t have a card from my husband yet. If that comes later today, then he will be off the hook.

I’m doing a live Cody ride to cheer myself up and then having tequila with champagne and st Germaine in it. I will most likely have a second one too!

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I would have had it before 4, except I’m hoping on the Peloton soon:)

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Same here on so much of what you wrote!!!

It’s soooo frustrating and so drawn out.
And yes, so many highly qualified students that it’s like a lottery.

We are first timers, too. I’ve been working on this since S was in 8th grade and I’m over it!!!

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My SON got the exact same thing!! So weird! Wasn’t sure if I should be worried or not?

Happy birthday to you!!! :birthday::biking_woman:t2::clinking_glasses::cherry_blossom::partying_face::balloon::gift::tada:

Okay, Hubby better get into gear soon but if not, he will owe you and feel guilty and you’ll get lots of stuff done on his future “Honey Do” lists. :wink:

Two, your daughter sounds very special!!! Who doesn’t adore those who want to go into teaching of early grades!! We all remember our kindergarten and 1st grade teachers. They are special people for sure.

I hope and bet her resiliency will shine through even if not in the short term (although she may even be showing it now?!) but I bet in the long term when some distance from this horrid year (s) are past us all and she can dream of receiving her first red apple from a star struck kindergarten student in her colorful, fun, creative, and kind classroom.

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Just the thought of many of the kids sitting and waiting for 10 more schools to notify is mind-boggling (we are waiting for 12 more) and made more mind-boggling by the fact that my friend sent us a CNN video on how COVID is wreaking havoc on admissions…while we are on spring break in Hawaii.

We are fortunate in that everyone is fully vaccinated now except for D24 since she’s under 15. I’m really glad that I planned it around UC decision days (I planned it during Brown ED notification but we canceled) because I just checked into CC while relaxing and seeing someone post that redditors posted Davis had decisions and S21 is just happy as can be half a mile from the shore (and if something happens to him, I’m going to hope his AA USA swim time standards can bail him out) and oblivious to the stress.

This has been so nuts and stressful and I told myself I wouldn’t be stressed.

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My D received the U of KY email too and has never contacted them let alone apply for anything. It was odd.

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Regarding the Univ. of Kentucky email, could it be a phishing scam? I don’t have access to my S’s email so I don’t know if he got it, but my hubby knows a lot about internet scams and he’d prolly say to be careful before clicking any links in the email!

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@Picklenut6 and @123Mom123 I think a lot of us are feeling this way. I remember from when I first joined CC there was a very long thread by @lindagaf about the “average excellent” student. It was very helpful because as much as we think that the sun and moon rise over our awesome kids, there are many awesome kids out there. And the surge in applications this year makes it even harder for them to stand out in the crowd. I don’t begrudge the chance that TO has given to great kids who couldn’t test or simply don’t test well to be able to apply to reach schools. But when the rules of the game change overnight in combination with all of the sacrifices, the isolation, the missed opportunities and the cancelled celebrations, it’s a lot.

I think a lot of us have kids who are self-driven and are now asking themselves why they pushed themselves so hard. We have to keep reminding them that their self worth is not measured by the colleges that accept them but by their character and hard work. And that the foundation they have laid will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Easier said that believed, I know. Hang in there, everyone.

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My D just received that email as well and hasn’t applied to UK.

The fact that we – parents who are at least somewhat knowledgeable about the process – can’t tell which schools are “safeties” is concerning to me.

Maybe a “safety” is only a safety after you’ve received a acceptance letter? With colleges going test-optional en masse, there are now even fewer indicators to help us select “safeties” or “matches”.

Is “fit” just an empty word we use when we can’t explain why a student didn’t get into a supposed “safety” or “low-match”?

Should “shotgunning” be the standard recommended strategy for everyone? I know this year, more than any other year before, kids are shotgunning. So maybe we are already there?

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Could also just be they sent the wrong email template. It was probably supposed to be an apply to UK email and someone messed up.

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@Picklenut6 Cody has a way of making everything better!! Happy Birthday to you, I hope he gives you a shout out! :partying_face: :balloon:

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I feel a thousand times better and hit a PR. he didn’t give me a shout out, but yours makes up for it!

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Question for parents whose kids are into STEM. My son is a rising HS freshman. I was wondering how important it is to take 3 years of a language in HS. He’ll be starting at Spanish 3 but with my older daughter (HS Senior) we were told she needed to take 3 years of a language even if that meant she reached Spanish 4/5/ AP because some colleges don’t count middle school Spanish. We took the conservative approach and she ended up with 3 years of Spanish in HS. Is that true to apply to colleges with top 50?

Making a tentative plan for my son, it would really help if he could skip Spanish 5/AP his junior year and take another class.

Both of my kids dread(Ed) Spanish with a passion.

Thoughts?

Forgive my ignorance, what is shotgunning?