<p>My D2012 My D is waiting on <em>ten</em> schools, having only heard from <em>one</em> so far.</p>
<p>Today she asked me whether it'd be OK to just collect everything in one place and then wait until April 1st to open the envelopes, click on the emails, and check the websites all at once. Basically she wants to pull the band-aid off fast.</p>
<p>Aside from the prospect that I just might die from impatience, is there any actual downside to waiting? Is there anything that may need a response before April 1st??</p>
<p>If she’s applied to schools that she will want to visit again if she’s accepted, it might be easier and possibly less expensive to make travel arrangements sooner rather than later. Of course, if some of her schools are concentrated in the same area and would be seen on the same trip, you won’t be able to make the arrangements until you have all the decisions anyway.</p>
<p>Actually, I have found it to be better to open when they come. I have found that S considers the possibility of each school as the acceptances arrive (okay, it’s only been three so far). This is especially important for safety schools, as he has time to reflect and imagine himself there.</p>
<p>The logistics of visits/revisits just make that hard to do.You’ll have just a few weeks to decide before May 1st and there’s a real good chance that there will be two accepted student visits on the same weekend. I’m a planner though, I wanted to figure that out right away.</p>
<p>Oh mihcal1, we on our parents of 2012 thread will be there for you if your D does it. </p>
<p>So, do most of the schools send by email, snail mail or do you need to log on? I think that other than the travel plans, there is not really going to be a problem. I can imagine her peers putting some pressure on her when their acceptances and rejections are already known. If she doesn’t have a true favorite I can’t see why not. </p>
<p>Now, if she really wants to be in the dark, you will need to hide the envelopes. It may be very obvious. So many envelopes announce acceptances, if only by the size of the envelopes. Maybe you can hand them out to her small envelopes first and then dole out the big shiny envelopes toward the end.</p>
<p>mihcal1…Our D did just what you’re describing. She had an EA acceptance that she really, really liked (BC Honors) and decided to let us get the mail and check her email until March 31st, 2010. At 5:00 p.m. she opened each email/letter (17 to be precise). She likened it to a band-aid as well. Had she not have had the acceptance from BC, she wouldn’t have done it that way. We still had time to re-visit her top 3 during April, so it worked out fine even though they were each in very different locations. There was no downside for us.</p>
<p>jc40 – my D has one EA acceptance, too, thank goodness! Othewise the wait would be even more unbearable.</p>
<p>oldfort – I think the idea is that she’d just not check her college email account at all until 4/01. Although that might be problematic because there may be summer internship info coming to that same account, and I’m not sure that can wait for 2+ weeks.</p>
<p>MizzBee – thanks for the moral support! I thought about the large/small envelope and the ones that have indications on the outside, too. I would go nuts if I had to collect the envelopes and then wait for 2+ weeks before seeing them opened!</p>
<p>kathiep & beth’s mom – I thought about the need to make travel arrangements. But the particulars of my D’s situation preclude advance planning. She is very familiar with her So.CA options already, so there really isn’t any need for a jaunt out to any of them until she hears from her more distant schools. The No.CA schools could be visited as day trips (<em>love</em> SWA!) but UCB doesn’t notify until 3/29. For her OOS schools she’d have to travel during HS spring break, and I can’t buy those plane tix until we hear from the reachy schools at the very end of March. </p>
<p>lisabees – I agree with you that <em>I</em> would rather open them as they come. Heck, I’m having trouble waiting even that long. Stalking the mailman … yup, that’s me.</p>
<p>My D got the idea of waiting because we’re out of town 3/29-4/01 (the whole family is going to CA-JCL convention – D2012 & D2015 attending, DH and I chaperoning), so will be away during the craziest final days. We’ll have to ask a neighbor to collect the mail while we’re gone, and won’t have easy internet access for checking email or web portals. I think she figures that if she’s going to have to wait those last few days, she might as well start waiting now. Fine for her, but my head may explode!</p>
<p>She might also find this more difficult as friends find out their results and want to celebrate or commiserate. We do have an agreement that our 12D will only open results at home and away from her friends so she can have some privacy to her reactions. That will likely mean delaying some openings.</p>
<p>Talk about delayed gratification. Remember that study in the '70s where a kid was brought in and had a marshmallow put in front of them. They were told if they could wait 10 minutes they could get another marshmallow. I’m sure she could have sat there for hours as a kid waiting. </p>
<p>I actually like the idea, but I wouldn’t have the self control. The snail mail ones will have to be handled by you and put somewhere she won’t see. But, at least you’ll know because so many are big packages. </p>
<p>I had often said it would be nice to find out on one day so a few no’s in the pile wouldn’t feel so devastating. Of course that’s assuming there are positive responses. It would be nice to get one email or one envelope with all the answers on one page.</p>
<p>If travelling isn’t an issue with the timing, why not?</p>
<p>" I would go nuts if I had to collect the envelopes and then wait for 2+ weeks before seeing them opened!" – I would be found in the kitchen over a steaming kettle, trying to unseal those surreptitiously.</p>
<p>Actually, I suggested this to my D to avoid repeated ups and downs. As 1012mom said, it didn’t work because of her classmates. It can also be good to share with classmates. My D was rejected from an honors college recently that we thought was a safety. She shared it at school with her classmates next morning. It turned out another kid applied there and also denied. They are top 2 students at their school and one of them has a likely from an Ivy. Sharing put the rejection in perspective as well as providing some closure to it.</p>
<p>I am in the same boat with you, 12 more to go, heard from 1.</p>
<p>If a big envelope arrives, with “Congratulations” on the cover, I’d definitely show my child. That would soften other responses. The worm applied before smart phones existed, so he had to wait until home from school to check e-mail. I cannot fathom how difficult it must be for kids today.</p>
<p>Son hadn’t seen the colleges that accepted him, so I had to spend a few hours to plan itinerary, flying various cities across country. Important to know accepted students days. We only made one of those, but he did coordinate with admissions to sit in on classes at another school. They gave us a private tour of campus, and allowed the worm to return for another day. I think seeing his 2 top schools so closely together helped him make decision. He still thinks he would have been fine if chose the other.</p>
<p>pathways – that is exactly the sort of thing I’m asking about. I am fine (well, except emotionally :eek:) with waiting as long as there aren’t she doesn’t miss any important deadlines for responses. In addition to what you mentioned (FA forms, special luncheons or visitation reservations), I was specifically thinking about scholarships, honors programs, housing requests, and anything that might need a deposit.</p>
<p>Has anyone received any acceptance(s) that came with “action items” with a short (less than ~2 week) time-limit? Or do they always give you until May 1st to commit?</p>
<p>pathways has a very good point - S has received emails about new opportunities that require brief applications. He’s also gotten mail notifications about expenses paid for visiting. You don’t want to miss out on those! She could also receive notice about missing financial aid forms!</p>
<p>Maybe you should tell her that her plan is fine, but you should monitor the mail and email so that nothing gets missed. That way she can deal with it all at once and you can know what’s going on!</p>
<p>Editing to add - S got an opportunity to apply for research grant money at a school with a due date of March 16th. Also a request to complete IDOC with a due date of March 1st (for a school that did not request it for older S two years ago). Also a verification form for FA was requested by another school.</p>
<p>Mihcal1…I did monitor the emails, at her request, to make sure nothing needed an immediate response. Each school on her list (almost all top 25), gave her until 5/1 to make all decisions/notifications. I suppose it depends on your daughter’s list.</p>
<p>My D got an acceptance for a school on about March 1. A week later she received a letter inviting her to apply for their honors program. The application requires two short essays, and is due March 23, so if she had waited til April 1, she would have missed the opportunity to apply.</p>