<p>The underlying question in this process is why kids become obsessed with ONE school? Yes, there are perhaps dream schools, but they are not the only game in town and often kids are overlooking the outstanding attributes of other colleges. Further, one never knows what the Good Lord has in store for you at the schools which did accept you and where you will probably end up going. We never know what is in the future for us. Nothing wrong with trying to get in, but at some point, one has to move along and focus on the real future, the one where you did get in. Obsessing about one particular school is unhealthy and myopic in my view.</p>
<p>True, if my kid had been waitlisted at Harvard we would have made an extra effort. She didnt apply. She was waitlisted along with untold numbers of others at WashU-St. Louis. We tried again with a nice letter. It didnt work. However, they did write her and strongly encouraged her to reapply as a transfer student. Ultimately she decided to stay where she is at and is thriving. In hindsight, would she have been happier at WashU? I dont think so. Its a fine school which we really, really liked. But we have moved on. Perhaps for graduate school.</p>
<p>But obsessed? No.</p>