<p>menloparkmom Thanks. The other issue here is that he has couple of other decisions pending and while they are also stretch schools, his chances there are in my opinion better and I am cautiously optimistic at least one will be positive. However, there is still a possibility that he may not be accepted by those schools and we are concerned about how he will react if that were to happen. </p>
<p>Meanwhile he has been accepted into the flagship state school (safety) with some aid with a strong possibility of more aid, he has applied to some target schools (decisions in April) and there are 3-4 other schools he would like to apply and was holding off for these decisions and I will offer to do what you have suggested for those applications. Any suggestions on how to prepare for the next few days as we do not know what is in store. </p>
<p>When he applied, I had explained to him the concept of stretch schools and why he needed to apply to a variety of schools that were acceptable to him. I think my mistake was that I assumed that he was mature enough (he is mature for his age) to understand the implications and take a “I tried my best and and I am glad I did not get rejected” view rather than a total meltdown.</p>