We all know we have hopes for our students, and we certainly worry about them in many ways. Our students have their own worries, and their hopes. But we may wonder how what we worry about and what we hope for match what other parents and students are thinking. Are our dreams and concerns totally unique?  Of course, there’s no way of knowing all of the things others dream or worry about, but when it comes to colleges, and especially getting into colleges, we do have some insight.

Each year the Princeton Review conducts a survey of students and parents to explore what we are all thinking about college. They call it the “College Hopes and Worries Survey.”

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Your student wants to apply to college. Or maybe your student is thinking about college and wondering whether they will be admitted anywhere. They’re not sure about anything, but they go ahead and fill out the Common Application “just in case.” It’s a good plan.

Then, seemingly out of the blue, one day an email arrives. “Dear _____, We want to let you know that if you apply to our school, you’ll be admitted.”

Wait, what? Your student hasn’t even applied yet. How can they know they’ll be admitted?

Suddenly, they have more confidence. They know they’ll get in somewhere, even if it isn’t their first choice of school. (But maybe it is!) They’ll apply where they know they’ll get in – but they may now also have the confidence to apply to other schools as well. They know they’re college material.

Sound impossible? Sound like fantasy? How could this be?

It’s not fantasy. It’s called Direct Admission.

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Senior year of high school. Your student is almost at the finish line! Well, actually, your student has almost arrived at the starting line — of college. It all depends on how you look at it.

Senior year of high school is definitely a milestone, and it’s natural — and appropriate — to feel pride and satisfaction and a sense of completion. It’s worth celebrating.

But one of the most common mistakes that high school seniors make is to see this year an easy year, a year to slide through, and a year that doesn’t count. Senioritis sets in — sometimes early in the year.

It’s important to talk to your senior or rising senior about how they can, and should, make this a year that matters. Talk about why this year is important in the larger scheme of things, about setting goals and meeting challenges, about thinking ahead to preparing for and succeeding in college — not just about getting into college.

Why does senior year matter?

Much of junior year is about looking at colleges, taking SAT and/or ACT tests and completing many required courses. The beginning of senior year is about putting together the college list and completing applications. The middle of senior year is about waiting for admission and then making final decisions. And then, finally, admission done, decision made, it’s all over.

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