"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." - Edith Lovejoy Pierce
I’ve used this same quote to ring in the New Year for many years and it truly amazes me how simple and yet how profound it is.
For seniors, with applications submitted, and graduation on the horizon, this feels like it would be the perfect time to think about opportunities and possibilities. In reality, it’s a particularly challenging time of year for seniors to focus on “new beginnings”. The first few months of the year feel more like a limbo period as they wait to hear from the remainder of their colleges. Not knowing can make it difficult to think about what’s next, as well as enjoy what is. But there are definitely ways to do that. And actually, one of the ways to feel more certain in an uncertain time is to focus on the things you can control, like enjoying your last year of high school. Or taking care of the day to day things that might need to be checked with respect to your current applications.
Here are 5 things parents and students can do to take action, stay busy and focus on what you can control:
1. Continually check your portals for admission info: this is where colleges post any updates on your admission decisions and next steps, but they also post information they may need to continue to review your application.
2. Familiarize yourself with next steps for colleges you’re admitted to: even if you haven’t yet decided you want to attend, check the portals for information on housing, admitted student days or any other information
3. Confirm you’ve received a financial aid award letter: these tend to come out after the student has been admitted and should be in the portal. If you have not received one, make sure you contact the college to find out when it will be sent.
4. Report any academic changes: if you’ve added/dropped classes from what you originally reported, it is important that the college has that information
5. Get legal documents in order: Parents, it may not be clear where yet, but your student will be heading off to college in the fall, so familiarizing yourself with the necessary legal forms and documents to have is easiest to do when you start ahead.
By far, the most important thing to do is enjoy your senior year!!! I know there are still many more colleges to hear from, but you’ve already done all you can to affect that outcome. What you CAN effect is creating the experience of your last semester of high school. Go to games, attend senior ditch day, hang out with friends, spend time with favorite teachers, try out for a play, have fun! If you spend time worrying about what might be, you’ll miss the opportunity to experience what is happening right now, your final year of high school!!