Lots going on at our house today. There's an Easter Egg Scramble in Warroad this morning at 10am and after that a scavenger hunt at the Marvin Home Center. At home, we'll be decorating our Easter eggs and making Czech potato salad per the recipe from babička Oluše. (Hint: No mayo.) We may even organize our own Easter egg hunt for Sunday afternoon.
The Oldest is on The Band Trip, the age-old, bi-annual opportunity for the Warroad Band to travel and perform in New York City and Washington D.C. After that she'll hop another bus in Toledo, Ohio and meet up with the rest of us in Detroit for the FIRST Championship for robotics. Next week's blog post is sure to be chock-full of Detroit adventures and whatnot.
Lent is wrapping up and, I have to be honest, my mind has been far less on Christ and much more on college admissions. Instead of giving up chocolate, my Lenten journey has been a steady diet of webinars, podcasts, books,and videos. I'm generally not a fan of such extensive research, so this ravenous appetite for information must mean I am either really enjoying it or am a glutton for punishment, in which case I've been perfectly aligned with Lenten objectives.
Since my own "admission" (haha, pun intended) about my glee in researching the whole college process and the internal conflict about NOT wanting to be a helicopter parent, I have shamelessly delved into the world of college admissions research. This has been primarily a solitary endeavor as the Oldest is mostly focused on what homework is due tomorrow. College is still over the hill - a little closer than when I wrote about this back in January, but not by much.
Fortunately, I found a fellow research partner in crime - another mother with a daughter helpfully similar to my own. Since our daughters both eyeroll and say, "Mooom!" whenever we bring up college, we've turned to each other. She texts me photos from their family's college visits. I keep her sanity in the balance by telling her not to get sucked into the vortex of crazy. Because, guess what, folks. That's what it is.
I've watched many College Reaction and College Decision YouTube videos by students who found out if they got accepted, rejected, or waitlisted. These are as addicting as Starburst jelly beans.
Webinars from private college consultants such as College Vine, Admission Science, and, my favorite SuperTutorTV, were hugely informative, but all focused on admissions for highly selective schools. Have you seen those acceptance rates lately? Basically under 10% . Read this article on the 2019 stats, New data show how hard it was to get into an elite US college this year.
Let's take the epitome of crazy in 2019 acceptance rates: Harvard.
(Note: Stanford used to be the epitome of crazy, but they decided to stop releasing their insane data. Which is fine for the moment because they mirror Harvard's. Article: Stanford Will Stop Reporting Its Acceptance Rate. Harvard Won't. It May Not Matter)
The statistics are staggering. More students get accepted into a freshman class than the number of people who live in my town. The entire application pool is the size of a modest city.
To add to the crazy, not only are more kids applying to college, they're applying to more colleges. Gone are the days when you picked only 1 and after that MAYBE a couple more. No, apparently kids today are sending applications to 10-15 schools on average. Some of those YouTubers I watched sent over 20! Insanity! (Note: Here's good Ted Talk outlining the situation: Hacking college admissions: John Katzman at TEDxBeaconStreet)
Instead of thinking about my own kid and which twenty schools she might select, I thought about those poor admissions counselors who have to read all of those applications sent to Harvard. And if kids are applying to a bajillion schools - well, all I can think of is what a waste of time for those admissions officers. If a student applies to a conservative 10 schools - 9 admissions counselors will have wasted their time poring over a kid's application when there is a 90% chance that that kid will not even go there. This is either highly inefficient or one way to ensure job security.
There are plenty of books and articles warning and cajoling parents - begging them not to get sucked into the crazy. Don't cast a wide net and see what happens. By doing this, you're creating a lot of extra work for real live bodies. Would YOU like to read 40,000 college applications? A year? Every year?
Does this kind of crazy exist in Wannaska Country?
Anecdotally, I think not. The first of the graduation announcements arrived via U.S. Post and Kid Post this past week, and the college selections I've seen so far include: UND, U of M-Morris, BSU, UMD, and Bethel College. As the invitations come in, I can assume NDSU, MSUM, ICC, Alexandria Tech, Northland, and, my alma mater, U of M - Twin Cities, will be added to the list.
The acceptance rates of these institutions are far more generous. And that's not a bad thing.
Which leads to my main point today, peeps.
Don't get sucked into the crazy.
Ample research affirms that WHAT you do at whichever college you attend is far more important than WHERE you go to college. (And picking something affordable is super helpful.)
All of the schools the class of 2019 is looking forward to in the fall can all be phenomenal schools. Heck, they could even outshine the Ivies. It all depends on what that incoming freshman is going to DO at the institution of their choice.
Ask not what best school a young person will attend; ask what they will do to make the best of it.
Happy Easter!
Kids' Corner
The Oldest texted to say Chicago was windy. (Hence the nickname, The Windy City.)
The Second Oldest is asking to test drive his road skills. (Which means spring is officially here.)
The WAKWIR is playing a new game which he learned about at the Science Museum. I hope he tells you all about it.
The First Grader had a choir concert this week in which she wore a headband of cat ears and white gloves. She danced and sang a groovy tune about The Three Little Kittens. (Note: There were nine.)
The Toddler discovered the joy of rubber boots and mud puddles. (I am doing lots of laundry.)
Happy Easter from the crew!
The Second Oldest is asking to test drive his road skills. (Which means spring is officially here.)
The WAKWIR is playing a new game which he learned about at the Science Museum. I hope he tells you all about it.
The First Grader had a choir concert this week in which she wore a headband of cat ears and white gloves. She danced and sang a groovy tune about The Three Little Kittens. (Note: There were nine.)
The Toddler discovered the joy of rubber boots and mud puddles. (I am doing lots of laundry.)
Happy Easter from the crew!
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
2010 - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes
The explosion of the British Petroleum (BP) platform operated by Transocean killed 11 workers and led to the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.
1999 - 15 die in the Columbine High School massacre
A further 24 victims were injured when two teenagers opened fire on students and teachers in the high school south of Denver.
1978 - Soviet air defense shoots down Korean Air Lines Flight 902
The Boeing 707's crew had miscalculated their route, taking them into Soviet airspace at the height of the Cold War. The jet made an emergency landing on a frozen lake. Two passengers were killed in the incident.
1951 - A human organ is surgically replaced for the first time
Romanian surgeon Dan Gavriliu used a section of the stomach to bypass the esophagus.
1902 - Pierre and Marie Curie discover the radioactive element radium
In 1903, the French couple received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research.
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
1939 - Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician, politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
1893 - Joan Miró, Spanish painter
1808 - Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France
Remembering You
1993 - Cantinflas, Mexican actor, screenwriter, producer
1991 - Don Siegel, American film director
1991 - Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor
1918 - Karl Ferdinand Braun, German/American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1521 - Zhengde Emperor of China
Enjoy your Easter weekend, don't ask your teen too many college-related questions (but DO ask them what they love to do) and and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
1991 - Don Siegel, American film director
1991 - Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor
1918 - Karl Ferdinand Braun, German/American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1521 - Zhengde Emperor of China
Enjoy your Easter weekend, don't ask your teen too many college-related questions (but DO ask them what they love to do) and and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
Colleges charge an average of $40 just to apply. 15-20 applications could get expensive. The college I got into in 1964 has become a lot more competitive. I doubt I'd get accepted now. That's ok. I'd take the money I'd be saving and go down to Bolivia and open a restaurant, for example. Does Tereza like to cook?
ReplyDeleteThe 16-18-year-old brain is developmentally incapable of seeing - much less choosing - a future based around a lifelong profession. The best a parent can do is nurture the child's sense of her/his calling (vocation), and point the child in the general direction of a good liberal arts college or university (https://www.csbsju.edu/).
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
Good Grief! As you said, a whole lot going on at your place. I see you are going to Detwah after all. Happy travels. JP Savage
ReplyDelete