Entries for August 2008

Conversations at summertime gatherings this year seem gloomier than in years past. Whether people talk about the economy, the Middle East, or the other challenges that will be faced by whoever wins the upcoming presidential election, discussions are marked by frustration and angst. But when friends visiting from out of state asked me about the college selection process, their anxiety was palpable. Because I've worked in admissions and enrollment at six selective institutions over the past 30 years, the topic is a frequent one when friends and family are in town.

Our former neighbors' oldest, a boy soon to be a senior in high school, was beginning the college selection process, and the whole family was almost paralyzed with anxiety. The crux of their worries? Their son is not a straight-A student. They read U.S. News, and because so many of the stories there focus on the increasing and incredible competitiveness of admission to Ivy and near-Ivy institutions, this family seems nearly in panic about the son's chances of getting into the right college.