It’s Much More Personal Than the Bumper Sticker on you Rear Window

We are about a week away from March 10th, the much-anticipated day when many students are learning of their private school admissions decisions. As such, it’s an opportune time to reflect on the admissions process, the pending decisions and most importantly, celebrating your kids!

When decisions come out, we hope that our clients will receive at least one acceptance, and perhaps multiple offers of acceptance! Whether your student has applied to an elite private school, or a lesser known school, we are equally excited for their acceptance! For many parents these admissions decisions give them bragging rights for years to come, and even a new bumper sticker or decal, but is this perhaps misplaced?

At the onset of our work with families, we strive to understand the expectations and hopes parents have for their student’s eventual school placement. Why? One word: perception. We want to understand what a parent’s perception of their child is when we begin working together so we can help uncover what is at play to find the right-fit and best school for our clients.

Perception plays out beyond our clients. The more “elite” or “brand name” schools are difficult to get into because of the perception that they are the best path to future success, not the reality. Not every best school is the right fit for everyone! Absolutely, there are many wonderful schools that are “elite” or “brand name.” Yet, there are so many others, too! From our perspective, the measure of a great education is what a student puts into it, and that has nothing to do with the “brand” names that many people want to hang their hats on.

As we look ahead to next week and the private school admissions decisions that your student will be receiving, remember that everyone’s definition of success is different. Yes, you should absolutely celebrate your student for hopefully gaining acceptance to the right school for their needs, affording them an opportunity to accomplish what they need as a next step. Rather than celebrating acceptance to a school “name” instead let’s celebrate your student as you help them make progress towards their goals, discovering themselves and what makes them “tick.” Reshaping your thinking around the intellectual, emotional health and happiness that your student needs will help you frame a meaningful conversation with your child about who they are and how they feel about their admissions decisions.

As ethical educational consultants, we never take credit for “getting” a student into any private school. We provide clarity and guidance for our clients and their applications, so they are transparent and forthcoming regarding strengths and areas of need, but it is the student who does the hard work. They are the ones taking their courses, striving for good grades, participating in their co-curricular activities, and sharing their hopes and needs in their admissions process.

So, as admissions decisions begin to unfold and arrive at your home, remember this: how your child feels about their accomplishments is significantly more important than what those accomplishments are. There are always going to be students who are smarter, better, more athletic, more artistic, etc. Let’s celebrate all students and the effective effort they put forth to get to this point! The future is bright at all the schools our clients attend, particularly the lesser-known ones, because with the right-fit school, students will find their best fit and go on to remarkable success wherever they choose to go!