The month of April can be stressful for high school seniors who are making their final decisions about college after four years of classes, extracurricular activities, standardized testing, essay writing, and so on. What should you consider now that you’ve been accepted to college or if you’ve been waitlisted, or even denied, admission? Our guests give their best advice for making good decisions as you consider all your college options.
Eddie Pickett: Hello, and welcome to the College Admissions Decoded podcast, an occasional series in the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC. I'm your host, Eddie Pickett. I'm a longtime NACAC member and a member of the NACAC board of directors. In my day job, I'm a senior associate Dean of Admission and Director of Recruitment at Pomona College in Claremont, California. NACAC is an association of more than 25,000 professionals at high schools, colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations, as well as independent counselors who support and advise students and families through the college admissions process.
Pickett: Well, after months of preparation, it's that time in the college admissions process when a majority of students in the class of 2022 start making their final decisions about where they'll spend the next four years of their education. Many juniors and some sophomores will begin the college search process in earnest.
Pickett: In today's episode, we discuss questions related to sorting through options, acceptance, denials, and appeals, a wait list and making a final choice, as well as what juniors and other underclassmen can be doing in relation to their college process. I'm joined today by two NACAC members with lots of experience in helping students and their families make informed decisions in the college admissions process. Beth Heaton, Vice President of Bright Horizons College Coach, and creator of the Getting In, a College Coach Conversation podcast.
Beth Heaton: Thanks for having me Eddie.
Pickett: And Davin Sweeney, Dean of students at the Avenue School, New York City and creator of the Crush Podcast.
Davin Sweeney: Thank you, Eddie. It's good to be here.
Pickett: Thank you both for joining me today. And I'm excited to have two veteran podcasters, because this is not really my veteran status. And so I'm going to learn some stuff today. Let's get started. I think the first question is, what goes into making a good decision?
Heaton: Making a really good decision at this point in the college process starts way back when you are putting your list together and thinking about what is really most important to you in the college that you're going to attend and then reminding yourself of those pieces when you are faced with the choices that you do have. Because when you put that initial list together, that is a list of schools that seem to fit your criteria and that you are excited about, but you don't know what the results are going to be.
Heaton: And now you have your results. And now you need to go back and remind yourself, what is it that I love about this school? What are the programs that I was drawn to? What was it about the community? And remind yourself of those things. And if you can focus on the fit with who you are versus how excited everyone around you is about an individual choice, personally, I think that is the best path to making a good decision.
Sweeney: I also think it's important for students to understand that it's probably, I don't know, I would have to imagine almost never the case that going to college and your first day of college just feels like slipping into a warm bath. It is a very weird experience, it is a very strange feeling, it is nothing you've ever done before or will do again.
Sweeney: And so there is going to be some discomfort involved in going wherever you end up attending. And I think it's important to just understand that, that that's good in fact. So that you want there to be a little bit of discomfort because that's where the growth happens. You want to make sure that it's safe discomfort of course. And that means that you want to try to have as deep an understanding as you can of the kind of experience that you're hoping to have, because it's really hard to test drive an experience that you're going to have over four years, you're going to be a completely different person, each phase of that experience.
Sweeney: So I think talking to students and understanding how their experience has been at the places that you're contemplating goes a long way to understanding sort of what that is going to feel like for you. But understand also that it's going to feel a little bit strange. There's no really such thing I don't think as a perfect fit. I think you do need to kind of grow into it.
Heaton: Yeah. I would agree with that and now might be a good time to introduce the idea or the fact that I have a senior. My son is a senior. He is currently contemplating his decisions.
Sweeney: What. How did that go? Did he listen to everything that you told him?
Heaton: Believe it or not, he really did. So he has a real appreciation that he actually believes I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this. So he has been really open to my feedback and sort of guidance along the way. But one of the things, because I think your point is a really good one about talking to students. It's not possible always to go back to the schools where you've been accepted and do the admitted student events and the things that they offer to students.
Heaton: But if you can pick a couple of the schools that you've gotten into, or even one, maybe the one that you feel is probably the best fit and go back and make sure, I do think that can be really valuable. So my son applied to eight schools. He has narrowed his choices to three, and we're going to go back to three of the eight schools where he was admitted. So I think that's going to be an important component of his search and making that final decision.
Pickett: Nice. And he actually listened to you, more power to him. Kids, we have college counselors and admissions officers as your parents. This is their job. You might not listen to anything else, but this might be that one time. I'm also going to echo something that Davin said there, I like that safe discomfort idea. I used to tell my students when I was on the high school side, you should be 80% comfortable and 20% uncomfortable in your college choice because in that uncomfortable space, that's when you actually learn the most. So I love what you said there, Davin.
Pickett: I'm going to set the scene kind of like Beth just did for us. So we're in April, I'm a high school senior, I have some decisions in front of me, what should I be doing right now in relation to final decision making?
Heaton: All right, well, I'll jump in first and just say that I think a lot of what I was just saying that I'm doing with my son is a good way. We are really considering the finance side of things. And so when he's making his decision, one big component is, or has been what is the price of each of the schools where he's been admitted and we've already discussed what a reasonable price is for his dad and I to cover, made a little more complicated because we are divorced so we have some agreements in place, on that piece.
Heaton: So we've already, before he applied, he decided how far away from home he felt comfortable going. And so that is not really part of our process, but I do think for some students... I think Davin, when you said that you're going to change a lot in the next four years, I also think these students are changing constantly. So what's seemed maybe not too far away or not too close to home back in the fall when you applied may suddenly feel like an ocean away or right next door. And so you probably want to check some of that. Davin I'd be curious, what are some of the other things that you're encouraging students to be thinking about right now, seniors?
Sweeney: Yeah, I think April is a very busy and interesting month from all sides of this equation. And I think that if there are students that are still trying to make up their minds about where they're going to attend, there are a couple of things that you can do. You brought up before Beth, the idea of going to visit some campuses where you've got your Willy Wonka ticket already, that you can cash in.
Sweeney: Those visits make a much greater impression on a student I think because they're no longer trying to decide whether they're going to apply. They're now like, okay, I could go if I so chose or... And then also if I can afford it. You also want to make sure that you're able to find information about admitted student programs and go. One of the things that's great about those is you're talking to other students who are in the same boat, not just students who might be there and attending the college and therefore having the experience that you want to have, but also students that are trying to make up their mind.
Sweeney: And those sorts of visits really, I think are a good deal, more meaningful. And you tend to pay a lot closer attention to what's going on during visits like that. This is when your gut I think comes in to play a lot. You've used your brain a lot up to this point, but using your gut to kind of feel out the experience as best you can and put that in those reactions alongside the columns that you filled in with your brain that led you to apply to these ways in the first place.
Sweeney: The other thing that I think that I want to recommend is that students who have gotten financial aid offers, and I think we're going to talk about this a little bit in a minute. So when I was at University of Rochester, I was the scholarship coordinator. And so a lot of my job was to entertain appeals from families who had received an initial offer of financial aid and weren't sure if they could afford the offer that we had made initially. I think that this is important for families to understand that the first offer doesn't necessarily need to be the last offer, that you do have the ability to go back to financial aid offices, go back to admissions offices in the event that they're responsible for the merit scholarship portion of the financial aid package and say, "Hey, thanks so much, this is great." Even if maybe you don't mean that, and say, "I would love to see if maybe there's a little bit more here because it would be really difficult for me to afford the cost of attendance currently as it's been prescribed."
Sweeney: And so if you have an idea in mind of what a figure might look like that would help get you there, then that's something that's important to share with that financial aid office. And as my mom would say, all they can say is no. You're welcome to ask, all they can say is no, but hey, they might say yes. And they might actually understand that you're a student that's really, really interested in attending and they want to make it work for you.
Sweeney: They wouldn't have admitted you if they didn't want you to go there. And I think they understand that it's really difficult to afford college these days, they want to do everything that they can to help within the range of their sort of ability to do so financially. So make sure that you're talking to financial aid offices and seeing what else they might be able to find under their sofa cushions to help get you to college in April before you deposit in May.
Heaton: Well, and one thing I would add is that the same goes for merit scholarships. You can also ask, maybe there is a big difference between how much money one college gave you versus another. And you can go back and say, to your point Davin around, there might be a little bit more wiggle room and there you could provide X amount more dollars, that would make it more feasible for us to attend or to make this choice over another choice.
Heaton: And I think the point is a good one. Now students and families are in the driver's seat. So before you apply, you are really hoping that the college will accept you, but once they do accept you, they absolutely want you to attend. So now that dynamic has shifted somewhat, and no one ever rescinded an offer of admission for asking for more money, because they can say no for sure, but they're not going to take away the offer.
Heaton: And sometimes I feel like families are just so nervous to even ask a question because they've been so nervous throughout this process that they didn't want to put a foot wrong and maybe that would mean the college wouldn't accept them. But a, you should not feel like that period, but b, you certainly shouldn't feel that way at this point. Now is the time to ask all of those questions and make sure that this is really the best place and that you can afford it.
Sweeney: I want to add up to that too, that there might be some students that were admitted to spring semester starts, so that they won't be coming in the fall, but they'd be coming in the spring. And so you want to understand what a financial aid package is going to look like past that. Because if they're going to provide a financial aid package for you for one semester then that's not really going to be representative of an entire year. It may be as easy as doubling it, but you do just want to have a conversation with them to understand what the entire year of support would look like in that case.
Pickett: And on the spring semester idea, that's getting more and more popular. Students, it is a normal admissions path because one of the things I had to explain the most when I was a high school counselor was like, what is spring admissions? What's so different about it. They feel like they're lesser than, like they're underclassmen, they're under the citizens who just like, not really wanted. And that's not the truth by any means.
Pickett: Anytime a college makes a decision and they want you, it doesn't matter when you're going to start. It might be a little different orientation process, but they make sure they do a really good time in the spring as well, knowing that you're coming in, not in the fall with everybody else, but you'll still be coming in with a group. After your first semester of spring, everything else is normal for you and for everybody else. Nobody's going to know anything about your admissions pref. So if that's the school you really want to go to, there's nothing wrong with being a spring admit.
Heaton: The only thing that I would add, I first of all, completely agree with you, especially if this is your top choice, by all means, start in the spring. My best friend from college was a spring start and her social life suffered, not at all for that. She had lots of friends and had a great experience and very much feels like a graduate of the university that we attended together. If it's a school where maybe there's big Greek life and the rush season happens right when you land on campus in the fall, that might be something to really think about if that's in your future and something you're considering, that can be a little disrupted by a spring start. I also think you want to pay attention to what the college says about how you can spend time in the first semester.
Heaton: So for some schools, it's totally fine if you go to community college and you take some classes and they're going to transfer in those credits and all is well. And for other schools, they will actually specifically say that they do not want you to enroll anywhere else or take any kind of credit bearing classes before you arrive. So you want to just be thoughtful about how you spend that time. So you don't interfere with any existing school policies, but I do agree that it can be a really good option and a way to get you to a top choice school.
Pickett: So far, I've talked a lot about financial fit, but I want to pull in two different ideas here. So one to Beth as a parent. So what else should parents be considering which students are in this process? And then to Davin, on the high school counselor side, what should counselors be doing during this time and how should students tap into that resource? We'll start with Beth.
Heaton: Well, one, I think really important and I say this from the perspective as a parent of a current senior, but also as someone who works really close with a lot of parents, one of the biggest things as a parent that I would highly encourage you to do is to support all the choices that your student has and let go of the choices that they don't have. And so by that, I mean not dwelling on where the student didn't get in and quite honestly not dwelling on where they got waitlisted, if we could talk about that a little bit later, because waitlists are generally not going to happen, they might, but not something to count on. Really, if your excitement about the choices that your student does have, your student will also be more excited about the choices that they do have.
Heaton: As a parent, what I am doing with my son is I am excited about every choice that he has. And as a result, he feels comfortable in being excited about the same choices. And while I may in my own head have thoughts about, ooh, I would love it if he would consider college X, I'm letting him decide what he wants to consider. And right now I would say college X is not really even in the running and I'm keeping my mouth shut. And I do think that's helpful to him as he is trying to figure out where he fits best. So that's just some advice that I would have from a parental point of view.
Sweeney: Yeah. And I think this is one of the things that a counselor can do is to help parents figure out how to talk to their kids about what's going on, because parents and counselors speak to the child at a different frequency. Right, it might be the same but the receptors in the kids' ears is a different frequency. So like if they won't hear something coming from you, they may hear it from us and vice versa. And so ultimately you're right. I love all those things that you said, and language really matters too when you're talking about the options that kids have. You want to be supportive and sensitive to the fact that this is the biggest decision that they've made in their life up until this point, but it may be fraught with a lot of stuff, especially as you come down to the wire, making the final decision.
Sweeney: And so if you need help, like that's what the school counselor is there for to help talk through, what the child might be feeling and how we see it from our perspective and from our experience. To say, oh, well, he's just really not happy with any of these options that are on the table. And I think they're great and what do we do about this? And so we can kind of enter into a safe conspiracy to help the student get as comfortable as possible with the options that are there.
Sweeney: Also, parents want to use the school counselors to make sure that you're helping understand everything because financial aid packages are not in any way, not just built equally, but even sort of laid out or described equally. It can be really difficult to decode what's going on in a financial aid package that a school counselor can help unpack a lot of and say, here's what this means, here's what that means.
Sweeney: But I think ultimately the role of the school counselor at this point is to sort of be that satellite between parent and student, but then also family and college. So that if there are things that the family might be having a difficult time navigating, or for whatever reason, parents work and can't pick up the phone during business hours to call the school to get some answers, that's something that the counselor can do. So I think, just remember that we're there, first of all and that you don't have to go through this alone. This is not something that, while it is a very personal experience and decision, ultimately you have to come to, it's nothing that you have to go through alone and the school counselor's really there to be a key member of the team.
Pickett: And parents, please, please, please celebrate every single positive decision. Even if it's your rival school from undergrad, which is going to happen for some of you, you still have to celebrate that decision because when you don't, the kid picks up that and then it makes it feel like, well, I'm not okay to go there because my parents aren't okay with it and you don't want to be in that situation.
Pickett: I think also we have this group of seniors who are gung ho, ready to go, but there's also that few seniors who are dragging a little bit. So right now, we're in April, what if somebody done doesn't have a positive decision or didn't apply at all? What should they be doing and thinking about right now?
Sweeney: They should be figuring out how to apply to some colleges. I think if that was what they wanted to do to begin with, they just didn't get around to it, and there's a lot of places that will accept applications through the month of April and beyond in a lot of cases. It's never too late just because you maybe didn't apply to a place in January 1st. So that might be the case, or at least if this, going to college was never really firmly in the student's plan, I think just having a conversation about what kind of a plan you could pull together for them to help them think through in the event that college isn't it, but you definitely don't want to just avoid it.
Heaton: I think community colleges can be a really good solution here for some students, they're essentially open enrollment and depending on where you live and what your community college situation is, you may want to and be able to stay there for two years and then they may have articulation agreements with some four year colleges if you see that in your future.
Heaton: I think one thing I would do if a student is really just not sure what their next step is going to be, and they are still not ready, would be to go in and meet with your school counselor before you graduate and understand how it might work if you want to get their support when you are ready to apply to college. Maybe you're going to take the year off and think about it or maybe you don't even think you are going to apply to college, but it's possible that you might.
Heaton: Have that meeting while you're still a student, understand what steps they would want you to take, who you should contact if you are going to need their help, how much support they're going to be able to give you. But I just really want students to understand what their options are whether they're going to apply to college this year, or have it in mind for something to do for the future. Because I think sometimes if you graduate without taking that step, it then might feel really insurmountable and might prevent you from taking that step in the future. And my experience with school counselors at public and private is that they want to support students. That's why they do that work. And so if you try to maintain a connection with that person, that will probably at least help understand what your next steps are going to be.
Pickett: Thank you for that. And then earlier, Beth, I'm going to do a two parter again. I like this two part thing with this group. This has been fun. So Beth, you talked about wait listed students, so can you talk about the wait list, the process, what students should be doing, and then Davin, a little further down on the denial side or not being offered admissions, can students realistically appeal an admission decision?
Heaton: Well, I think first things first with the wait list, understand that being accepted to the wait list does not mean that you need to remain on the wait list. So if you are wait listed somewhere and you have a few options that you are also excited about, then feel free to turn the wait list down. If you've been wait listed at a school, or a couple of schools that you're really excited about, then go ahead, accept the wait list. I think be realistic. There are definitely some colleges where they actively use the wait list, you will often see at some of the larger public schools, especially if they have limits around how many students they can enroll, a place like Berkeley for example, for anyone who's following what's going on there.
Pickett: Yeah, Cal, my hometown.
Heaton: So they are at great pains not to over enroll. So you're typically going to see a school like that be very careful about who they admit and then have a plan to actually go to their wait list, versus a school like the University of Pennsylvania, which is where I did admissions. Our wait list was long. And typically we went to it very little and it was in many ways, not in all cases, but in many cases, a very nice way to say no. And so for those of you who have been wait listed at very selective private schools, I would encourage again, go on the wait list, you could do all of those things, but be very realistic about the realities of getting off that wait list, because it was rare.
Heaton: But typically what the schools are going to be doing is they're looking at who is accepting their offers of admission and then they look to their wait list to fill holes. So at Penn, for example, when the decisions from the students started to come in, we would look to see, had we enrolled enough students from a particular part of the country? Had we enrolled enough students in one of the four undergraduate schools at Penn? And if not, then that was where we were going to start to look in terms of pulling people off of the wait list.
Heaton: The other thing that we looked at was who had been in touch since they were wait listed? So there is something called a letter of continued interest, and I would encourage you if you're going to remain on the wait list and the school doesn't expressly tell you not to do it, I would send a letter of continued interest. And in the letter I would share anything that's new since you applied. So any new updates, maybe you are captain of a spring sports team. Maybe you got a major award, whatever the case, whatever updates you might have for the school, I would include it in that letter. And then I would also confirm your continued interest. If it is true and accurate to say that if you are pulled off the wait list, you will definitely attend, then I would say that in your letter.
Heaton: Understanding that I wouldn't want you to say it if you didn't believe it, but at the same time, it is not binding. So if by the time they get around to calling you about the wait list, you've decided you are really excited about the choice you've already made, then by all means you can turn them down. That brings me to the other most important thing that you should do if you are wait listed at a couple of top choices, and that is accept another offer, you cannot wait to hear from your wait listed schools. Many of them will not go to the wait list until after the common reply date of May 1. Most of them won't in fact. So you are not going to hear from those schools before you have to deposit somewhere else. So you want to secure your spot and then see what happens. And the last thing I would say about wait lists is keep having this conversation as a family.
Heaton: So if you have been wait listed somewhere, you've accepted an offer from another school, I would talk about it maybe even on a weekly basis. How interested are you still in the school that has wait listed you? What's the date by which you are going to say, I'm done waiting around, this is the college I'm going to go to? Is it going to be May 31st? You give them a month? Is it the middle of June? Or is it you're driving to that other college and you get the call, you will turn the car around and go to that other school? What is really realistic and feasible for you as a family and make that a conversation because you want to know where your head is at. So if you get the call, because by the way, if they do call you, they are typically going to be looking for you to say, yes, I'm still interested before they send that letter of acceptance. And if you aren't sure you need to have a conversation that actually can mean that they may not make that offer off of the wait list, which I feel like I've just opened up a can of worms we could spend a whole other podcast talking about, but that's my general advice about the wait list. Davin.
Sweeney: So let's say when you are not offered admission, what should you do? My first sort of inclination is, this is the obviously, usually where they get to. They don't get to this right away, they get to this sort of at the end, which is, move on. Move on, let it go. You can deny, you can appeal the decision because there must have been some mistake. Well, there was not a mistake. You can appeal it, maybe, some places will just be like, no, don't try it, that's it. Door closed. You can call and ask about appealing it. That's liable to go less far than the hope of getting in off a wait list. That is really a final, final decision. And I think though, the most important thing, I mean, it's easy to say move on, but it's really in the best interest of your wellbeing as a student and as a family to move on, you don't want to sit there and beat yourself up over what could have been or what may have been.
Sweeney: One of the hardest questions that I get as a counselor and then certainly got when I was in admissions was, what was it? Why didn't I get in? Why? And as a counselor, I find myself saying many of the same things that I would as an admissions counselor, which is like, no idea, don't know, can't tell you. Even if I could, why would I, what are you going to do? Are you going to go back in time and fix that? No, you cannot do that. So why dwell on that? It sucks. It hurts. It's painful, but eventually you will move on, you will be fine, you will survive, you will be a productive member of society in spite of not having gotten into some colleges. But I think really those are the ones to just put in the rear view mirror all together. Focus on the ones that are happy to have you and the ones that might be happy to have you, if you get in off the wait list, but move on after not receiving an offer of admission.
Pickett: And no admissions decision tells you anything about your self worth. Number one. And number two, no school can plan out your entire life. It really can't happen. And so it's what you do with the opportunities at whatever school you attend is going to say so much more about the actual school that you attend.
Pickett: Switching gears a little bit, we've talked a lot about seniors, but it's not just about the seniors right now in April. We have underclassmen starting to visit campuses and I work at Pomona and we have a lot of students coming on tours right now. We're finally back open after COVID. Oh, it's so nice to see students' faces and see our tour guides out with them as well and having some bigger tours. And so at this point, what should underclassmen be doing? We'll talk about juniors, sophomores, and maybe even freshmen and I kind of pause with that, but maybe freshmen, what are your thoughts?
Heaton: Well, I do have one big thought about freshmen. First of all, you don't need to be thinking about college except for how you do in school. I think sometimes it can be very difficult to connect that what you are doing today is going to impact choices you will have three years from now, right? Most freshmen don't even know what they're going to have for lunch, maybe for dinner. It's very hard to focus on much, except just how challenging it is to be that age and to be brand new to high school. But if you do nothing else, just remember that the more you work hard in your classes and do a couple of things outside of your classes, in terms of extracurricular activities, the more that's going to be a positive thing for you down the road. But that's really the most you need to be doing terms of thinking about college. So really you just need to... And if you do well, your parents will be happy. So then they will get off your back. And I see that as a real plus as well. And it will all pay off in the college search later on.
Sweeney: You don't like being on your high schoolers back about anything?
Heaton: No. It's literally my least enjoyable thing ever.
Sweeney: You enjoy that? Yeah. Good. I think this is for everybody. I mean, everybody's going to have a little bit of a different seat on the bleachers as they watch the seniors play the game. But I think that's what everybody could do a little bit of, especially juniors should be taking very careful notes as they talk to their senior friends about what they've been through. Every single senior I know has something they would've done differently. And so really cataloging those things and trying to understand from their senior counterparts, how to do the ideal version of this, if they can, understanding that there's no real such thing. But those are really helpful tips to get that'll help you in your own process. College fairs are coming back too. Eddie talking about COVID stuff, here and there, there are those kinds of opportunities.
Sweeney: So April is a busy month for engagement with colleges. So if you're an 11th grader, they're going to be tied up with a lot of the on campus stuff for admitted students, but they are starting to leave the boundaries of their campus to come to the city near you, whether it's college fairs or even virtually and doing virtual information sessions and stuff like this is a great time to begin to collect all that key information about the colleges that you're interested in and to develop a list. Depending on where you are, it's just about spring break time, excellent time to be visiting colleges. You do not have to be getting on a plane and going across the country to go and visit places. If you can, great. But if you can't, just going somewhere around wherever you live, if you have access to colleges and universities around you, it's helpful just to collect those experiences to inform what might make your type.
Sweeney: So for 11th graders, it's really about paying attention to what seniors you are doing and working towards finalizing that college list. 10th graders and ninth graders are in the same boat, I think. Just continue to plug away and do good work in high school and have meaningful experiences in the summer as well.
Pickett: And I would say to students, there are two former podcasts already on this. And so if you want the longer version of what you should be doing from ninth grade through 11th grade for this process, look at two previous NACAC podcasts. We're nearing the end and so I want to ask one final question. And that final question is the doozy, we'll call it. So for you two, what's the one best piece of advice you can give a student about making their final selection? And I think my answer would be just remember that college is opportunity, period.
Heaton: I would say the one piece of advice that I wish students would follow and that I wish parents would support is that all other things being equal, meaning the choices in front of you are financially feasible and of equal interest, have the programs you want, all make sense from that perspective, that you choose the school that truly feels right to you, your gut. Davin, you already mentioned that it's a gut reaction and that you go with that and not with anybody else's gut.
Sweeney: Yeah. One of the things that it's really hard to help students understand is you did the best you could. You did the best you could in high school, you did the best you could in life, you did the best you could with the SAT and the ACT, if you took it. You did the best you could in compiling a list of schools and writing those essays, you really worked extremely hard to make this happen.
Sweeney: So the advice is go easy on yourself. This is something that you're not liable to have to recreate again in the future. The reality is you've got an entirely second job in addition to going to high school in 12th grade, dealing with all of this stuff. It's a lot, we should all validate that it's a lot, that it's way more than it needs to be. It's way more difficult than it needs to be. It's criminally expensive. All of it is very, very difficult and it all kind of lands on the shoulders of you, the student. So go easy on yourself. Do what you can to take a deep breath, relax, and just recognize that you really did a very difficult thing. And you did it as well as you possibly could.
Pickett: Well, we can wrap up with that. This has truly been such a blast for me. I really want to say thank you to both of you to Davin and to Beth for joining us today. And thanks to you my friends in the audience for joining us for this episode.
Sweeney: Thanks Eddie. Thanks, Beth.
Heaton: Yeah. Thanks Eddie, thanks Davin. That was a lot of fun.
Pickett: College Admissions to Decoded, is a podcast from NACAC, the National Association for College Admission Counseling. It is produced by LWC Studios. Kojin Tashiro produced this episode. If you would like to learn more about NACAC's guests, our organization, and the college admissions process, visit our website at nacacnet.org, that's N-A-C-A-C-N-E-T.org. Please leave a review and rate us on Apple Podcast. See you next time on College Admissions Decoded.
CITATION: National Association for College Admission Counseling. “How to Approach the Final Decision on a College.” NACAC College Admissions Decoded, National Association for College Admissions Counseling, April 12, 2022.