The “Send” button has been pushed on Meg’s last college application. It’s over. She’s done all she can do and now it’s up to the admission’s gods to decide her freshman year fate.

What a relief to have this part of the process over. Soon I hope to write more about the admissions process. I am sorry to say, but it’s a dreadful process. What should be an exciting time in my daughter’s life isn’t. It was a long autumn in our house, filled with many moments of tears and upset. I just don’t remember it being this way when I was a senior in high school. But that was 30 years ago. Apparently Meg’s reaction to this nasty process was quite like that of many of her classmates, at least I get that impression from the other parents and kids to whom I speak.

Meg wants to write a book about it. I think she should. But that’s for another day. Today I want to share with you the very last of the 20 essays she wrote for the applications. The experience she writes about in this essay is such a wonderful contrast to the post I wrote here about what’s wrong with our educational system. Continue reading →