Letters: A Roll Of The Dice?
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The “L” word.
Letters. Private school admissions letters. Perhaps a unique kind of love letter for your family. You hope.
There are basically three kinds of letters: Awesome Letters (Accept), Wishy-Washy Letters (Wait-List), Harsh Letters (Rejection)
“L” is for letters.
“L” also stands for a bunch of other words, depending on what your private school admissions letters say:
Love. Your kid got in? I LOVE you, admission directors!
Letdown. Wait-listed or declined admission? Total letdown. Could turn into a total meltdown. Who can blame you? This sucks.
Liberty. Got in. Glad it’s over. Free at last!
Lucky. Whew. Got into one school. That’ll do just fine, thank you.
Lame. Got into your last-choice school. What the hell happened? Good thing we applied there. Liking it more and more each minute.
Lingering. Wait-listed everywhere you applied? Sort of wishy-washy. Do they want us or not? The process will linger. Not over yet. Keep hope alive!
Loitering. It’s temping to loiter around the admissions director’s office pleading with her to let your kid in. Could be misinterpreted as stalking. Never mind. Move to Plan B.
Laugh. Your kid got in. But, you’ve decided to send him/her to public school. Laughing at the private schools all the way to the bank.
Liquor. Lots of it. The process was too stressful for words. Good news? Hit your favorite bar to celebrate. Bad news? drink away the shock and horror. Martini anyone? Shot(s) of Patron? Hit rock bottom? Head over to Bristol Farms a liquor store for the Malt Liquor. It’s cheap and made to get you stumblin’ drunk.
If it’s all bad news, the “L” word could quickly morph into the “F” word.
What do you do if your letters arrive and it’s not the news you wanted, expected, hoped for prayed for? What if the best laid plans are foiled by bad luck and a trash heap of rejection letters?
What if it’s the best news and the worst news you’ve received all in one day? Is that even possible? Ohhhh yes.
What if your child is wait-listed? Then, it’s time to get your second act together. Long sigh. The process isn’t over if your child is on a wait-list at a school you like. In fact, the process will continue.
We write about all these topics extensively in Beyond The Brochure.
Good luck to everyone! Please let us know what happened! Leave us a comment (can be anonymous). Questions? Leave a question in the comment section and we’ll answer it (can also be anonymous, of course).
Waiting for letters seems like an eternity.hoping to celebrate good news.
The waiting is agonizing. Applied to four schools and did not get any letters today. Waiting until Monday will be unbearable.
Hi Anon: I know the wait is agonizing because I went through it. It felt like it took forever to find out where my daughter would go to school. I hope you get good news on Monday!
Just want to thank this blog for helping me with the process of applying to private schools – I read every post and gained so much insight into the process of private school admissions. I remember nervously getting ready for my first parent interview, and I stopped to read Jenny Heitz's post: "Interviews and Student Visits: A Wealth of Opportunities to Make a Bad Impression". I decided not to stress about if I was "appropriately" dressed or looked like a private school mother – I went into that interview candid and showing them that their school was the what I wanted for my son! And it worked out – got accepted to 2 of the 3 schools we applied to. Now it's more stressful picking which school to choose!!!
Hi China,
Thanks for the nice comments. I'm so glad the blog has been helpful to you. And, yes, Jenny's an amazing resource and a fabulous writer! Congratulations on your acceptance letters!