I wanted to start by passing along a few articles from the New York Times. Even though most of you are probably just starting to think about the college admissions process seriously, I thought these articles were a good starting point. It will give you a little bit of insight into some of the pressures you might start to feel as you go through the process, as well as the importance of maintaining perspective through it all.
The first is a very short piece that appeared a few days ago. The Stanford lecturer cited used to run a workshop at my high school called “Stressed Out Students,” which I remember hearing great things about.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/health/29well.html?ref=education
The second piece is longer and appeared a few months ago in the Times magazine section. It follows three students as they go through the process of applying and hearing back from their top-choice schools.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/magazine/30neurosis-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine
Although you all come from school settings that may resemble the ones portrayed in these two articles to varying degrees, I’m sure each of you will identify with some of the things that are mentioned.
