Everyone knows that the college application process can be emotional for students.

But what about their parents? What hopes and fears do they have for their children?

NACAC member Brennan Barnard, director of college counseling at the Derryfield School (NH), recently asked moms and dads to share their outlook.

He published the answers in a recent Washington Post column.

Responses varied. One parent worried about the partying culture that defines campus life at some colleges. Another’s greatest wish was that their child would find an avenue to “realize all his creative dreams.”

“The answers are revealing and reflective of the true values that underlie our approach to parenting,” Barnard wrote in an introduction to the piece. “I share them here for the benefit of parents of college-bound seniors as they help their children process admission decisions and manage their own emotional reactions.”

Read the full column, and visit’s NACAC’s college fair site to find tips to help families navigate the college admission process.

Admitted writer/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at mstegmeir@nacacnet.org