{"id":2123,"date":"2018-05-22T09:16:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T13:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=2123"},"modified":"2018-05-22T09:16:07","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T13:16:07","slug":"the-waiting-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2018\/05\/22\/the-waiting-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Waiting Game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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iStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They told me it wouldn\u2019t be until the first week of June, but I continue to check the portal every few days. Exactly 100 days from the moment I hit the \u201csubmit\u201d button\u2014this is the amount of time it will take to determine whether they want me or not. Everyone says, \u201cbe patient, it\u2019s a rite of passage, and what will be will be.\u201d Patience has never been my strong suit and as I ponder this position I have placed myself in, I reflect on the many students I have told the exact same thing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Throughout my career, I have sat on both sides of the table involving college decision making\u2014as a college admission member and a high school counselor. Whether I was reading, interviewing, or evaluating for acceptances\u2014often chuckling at student email addresses (seriously there were some winners)\u2014or working with students preparing for college admission, reviewing essays, matching applications, or preparing for those nerve-shattering interviews, I had decisions to make. Yes\u2014I like the essay, or no\u2014do it again! I had the power and could determine the outcome.<\/p>\n

I can remember many students referring to my office as \u201cthe great escape.\u201d Literally a place that students could run to cry, rest, and one even came running in asking if she could just \u201cthrow a hand stand\u201d up against the wall so as to gain her composure. I was there for all of it\u2014good, bad, or worst of all: \u201cwaitlisted.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now my turn! I am waiting, worrying, and wishing for an answer soon. The final seven days are fast approaching as I anxiously await word of whether I will receive acceptance to a PhD program that I have waited a lifetime to apply to. If I were reviewing this file, would it be worthy of a YES? My essays were spectacular; the recommendations\u2014I was told\u2014were superior; my interview was longer than I expected, which is always a good sign; and I even was required to complete a writing sample on the spot\u2026an opportunity I jumped at as a moment to shine.<\/p>\n

Yet here I am, waiting for someone to determine whether I am worthy.<\/p>\n

My family and friends continue to respond with \u201cof course they want you.\u201d This doesn\u2019t help!!!! I want it now\u2026I need it now\u2026and if I don\u2019t hear something soon, I am going to lose it!<\/p>\n

Like all high school seniors, I have worked hard and followed the rules. If you stay out of trouble, produce an amazing GPA and standardized test scores, volunteer and make a difference in someone else\u2019s world, there will be a school that will support your dreams. Yet, the person on the other side of the computer will be the one to read and review all of these documents to determine our fate. Yes or no? We need to know now\u2026is it yes or no?<\/p>\n

Whether I receive the big packet or the thin envelope in the mail, I have learned a great deal from this experience. First, I should have done this years ago so that I could gain a far better perspective of what my students were feeling. Second, I am glad I took the leap to put myself out there for scrutiny by an admission committee\u2014because they are truly working to determine if I will be a good fit for the institution and trust me, I will ask them \u201cwhy?\u201d if I receive the NO. Finally, those of us who have spent a lifetime in college admission\/counseling must never forget that for every file that crosses your desk, there is a person who has shared their burning desire to attend your institution and they are currently counting the days until you say \u2026yes or no!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em>Susanna Smith recently accepted a new position as an academic advisor at the University of Maryland, College Park. She previously worked in the college counseling office at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Baltimore.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They told me it wouldn\u2019t be until the first week of June, but I continue to check the portal every few days. Exactly 100 days from the moment I hit the \u201csubmit\u201d button\u2014this is the amount of time it will take to determine whether they want me or not. Everyone says, \u201cbe patient, it\u2019s a … Continue reading The Waiting Game<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-admission"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Susanna Smith","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/susanna-smith\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-yf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}