Mary Dell, of Grown and Flown, writes: For our two families, Thanksgiving weekend offered a chance to say helloandgoodbye to our older sons who swooped in for home cooked meals and nights out with friends before heading back to college. Though our youngest, both 11th graders, also resumed classes, they returned to a new phase in their lives, thanks to the College Board.
Like a Daytona 500 starter dropping the green flag, the College Board will soon mail PSAT scores to high schools, signalling the beginning of the race known as college application season.
The PSAT is big – 3.5 million kids big – and it is the one pre-college test that all juniors take with all of their classmates on a single day in October. It is a rite of passage going back to 1971 (hey, we took it too!) and, for generations of kids, this single test has started the process.
This next lap will feel very long for high school juniors…and their parents, too. While our kids compete for college acceptance, we act as pit crews, praying there will be no crashes. Lisa and I endured this with our older children and we can tell you that as they sit for SATs, SAT IIs, APs, ACTs (on top of the tests they take for their regular old school work) it is exhausting just to watch! No wonder “junior year” is a synonym for “stressed out.”
