Getting deferred can make you feel like you’re in the Upside Down, but we have some tips on how you to get out:

One of our students, Jordan, really wanted to go to Cornell to be pre-Med. His dad, a highly-accomplished doctor had gone to Cornell as a pre-Med student and Jordan wanted to be just like him. He applied Early Decision, but ultimately, Eleven does not belong in Hawkins Middle School and Jordan did not belong at Cornell at all whatsoever. It’s not to say that Jordan wasn’t smart, but Jordan wouldn’t have flourished in those class-sizes and Eleven would have had a hard time focusing on pre-algebra with demogorgons bothering her all the time.

A lot of students, like Jordan, entangle their vision of personal success with college acceptance. In reality, not only was Cornell not the best fit, but Jordan’s grades were never really on-par with Cornell standards. He got deferred and was crushed.

Ultimately, a small liberal arts college would have been a better fit. So, when it came time to apply Regular Decision, Jordan ended up applying exclusively to liberal arts schools. The truth is, if Cornell is really your collegiate soulmate, choices two through 12 are probably not going to be liberal arts schools and if Eleven had really wanted to be a normal middle schooler, she would never have gone looking for Barb. So, when Jordan came to us, we were already kind of relieved that he didn’t get in because Cornell would have been a huge mistake. By the time Regular Decision came around, Jordan ended up getting into Vassar, Colgate, and Tufts. He went to Tufts, where he could not have been happier. We won’t tell you what happened with Eleven. The whole ordeal was a blessing in disguise.

So, when you’re making your list for Regular Decision applications, take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself what you really want, look at their stats and make sure they are a good fit, submit, and when you’re finally done, you should probably take some time to binge-watch Stranger Things so you can understand what we were just talking about.

Need some extra help completing all of your Regular Decision supplements? deadline? Call us and ask about the It’s Going to Be Okay package.