Go ahead. Cry. Then see the big picture.

Today I made a girl cry. She was not admitted to our university because of the two college classes she took which she earned a "D" and an "F". Ummm... why was she so surprised?

I love my job. It's great because I get to educate students on the college admission process. There are far too many kids out there that simply don't know the process. Frankly, if the student is a potential first generation college student what resources would they have to know how to apply to colleges? Parents are the primary resource for this information. If mom and dad hadn't attended, how would they know what advise to provide?

That's where I, and my amazing admission colleagues, come into play! When I applied to the two colleges I thought to consider, I had little to know help from my folks other than financially. They were so far removed from the process. Plus, either they wanted me to gain some independence via the process OR they were passively attempting to keep me from applying to the two college I applied to (both were 2000+ miles away). Fact of the matter is, I did the process on my own, traveled to and attended my Orientation on my own, and had but 2 visits from a family member prior to graduation. That was an approach for the school of hard knocks!

But here I am now. Graduated a little more than a year and a half since my graduation, working in higher education, counseling students in the admission process, and admitting and declining students. Can everyone go to college? Yes. Is my institution for everyone? No. I would not want to admit a student who wants to pursue a major we don't offer on the false advice that we can meet their needs. Nor do I believe in admitting a student because the "really, really" want to attend knowing that they are not academically prepared. That would just be setting that student up for failure, and possibly programing their minds to believe that they can not succeed in college. That's not the message I want any student subscribing to.

So. I made a girl cry today. I informed her (and her mother) that entering this fall was not going to be an option. However, I offered any and all help in getting her in admitted in a future semester through the transfer admission process. There are always option... just like there are always parking spots. It's just not always the case that the option available is not your first choice. It's still a parking spot though!


Whew! That was a lot of work related and personal philosophical blogging. How about we end on a funny note? NOTE!