So often families define the success of their students’ college application process by where they get in. Did they get accepted to their first choice? Did they get into most of their schools? Where they accepted to a school that seemed beyond their reach?

The problem with this is that these metrics for success don’t in anyway account for one of the things that is most valuable about the college process: It is the chance for the student to think about who they are, what they truly value, and what brings them greatest joy and meaning. As admissions letters start to arrive, consider who you have become through this journey, not just where you have been admitted, and you will find the process to be much more fulfilling.