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Crosswalk article week of June 11, 2001 Epilogue: What Actually Happened This Year Whew, another school year over – and the final year for my twin sons at that. Because you’ve been asking, I thought I’d do a wrap up of the series I began the year with. In that, I told you what we were planning to do, in this, here’s what really happened: The College Process I’m starting here, because that’s the monster that ruled at our house all year long – and will continue to dominate our summer. Even though those who have bravely gone before us told me to start this process early, I don’t think there is any way to avoid all the pressures, paper work and decision-making of that final year. Mike and Gabe started looking at schools in their junior year, but they really didn’t get realistic about where they ought to go until this past fall (this seems to be pretty typical for most kids). Then we had to squeeze college visits in around football season and course work. Visiting schools is certainly more helpful than just reading about them in all their PR material; but talking to kids, especially Christian kids, already enrolled ended up being an important part of their decision-making. A huge part of their school day ended up being prep for the fall SATs and writing many drafts of many essays for college and scholarship applications. As I now say in my seminars, “The money is for the articulate.” A great book to help in this process is How To Write A Winning College Application Essay by Michael James Mason (available at Debrabell.com). This book has much broader application and can be used for any kind of reflective essay assignments so it became a part of their English credit. Even though Mike and Gabe grumbled during the endless drafts of what seemed to be fruitless essays, in the end they were able to recycle their essays a couple of times with a few revisions. And when at the last minute they learned they needed to submit a substantial writing portfolio to the college they are attending, they had plenty of writing to pull together quickly ( they aren’t English majors, folks, the writing portfolio is increasingly a requirement for all incoming students.) Just because kids are kids, neither one solidified his top choice early. And then it was the same place for each. We had lengthy discussions about should they or should they not go their separate ways (they are identical twins), but Kermit and I were grateful they’ve settled on the same place – just for logistical purposes. However, we had missed the early application deadlines and heard the Honors College at this school (which is where they wanted to get in) was receiving a slew of applications. Christmas vacation was one of the tenses parts of our school year. They were both hurriedly writing essays and rounding up recommendations from folks they’d already hit upon numerous times before. Plus one of my sons was foolishly dropping 20 pounds quickly for wrestling (for those who don’t know, Mike and Gabe were permitted to play sports through our public school district.) He didn’t eat a bite at Christmas dinner. We all sat miserably with our extended family while he moaned and groaned in the other room. When we returned home from the holiday, my other son found one of our cats had used his almost complete application as a litter box! Only by the restraining grace of God did that cat live to see another day. It wasn’t until April that Mike and Gabe knew for sure that they had been accepted into their top choice. And it wasn’t until the end of the month that they knew if they could afford it. So where are they going? They are enrolled in the Honors College at the state school my husband and I both graduated from. The price tag is far less than any place else they might have gone and still left home. And the educational opportunities they have access to I think are impressive. They will be able to study abroad; they can attend programs at other, more expensive universities at the state school’s price; they can set up their own unique learning experiences and likely receive funding for those. Only 100 students are accepted into this program each year, and the benefactor is quite generous in underwriting a very unique curriculum for these kids. While we do realize it is not a Christian worldview, Mike and Gabe will be studying a classical liberal arts core curriculum. They have quite a few solid Christian friends already at this college, and they will be active members of my home church – one I was a part of founding a few decades ago. The church has an “adopt a student” program that provides accountability and an occasional home-cooked meal for the kids, as well as a very active campus ministry. If asked, they will tell you sensing a calling to this particular church was the key factor in choosing this college. And that was a priority for their dad and I. We really want our sons to continue to value highly the regular preaching of sound doctrine and the investment of older, mature Christians (not merely peers) into their lives. At the same time, we recognize their passion for sharing the gospel with their generation. We believe this is a God-given passion and we trust God-directed in their college choice.
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