Technically, National College Decision Day is tomorrow (May 1), but here in the Tarr household, decision day came early.
After nearly four months of deliberation (or, more realistically, 24 hours that was dragged out over four months), my high school senior has finally decided where he’ll go to college in the fall. His decision is [insert drum roll here 
] …
James Madison University (JMU).
It’s now officially official. We clicked the acceptance button and paid the deposit. There’s no turning back now.
Actually, that’s not true. O could change his mind and if he does, that’s fine. Annoying, but doable, since the commitment deadline for his other top choice has been extended to June 1 because of the FAFSA mess.
SIDE NOTE ABOUT FAFSA: Are we the only people “too rich” for FAFSA, but too poor to actually pay for college for two kids? WTaF?!
Anyway, back to O and his decision. If you know us IRL, you know O’s decision came down to James Madison University and the University of Oregon, a school he’s loved since he was about five or six years old.
As a huge Oregon football and basketball Stan, I really expected O to choose Oregon. But ultimately, he decided that JMU was a better fit for him for a variety of reasons that he articulated fairly well to us.
His decision wasn’t easy. To be honest, the entire college application process wasn’t easy — for any of us.
When our older son was applying to colleges, he away at boarding school. He was also being recruited to play lacrosse, and it was during COVID, so the entire experience was different. So much so that going through it this time felt like our first time.
O dragged his feet completing the Common App and we had to push him to finish his essays (not to throw shade at the English teacher who reviewed his essay, but it needed work). He also had a hard time explaining how or why he chose the schools he applied to.
Ultimately, he applied (nonbinding) Early Action (EA) to both JMU and Oregon and a handful of other schools. It was a relief when that part of the process was over.
Then the wait began.
With EA, he learned about JMU and Oregon back in late December, but he still hadn’t decided until a few days ago — dragging his feet once again and torturing me just a little longer.
While I’m still somewhat surprised by his decision, I’m happy a decision has finally been made and we can now focus on all the other deadlines I’m sure I’ll have to hound him about.
And if he ultimately decides he made the wrong choice, he can always transfer. No biggie. But I think he’ll be happy. That’s all I want, really.
— LJDT
POSTSCRIPT: O is not my first kid to go to college, but he is my last. When he leaves, I’ll officially be an empty nester, so you can expect a blog on that in the near future. While saying goodbye to him will feel familiar, it will definitely feel different, too.
