Helping Your Kids Survive College Rejections – Meditations – Dallas Speaker & Author

For nine months, life has been about helping your kids survive college rejections. Pascaline has had quite the journey filled with pain, confusion, disappointment and unexpected reward. We moved Pascaline into her dorm room weekend before last.  She is one of three women in a sea of men military cadets. 

This new chapter is not what I expected for my girl

But I’m so proud of her!  This has been the most unexpected journey of twists, turns, disappointments and surprises to finding her college. 

Pascaline’s story inspires me to keep dreaming big because God always delivers the unexpected.  She gave me permission to share her unusual journey in hopes that it may encourage you to reach high this new year and new decade. 

Most college freshman start in the fall. 

That’s what we were planning for Pascaline too.  She had applied to six incredibly competitive schools, most being Ivy League.  When we found out she was put on Princeton’s deferred list, we were so excited because she was in the running! Then last spring, she got one rejection slip after another.  Not one school accepted her, and she was devastated.

Survive College Rejections

After two years of working so hard at Collin College to finish high school and her first two years of college, she had maintained a 4.0 GPA with hopes of getting into one of her dream schools.  And since she didn’t apply to any safety schools, she had nowhere to attend in the fall. 

As parents, we kicked ourselves…

for not pushing her to apply to a safety school.  Brian and I never felt so helpless as parents.  There wasn’t anyone to call or a connection we had that could give her a place to start in the fall.  Was the issue because we homeschooled her from First Grade? And yet, we’d prayed so much as a family and felt like we were encouraging her in the right direction.  Nothing made sense. 

Pascaline’s always been so confident and goal driven, but now we started watching her second guess everything and feel completely lost.  Every Sunday at church people would ask her where she was going in the fall, and I’d watch her struggle to answer.  My spiritual mentor encouraged me, saying we want our kids to go through challenging times when they’re home.  This way we can help walk them through it. 

I held on to this wisdom as my heart broke for her.     

At the time Pascaline was considering being a Liberal Arts major interested in Art History, maybe even archeology or writing.  But to apply to Princeton and Yale, you’re required to take Calculus.  She was dreading it but took Pre-Calc and did okay.  However, when she got to Calculus I something clicked for her.  She enjoyed it so much, she decided to take Calculus II as an ELECTIVE.  (Who does that?!)  And to our shock, she got 100%’s on her tests! 

When we met with her advisor at Collin College to re-strategize where to go for college, he looked at her confused.  He said, “Even though you’re a Humanities major, all your electives are Engineering based.” We were all surprised. 

Brian and I don’t come from families of…

engineers but business entrepreneurs.  Yet we had been encouraging Pascaline to consider studying something she couldn’t learn from family.  We just had no idea how different it would be!  A new path opened up to becoming an Engineering major. And the field that her brain enjoys most is Aerospace.  (I still can’t believe I’m writing this about our daughter!) 

In just a few short weeks of hearing she wasn’t accepted into any of those other schools, she had a whole new vision.  Some of the top schools in the world for Aerospace Engineering are in Texas.  She applied to Texas A&M’s competitive Engineering School and was accepted!  And if you know Pascaline, you know she goes all out. 

If you know Pascaline, you know she goes all out!

She also decided to join the Corps of Cadets.  They are the largest, public military college teaching leadership and more. Since there aren’t many women in the Engineering field, she thought the Corps would be an amazing way to learn how to not only lead but lead men. 

And that’s how we ended up dropping her off last weekend as one of three women in a sea of men to start her hell week of training at A&M’s Corps of Cadets with the Navy/Marine squadron. 

She never would have known about her passion for…

Engineering if she wasn’t required to take Calculus when applying to Princeton and Yale.  Isn’t that amazing?  God gave her a BIG vision, and even though she thought acceptance to those schools was the end goal…He had something so much better in store.  What looked like a dead end of how to survive college rejections became a new beginning. She thought she failed, but she fell into His amazing plan!

The house is much quieter with Pascaline gone. 

Even though Blaze is still here, it’s odd to have him away at school every day after years of homeschooling.  Brian and I sometimes joke that we already feel like empty nesters.  What a change to go from traveling the world as a family to opening a local photography studio.  But it feels so good, so right.  When I look at our family portrait for 2019, I feel so thankful.  God has been so good.

How Do You Help Your Kids Survive College Rejections?

You keep believing, especially when they can’t believe for themselves, that God has a plan for them. God is creating something above and beyond what they could ever imagine. Encourage them to meet with other mentors who can echo your heart and values. Take long walks together. Let them dump and be afraid. Hold the light for them at the end of the tunnel.

Sony Camera & Luxury Gift Certificate Giveaway!

*To celebrate the New Year, we’re doing a BIG giveaway for a Sony camera (RX100 VII, $1299) and two $800 Luxury Gift Certificates to put towards a photographic experience with us and fine art to display in your home or office of the ones you love! Fun, right?! 

To enter, you must complete all three steps;

1. Fill Out the Entry Form at www.fioria.us/giveaway
2. Follow Me on Instagram www.instagram.com/merakoh
3. Tag a friend inviting them to follow me as well in the comments of the most recent post.  * For every friend you tag and invite in a new comment during January is an extra entry to win!

*Deadline to enter is 1/31/20. We’ll pick a winner in early February! 

May you dream big in 2020 and fall into the most wonderful, unexpected results!

Xo,

m

Family is a Work of Art

Me Ra Koh is a Professional Photographer, Speaker & bestselling Author based in Dallas, Texas. She travels nationwide inspiring audiences of creatives, women, churches and corporations.

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