What is Nervcited:
In my travels and work with students and families this past month, I learned about a new condition affecting high school families: Nervcited.
Nervcited: the combination of nervousness and excitement, often referring to a big, emotional, nerve-wracking event.
Not to be found in a medical journal or parenting magazine, this playful reference to a condition is playing out in many homes of high school seniors now and throughout the Fall. It could have even started over the summer, or been festering in the house since an older sibling graduated from high school. Either way, If not caught in time, Nervcited can be very disruptive to the lives of a student, parents, caregivers, and guardians. Can even get passed down to younger siblings waiting to start their life after high school planning.
What are the symptoms of Nervcited, how can it be detected, and is there a remedy to correct the condition? The answer is yes.
SYMPTOMS
Include heightened parental blood pressure, roller-coaster student behavior, clashes in the car or at the kitchen island, failure to have and follow a plan, and, most notably, noise from well-meaning friends and social influencers.
HOW TO DETECT?
Excitement after a campus visit, until a caring friend says it’s not for you (or your student); realizing savings are limited and we’re looking at $80K in school; revealing the 1st draft of the college essay only to have one explode after it’s read; or a bewildered look as one attempts to follow a different path with little or no support on how to move forward.
WHAT TO DO?
First, as a parent, caregiver, or guardian of a 10th- or 11th-grade student, hit pause. Slow down slightly, but with purpose. Your student is just restarting school and sports, dance, and extracurricular activities. They’re worried. Plus, you’re balancing your own work-life balance now that the summer is over.
Second, anything missed in the past is over; it’s time to focus on what you need to be dealing with now and over the coming months.
Get to Work NOW – Get ot the plan and deadlines, review priorities due now, in October, November, and into the later Fall. Less for 10th graders (PSAT’s, military academy, college fairs, assessing savings, hunting for scholarships), more for 11th grade, college/career school-bound students (essay, FAFSA, Common App, school selections). Also, turn to your trusted colleagues and professionals for unbiased, non-judgmental assistance.
Remember, Nervcited isn’t always visible. Some symptoms only reveal themselves after we, as parents, caregivers, guardians, and professionals, ask the right questions the right way.
If you reading this for the first time, let me introduce you to my four pillars: Finding the right education pathway, at the right school, for the right reason, at an affordable investment. My ongoing focus is to reinforce that we are no longer living in a one-size-fits-all post-high-school educational pathway. Action steps to find the ‘right fit’ to foster the growth of a student’s mind, body, and spirit are plentiful and 100% dependent on goals, capabilities, and wants, with the support of family and friends. We’re no longer following the playbook of our parents’ generation.
If you like what you’re reading, drop me a line at tom@getcollegegoing.com
If you have questions, inquiries, or what-if scenarios on areas before, during, and after college, call or text me: 617-240-7350.