College Entrance Tests: How To Prepare Your Kid for Possible Setbacks

It has began. The results of college entrance tests for schoolyear 2010-11 are being published beginning this month. De La Salle University’s (DLSU) college entrance test results started everything off by being the first to release their results last January 2. Over the next few months, high school seniors in different schools around the country will experience extreme highs and/or lows as each university publishes its admission results.

As a parent of two older children (in college now), I have rejoiced and likewise, been saddened as well as they got their exam results. I am just grateful that in the end, they did get into the school of their choice. Now, it’s the turn of our third child to go through the stress of waiting it out. Again, I sit it out with him, knowing he is sometimes stressed at the thought of whether he will make it or not. Once again, I ask myself: How can I support my child if the results do not turn out favorable for him?

I’m sure this thought has also crossed your mind if you are in the same situation I am in.

There is a philosophy that I have always tried to remember and adopt in disappointing situations:

When things do not go the way we want it to, it is not a sign of failure.

It is just God’s way of closing the door so that our eyes, which had been focused solely on that door, will veer away and see that He has opened a window.

We cannot shield our children from everything bad. We can’t stop them from bruising themselves. We can’t prevent mishaps. We cannot prevent their hearts from breaking due to rejection from friends or from a broken heart. And we surely cannot prevent them from a possible rejection by the school they most wished to go to.

So what can we do if our kids are not accepted by the school of their choice? Here are some things we can do:

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