Today I took my daughter on her first College tour. It was -10 degrees with the wind while we walked between the 12' snow banks on the streets of Boston, but she was smiling, while her brother dutifully followed along. You see, we were visiting a University that is old, has a many progressive programs, demands you be of use in Boston and sets you up to apply what you're learning in the classroom to co-ops around the Commonwealth and the Globe. Both of my children fall into the last two years of what has been coined the "millennials" generation. They are technologically savvy, globally sophisticated and want to be of use. So this tour was a home run, it even had my 8th grader forecasting possible futures for himself!
How different from my approach to college eons ago. I felt the world was going too fast, that I wanted to step back in time and under duress agreed to apply to college via a deferred acceptance plan. In 1980 (the year I graduated from High School and the supposed starting point of the birth of the Millennials), I was graduating from prep-school with an alternative educational structure. Eight modules instead of four terms. In your Senior year you could take a Module to do an independent project. This lead me to carpentry which lead to cabinetmaking which lead to boat building and most of you know the rest. The deferred acceptance plan, was also an alternative strategy, not one commonly used, even then. I guess now, it would be considered a Gap Year plan; where one works, travels, volunteers and then starts college after a year "off". For me, I knew I wasn't ready, and I didn't know what exactly I wanted to do. My deferred acceptance expired, as one year turned into three and I didn't start college until I was 20.
Now, with these Millennials, their group is the largest ever to attend college. Not only are they the largest generation, EVER, but they are also the largest to apply to college, EVER.
You see, with the advent of technology effecting every aspect of our lives, and still clinging to the Utopian idea that it will make life for humanity easier and more equitable, the Millennials are wanting to harness technology and knowledge for doing good. I've taught High School for almost 12 years now. So I've exclusively taught Millennials.
The Millennial mindset is a sharp double-sided coin. They are on one hand capable of being snarky, stealthy and sophisticated with their acquired knowledge, while on the other, being extremely honest, humble and very generous with their time and wisdom. They accumulate community service hours for their college resumes, which cynically can be perceived as future brown-nosing, yet I find some of the more rewarding stories or sources of content for their college essays come from the time they spent doing community service or helping others. They feel impotent with the prospect of becoming voters, and yet they desire to be in positions of leadership. They want to travel and learn about the rest of the world, yet are often working hard (as are their parents) just to keep themselves afloat. They are the generation that has grown up not only with ever increasing advancements in technology, but also during almost continuous war. Many of them are seduced into the armed services to satisfy their high expectations for travel, education and a steady vocation or career.
Confidence and stress are also two sides of the same generational coin. They know they must go to college, much like previous generations knew they must finish High School. Only now, they have to go to college to be eligible for the kind of careers they have always imagined for themselves. The days of apprenticeships, and organically growing and shifting directions like I did before, during and after college, are harder to sustain. This is why colleges are building in apprenticeships (Co-ops or Create your own majors) with experiential learning opportunities either as internships, paid positions or some combination of the two. Northeastern and Syracuse are both highly sought after by Millennials for this reason. The stress comes with the fact that they ALL must go to college. Not everyone went to college in my generation. Now they are a HUGE generation and all competing with each other for the same number of historical seats that have functioned in the colleges and universities. The pressure of getting each slice of your application pie just right is tremendous: SAT's, ACT's, recommendation letters, extracurriculars, special talents, GPA, achievements, community service- volunteering, internships, a unique-authentic essay and so on. They know all this from a much earlier place than I remember be aware of it. It gets heavy on the heads as the grades draw closer to almighty Junior Year. So one day they may be firing on all pistons and sure-footed. The next day, burnt out and defeatist. It can be a confidence see-saw!
Two other shifts: For the first time EVER more women than men are entering college. Combining that with the most ethnically and racially diverse student body EVER in America. It will be interesting to see how that effects the powers that be in the future!
Being the bouncy-Tigger optimist that I am, I think it's an exciting time to be going to college. My daughter vacillates between the pressure and the promise of getting into the college of her choice. Our job now is to map out a strategy for the next 9 months, much like the book I read prior to her birth, "What to Expect when You're Expecting". We'll take it one month at a time, put thought, effort, nurturing, and our best advice into each move and hope for an academically appropriate acceptance when it's all done!
I'm sure with her Millennial Mindset and my Baby Boomer Bravado, she'll land on her feet!
(Did I mention we were both born in the year of the Tiger?)
Good night, strivers and students, G'night!
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