Finish Line: The final countdown to college deadline day
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Editor's note: Congrats to Axios head of news Ben Berkowitz, whose son just committed to a college over the weekend. Ben reflects on the process — relatable for any parent of high schoolers in 2026.
Raising a child means having lots of tough conversations. What no one ever tells you is that the most enraging exchange of all will be: "So, have you picked a college yet?"
- If, like me, you have a high school senior at home, May 1 — the commitment deadline — looms like a slow-motion train wreck.
The big picture: It seems simple: Here's the list. We know the locations, we know the costs, now pick one.
Our college commitment norms assume your child has a rational and orderly worldview at 18.
- In reality, you could have a kid whose primary criteria are:
- 🛜 Is the Wi-Fi strong enough?
- 🧱 Are the dorms too brick-y?
- 🥣 How is the soup in the cafeteria?
Friction point: The soup. The soup is the friction point.
- Our bundle of joy, our firstborn, the heir to our hopes and dreams, wanted us to spend $40,000 a year on the basis of whose chicken noodle is best.
- Other small matters, like education, come later. Much, much later.
Between the lines: To be fair to the kids, picking a college is a big deal, especially if you're the kind of person whose natural strength is not big choices.
- About 76% of college applicants consider selection a "decisive moment" in their lives, according to a 2023 study from the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
- About 3in 5 reported feeling overwhelmed.
Yes, but: The colleges carry some blame when it comes to the stress of the process.
- One university that shall remain nameless emailed our son more than 60 times over the course of two months, sometimes as many as four times a day. (He never wanted to go, and didn't get in anyway.)
- Another recently emailed, called and texted, all in the space of one afternoon, just to see if we were ready to put a deposit down for him. (We were not. They were stunned.)
Then there's the wait-list scenario — kiddo wants to go somewhere, but can't quite get in, but hasn't quite been rejected either. Academic limbo.
- Try explaining that rationally: You can't go where you want to go. But you might eventually? But in the meantime you need to pick someplace else and pay for it. But you can get some of the money back! Maybe. When they make a decision, whenever that is.
The bottom line: It's enough to make you weep, and that's before the first bill even comes.
- If you're in the same boat, I feel your pain. Here, have some soup.
