It's college admission season if you have a senior in high school, which I do. I've coached high schoolers for several years now, which has prepared me pretty well for this.
I live in a pretty nice, highly educated suburb where it feels like everyone goes to college, and lots of folks go to places with fancy names that people have heard of. This is a hard season for the kids and their parents. (1) even though it feels like everyone is going off somewhere, not everyone is, and it's isolating for the kids (and their parents) who don't know yet when everyone is celebrating their admissions. (2) where I live there is so much wealth that everyone assumes the kids can all afford whatever; they can't. It really hit home when I was listening to a kid I've coached talking about waiting to see what financial aid she was awarded to determine whether she was headed off to a or b, or staying home and going to community college. In the end she split the difference--she left, but went to a community college (which worked out great for her). (3) Some kids don't get in to a place they are happy with. Unfortunately, where I live, too many of them settle for their "safety" when a better option would have been to go to community college, get more competitive, and transfer to where they want to go. I've seen kids do that, too, with a lot of success. But that's an isolating choice when all the kids around are talking about their big adventures coming next fall. (4) There are lots of choices that are every bit as good, if not better, than heading off to college. Some kids join the military. Honorable. Some join the trades. We need people in the trades, which are also good paying jobs. Some go to community college because they don't know what else to do (or aren't ready to travel to college). Also a fine choice. Some just go find a job. Kudos. The "Gap Year" seems to be a thing, although I feel like I'm hearing less about it right now. I normally think that sounds like privileged kids doing privileged things.
I know a lot of communities aren't like mine as it relates to college applications. There is a privilege that is associated with so much focus on colelge [I was going to correct this typo, but then I decided it's more fun to leave it], but it comes with a lot of anxiety for the kids. My recommendation is that if you know parents or seniors who are waiting to learn what their future is, let them be. They will tell you when they are ready to talk about it.
All that said, my senior got accepted to one of his "reaches" yesterday, so his stress level dropped dramatically. He's got several to hear from (including some B1G schools), including his top choice, which is the reachiest of the group, but he felt a lot better after getting that first one.
*My eldest went through this two years ago, but they were applying to (and are now attending) art college for a BFA, which involves a pretty different process than traditional college.