It’s finally that time of the year. The fall semester is close to ending and you are considering to attend college soon. The deadlines for many of the schools that you wish to attend are approaching quickly. You feel as if the college process is not going so great and the amount of stress increases by the day. You want to look for some relief and some helpful advice on how to manage college applications. Well, you are in good hands! In this blog post, I am going to share some helpful ways on how to stay on track when submitting college applications and how to manage the amount of stress when deadlines are approaching.
First and foremost, the college application process is far from easy. There are many necessary steps that you need to take to build a strong college application, e.g., reviewed personal statements and resume, several letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc. When beginning your college application, it important that you keep track of the deadlines of each school that you are willing to apply to. By creating a tracking document with each school you are considering to apply to and their deadlines, it will provide you with a time frame of how much time you have left to submit your application. In addition to creating a tracking document for your school’s deadlines, also list each of your college’s requirements for the application. These requirements could be a certain amount of recommendation letters, an official transcript, etc. By keeping track of each college and their requirements, it could help with completing your college applications correctly and efficiently. Furthermore, when keeping track of deadlines and requirements, it is also important that you keep track of any personal statement prompts that are required for the application as well. By keeping track of personal statement prompts, it will allow you to create a personal statement specifically for the college you are applying to in the way that the college would be deemed acceptable. By writing a strong personal statement specific to a college’s personal statement prompt, you have a better chance to convince the admission committee that you are a perfect candidate for their school.
After you create a tracking document with college application deadlines, requirements for the application, and with various personal statement prompts, it is now time to focus on each of the supporting documents in your application: resume, personal statement, and letters of recommendation. When considering to apply to a certain college, it is important that the documents (personal statement and resume) that are required are reviewed by someone, such as a teacher, an advisor, or a mentor. Having these documents reviewed and edited can present the opportunity to submit a strong college application. Those people who look over the required documents can help with any grammatical errors or phrases that could help build a stronger application on your behalf. Once the required documents are edited and complete, you can then focus on collecting any other documents necessary for your application such as requesting for an official transcript or letters of recommendation. For requesting any letters of recommendations, it is important to choose people who represent you well. This includes any teachers, supervisors, mentors, and coaches that can represent you in a positive manner. Once you have all the necessary documents for your application and have reached out to people for letters of recommendation, you are finally ready to apply! On a side note, some of the college’s you are interested in may have an application fee when applying. Check to see if any programs that you are interested in have application fee waivers, so you do not have to pay for your application.
When juggling around college application deadlines and managing supporting documents for applications, the process can be stressful. In addition to finishing college applications, other additional coursework for high school and extracurricular activities outside of school can add much stress onto your plate. To help with managing the workload and the amount of stress, try to buy a planner and plan out certain events and deadlines to make the college application process easier. Plan out when you will have time for your college applications, when will you have time to do homework, and when you will have free time to complete other necessary tasks required for you to do. Planning out your time and mastering time management can help with any tasks that has to be completed on your schedule. Also, do not be afraid to say no! Canceling plans to make time for the important events on your schedule can really make on impact on the amount of stress you have. Remember, even in the midst of stress, you are very well capable of achieving great success during your college application journey!
Surely the college application process is not easy; it is far from it! However, if you continue to take the steps that are necessary to keep track of college deadlines, requirements, and personal statement prompts in addition to collecting supporting documents for applications, you will be in great shape for when you apply to colleges of your interests. You not only have everything that it takes to build a strong college application, but you have what it takes to overcome any stressful moments that may present itself to you. So go for it! Truly recognize that you are fully equipped and capable of accomplishing and finishing excellent college applications for the next school year!