From the months of June to November of this year, I spent hours upon hours pouring every bit of information about myself into a well-known website: The Common Application. This universal college application seems daunting at first glance, but it truly isn’t as scary as you think. The overall college application process has taught me a lot of things, so I thought I’d share the 5 most important things I’ve learned through this process.
- Give yourself enough time to do everything.
It’s easy to think at the end of junior year that you have ages before you have to even create a Common App Account. WRONG. Even though it might come off a bit scary and harsh, starting applications as soon as the summer before senior year will guarantee less stress once senior year fall comes around. You don’t want it to be October, juggling academics and extracurriculars, and you still don’t have an idea for a personal statement or that one school’s supplemental. Especially if you have applications with earlier deadlines such as November 1st, starting everything early and consistently working to finish them will lift pounds of stress off your shoulders.
- Be Resourceful
As you look through the supplemental essays for each school you’re applying to, most likely you will find common prompts and themes within prompts. If two or more schools have very similar prompts, use the same essay for all of them. Besides changing a couple of words, using the same essay for multiple schools saves you hours of time writing as it wouldn’t be worth it to write a whole new essay. Look out for instances like that; find places where you can afford to cut corners and save time on the plethora of applications you might have to complete.
- Be Authentic
I don’t know about you, but if I were a college admissions officer, I wouldn’t want to read about the same carbon copy of a person over and over again. It’s so important to show who you really are on your application. Answer all the questions authentically, write about that one niche thing you love. I doubt the admissions officer is gonna bully you, in fact, I think they want to see passion from applicants about something they’re excited about. So don’t be performative and start writing about something that isn’t truly you. Even if it makes you sound smarter, you have a higher chance of acceptance if you present yourself as, well, you.
- There are so many people ready to help you!
Whether an outside tutor, Mrs. Lewis in the counselors office, or a teacher in the writing lab, there are so many people ready to help you with this process. Especially if you aren’t sure what to do or what to write about, there are so many people at our school that have answers to your questions and can make your application spotless. I would overall recommend someone reading over your personal statement and supplementals; there are so many little things you can miss when reading your own writing, so having another set of eyes look it over just makes your writing perfect.
- Last but not least, don’t put too much pressure on yourself
College acceptances are truly some of the most random things ever. There’s nothing you can truly do that will guarantee an acceptance to your dream school. This process is inherently stressful in itself, so avoid comparing yourself to your friends and trying to make every single thing about your application perfect. At the end of the day, you will end up where you are meant to be. Enjoy this last fall you have with your friends and make memories that truly count.
I hope I provided some words of wisdom, and best of luck to all current and future seniors!
