We know the college admissions process can be mind-boggling, not to mention the financial aid application. Here we’ve put together our list of key steps to make the college admissions process more manageable.
College Applications: Where Do I Begin?
Limit the number of schools you apply to.
Applying to 20 schools means you’ll be writing 20 essays, gathering 20 sets of recommendations, etc. In other words, it’ll be overwhelming and a lot of extra work.
Communicate with your parents about your applications.
Let them know well in advance of deadlines that will require their assistance — money for application fees, personal information for financial aid and scholarship applications, etc.
Keep a central calendar where you record all of your school application deadlines, testing dates, college visits, etc.
Consult it frequently so you can manage your schedule and hang it in an area where your parents will also see it.
Don’t join a thousand activities at the start of the year.
Knowing that colleges examine applicants’ extracurricular activities, some students suddenly realize they’ve been sitting on their butts for the past 3 years and try to compensate by joining every club under the sun. Schools would rather see you pick one activity and be extremely involved with it.
Brainstorm college essay ideas in advance.
Start during the summer or at the beginning of senior year. With a lot of applications being online, you can browse through a few to get a feel for the types of topics and questions asked.
Ask for recommendations well in advance.
Teachers/counselors/coaches/bosses are extremely busy and you want to give them as much time as possible. You don’t want them to submit a late or sub-par recommendation because you didn’t provide them with sufficient time.
When you have application deadlines coming up as well as big events, get the boring stuff done before the fun stuff.
If a scholarship application is due on Monday but the homecoming dance is on the previous Saturday, you’re not going to have as much fun at homecoming if that application is still looming over your head. And the quality of the application will be better if it’s completed before the weekend rather than rushing through it Sunday.
Keep a separate folder for each college.
If you keep ALL materials in their respective folders, you’ll always know where everything is.
Don’t procrastinate. Don’t procrastinate. DON’T PROCRASTINATE.
The quality of your application pieces will plunge. You’ll be stressed. No good all around. Find a routine that keeps you on track but allots for free time. Pick one day each weekend to devote to applications and relax the other.
