This post is for high school seniors (and their parents) who have not quite yet finished submitting their college applications. You’re in good company! Most seniors have submitted at least some of their college apps, but we know there are many colleges with January 1 deadlines, or soon thereafter. So this post is for you – How to Rock December! That is, how to not let this college application process eat up your entire winter break.
You can read below, download the deck at the bottom of this post, or just watch the short video to the right.
Tip #1: You’ve made your college list. Have confidence in it!
Now is not the time to add a bunch of reach schools to your list “just to see” if you can get in. If you’ve really done the research you should have done to build that list (parents of younger students – here’s a quick video on how they should research college websites!), you should know everything you need to know to build your best case as you apply to each college. Given that many deadlines are just a few weeks away, it’s unlikely that you’ll really have time to write compelling essays for schools you add at the very end.
Tip #2: Spread out the work.
Don’t wait until the end of the year – that precious week between Christmas and New Year’s – to do all of the work. You won’t write your best essays under this time pressure! Take a little bit of time each day to work on your supplemental essays and college apps, so you have time to review, reflect and revise them.
Tip #3: Done? Let’s stop talking about it.
College apps have consumed your entire fall semester. If you’re done with your applications, give the subject a rest. I bet you, your parents and your friends can find other interesting things to talk about as you wait for the decisions to come back. Parents – this is an excellent tip to reduce the occurrence of exasperated sighs in your household, at least for a few months.
There’s a bonus tip in the video; I’ll let you pick that up when you watch it!
And if you want these tips in writing, you can download them here:
Magellan College Counseling – How to Rock December
Helping our clients reduce the stress associated with the college search and college applications is why our counselors spend so much time on the road, visiting colleges, attending conferences, meeting with college admission officers, and keeping ourselves informed about what the decision-makers are thinking. If you have questions about this stuff, we’re happy to chat with you.