Gearing up For "Senior Season"

It’s August before your senior year and you might be in any number of places regarding your college process. Maybe you have a well-researched list of schools you’ll be applying to, your college essay is written and edited, and possibly even a couple supplemental essays are complete. Or maybe you have no idea where you’ll be applying or what to even write your essay about. Likely, you’re somewhere in the middle! If anxiety about the whole process is keeping you from moving forward, I will say this: it might not feel like it now, but it. will. all. get. done. It might seem like an insurmountable amount of work, but it truly isn’t! Six months or so from now, when everything is done, you will reflect on the last half a year and be amazed at what you accomplished! Your mindset right now is what is going to be key to getting you through what may feel like one of the more stressful parts of your life up until now. So here are a few tips from someone who has shepherded dozens of students through this process (all of whom got all the work done and were accepted to college!):

1. It may sound like the most cliché piece of advice ever, but that is because it’s true: break things down into manageable pieces. Give yourself one thing to focus on each week. Still need a school list? Research 3 or 4 schools this week! Need an essay topic? Read some insight here on how to approach that! And here’s a wonderful guide with some tips and examples of essays that worked. Have 30 supplemental essays to write? Pick one school this week, become an expert on it, and write drafts of their supplement(s)!  

2. Try to establish a realistic timeline for yourself. If you were to complete one school’s applications and essays a week, how long would that take you? What about one school every other week? Is it likely you’ll have completed (and done a good job on) all of your applications in time for the November Early Action deadlines, or are you better off giving yourself until January? 

3. Plan ahead around your busy months! Do you have the fall play coming up in November, or a time-consuming fall or winter sport, or family travel around the holidays? PLAN PLAN PLAN! I cannot emphasize this enough!

4. It’s not too late to squeeze in some college visits! Next week, students will be piling back onto college campuses, and if there are schools you haven’t visited yet that you are very interested in, now is a great time to go check them out! Maybe the visit will reaffirm or grow your interest in (as well as demonstrating that interest to) the school, or maybe you’ll realize that one misses the mark for you and you won’t waste your time with their 4 essays.

Bonus tip: See if any of the colleges you are applying to offer a rolling deadline (or maybe find an appealing school that does) and submit that sucker as soon as you can! Pitt is a popular one amongst my students. Some students find having that early “win” can take a whole lot of pressure off the whole process.