The college process is not enjoyable for anyone. If you have decided to read this article, you’re already off to a great start. But all jokes aside, I am here to share everything that I’ve learned upon passing the May 1st finish line.
The college list. It really is not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Make sure you have at least one Safety (with a capital S). This way, you will definitely go to college. I did not do this, and I was a little bit nervous for a while.
Additionally, apply to lots of reaches but also lots (Lots!) of target schools. The more target schools you apply to, the better. One caveat to this is that you may not get into all of your target schools. As strange as this is, I was waitlisted at all of my target schools and accepted to all of my reach schools. Onwards.
First, it is essential that you create a timeline and stick to it. May is a great time to finalize your college list (if you haven’t already!) and begin writing your personal essay. It takes a very long time to a) find a topic and b) convey your topic.
In terms of topic selection, I suggest that you write about something that only you can write about (seriously). If someone else could write the same essay, it is probably a good idea to choose a different, unique topic. And in terms of conveying your topic, test out different strategies. Try an anecdote, experiment with a motif, or even insert a rhetorical question. See what works and what doesn’t.
By the end of July, your personal essay should be finished. Obviously, if it is not, you still have months to finish it, but I believe that it is beneficial to have your final draft completed in July so that in three months, you can revisit it with fresh eyes.
It’s now August, and you should begin to work on your supplemental essays at this point. The most important thing to focus on here is word choice. In the supplemental essays, you have anywhere from 20 to 250 words. This is not a lot of space! So, in other words, every word matters. The more time you spend curating these essays, the better your result will be. You should also enter all of your personal information into the Common Application.
Hopefully your supplemental essays will be finished by the end of September. This gives you a month to revise, revise, revise until the November 1st deadline for the early application round. During the first few weeks of October, focus on proofreading all of your essays and personal information and confirm that your letters of recommendation are in order.
At this point, I am going to express my opinion on the early action/early decision application round. As a person who did not apply early decision, I look back and say that I probably should have. While I ended up getting accepted to my first choice school in March and many other great options as well, I should have applied somewhere great in the binding early decision round. Being accepted to a school early decision will remove all stress from your senior year. Do with this information what you will.
If you decide to apply to a school in the early round, you should do so by October 15th. This way, you will get an interview quickly, and if there are any issues with your application, they will get straightened out before the November 1st deadline.
It’s time for another shred of advice (surprise!). If you are applying to a school during the early round, finish and submit all of your applications ahead of time! If you end up getting deferred like I was (ouch!) then you will be incredibly relieved that you do not have any more college-related work on your plate. Trust me on this one.
If you are deferred, it is not the end of the world. Seriously, it is not the end of the world. Do not write a crazy, wordy, and desperate letter of continued interest. Keep it brief, polite, and straight to the point like my successful letter was.
I hope you enjoyed reading my advice! Everything that I wrote is not perfect or exactly what you must do. You’ll do great, and keep in mind that college is not as important as it may seem right now.
Have a good summer, and see ya later!
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