Overcoming College Application Stress
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
For students, college applications are of utmost importance in their lives. However, it comes with a lot of stress and anxiety. Keep on reading to find out how to overcome college application stress.
Every year, senior high school students have the opportunity to write an application essay to apply for any university they might like. Though this is beneficial for them, it becomes a very stressful and anxious activity to perform. You have to keep in mind that you are not the first or the last person to encounter this situation. There have been people before you, and there will always be someone after you. You have all experienced the same stress.
To overcome any kind of anxiety, it is essential that you breath and face what is causing you to be so stressed. So, avoid avoidance. Remember that this is not a permanent situation and that all will pass soon. The moment you hand in your application essays, you only have to wait. The thing is, waiting also causes anxiety and stress. That is why in this article we show you some tips that will help you overcome college application stress.
How to Overcome College Application Stress?
Start Early
One of the most common mistakes of college applications is that students take a lot of time to begin the process of writing. They must start to plan the topic and think about what their application essay will be about, how to organize themselves, how many colleges they will apply to, and how they will write the application essay. Starting the process and organizing earlier will help students reduce college application stress.
Organization is Key
As mentioned before, organization is an important point to take into consideration when preparing yourself for college applications. If you will apply to more than one university, you must organize the different deadlines and requirements of each institution so that it becomes easier for you to write the essay. You can also create a timeline to help you arrange your responsibilities a bit better.
Don’t Stick to Only One College
This is something that you have to decide on your own, but we advise you to choose more than one college just in case. It is difficult to decide the number of universities you want to apply to, but having more options will reduce your stress. Having more than one option will assure you more chances. We know there is not a certain amount of colleges you have to apply to, but you can find more information in this article.
Make a Plan
If you create a plan for your future, your projects, and your goals, it will be less stressful for you. Plan ahead what you want to do when you get to college, what are your goals and motivations, the different extracurricular activities you might do, if you want a near-home university or not, if you want to live on campus or not, and more. Having a plan will help you reduce your anxiety as regards college applications.
Ask for Help When Needed
One characteristic of students in this period of their life is that they want to do all on their own. They do not understand that asking for help will not make them less than what they truly are. Counselors are of great help to students that are struggling with their college applications or even deciding what college to attend. Moreover, if they have finished their college essay, students can ask an adult to read the essay to see if everything is correct. Ask for help, and don’t put all of the stress on your shoulders.
Take Breaks
Last but not least, it is really important that students take breaks. Writing a college essay is stressful, and if you pretend to do it all at once, it can become even more stressful and exhausting. It is not wrong that you take little breaks to enjoy things that make you happy and help you relax. Don’t panic, you will do it great.
