As we draw ever closer to the start of the school year and the start of application season suddenly life is a lot busier – both applications and normal school. Application on their own can be overwhelming and stressful and so can school. When both are happening it can be hard to remember to take care of yourself.
Below I have 5 tips for managing your senior year and college applications:
- Communicate
- Whether it is your coach, teacher, director, or parent it is important for them to know where you stand with how busy you are and also your stress levels. When everybody is on the same page it can be easier to tell them when things get too hard or stressful. It helps people in our lives know when is a good time for certain conversations or events.
- Give yourself rest time
- If you are anything like me you will spend a lot of time focused on deciding where to apply, perfecting applications, and trying to make the most of my senior year. What I didn’t do was give myself time and space to truly learn my feelings about certain colleges or eventually decisions. Overall, if you give yourself some rest you will make the whole process a little smoother.
- Make deadlines
- I will admit, I suck at deadlines. I tried my best to follow this tip but also know it is extremely difficult. However, I am still putting it on the list because if there is a teacher, friend, parent, or counselor who can help you maintain the deadlines – setting deadlines for a couple of days before the actual one gives you a little breathing room. It also means when you submit it you can read it over after having a break from it for a day and see it with “new” eyes.
- Your friends don’t need to know everything
- I struggled with this a lot. I felt like it was my duty as a friend to keep them in the loop and they were the same for me. However, this can be difficult when you are applying to the same college or if one person is not going to college after high school or has different plans. The lines can get blurry but in order to avoid hurting people or yourself it is okay to say “I don’t know” or “I would prefer not to talk about it” or even “I haven’t made my decision yet”. By doing this you can still be a supportive friend and have support from others as well.
- Have Fun!
Hopefully, these tips are helpful and make at least one moment of your senior year a little calmer. If you have other questions or want to talk about the application process please feel free to email me at: [email protected]