It is that time of year again. High school seniors across the country are preparing to apply to colleges and making final decisions on where they will be spending the next four years of their life. This typically causes a lot of stress and anxiety throughout the first semester of senior year. But there are many ways to combat this stress.
College freshmen, who somehow mastered the college application process, shared what their strategies on how to increase your chances of getting into your dream school.
Don't try to oversell yourself.
It’s really obvious to admissions boards when you try to make roles and projects you did bigger than they actually were. -JH, Boston College
Focus on your essay more than anything else.
I’m pretty sure that's why I got in most places. Write about what you think is most important for admission boards to know about you. When I showed my essay to people, some of them thought I should have taken out a part, but it was my favorite part and the center of my essay so I kept it in and I feel that it made a stronger impact. -PN, Emerson College
Rejection is normal.
Getting a rejection letter, while it plain old sucks, is perfectly normal and to be honest, it’s entirely just a gamble on chance, luck and how the admissions counselor was feeling that day, so don't get hung up on not getting in somewhere. -BA, Simmons College
Try not to get attached to schools.
It’s hard to not get too attached to a place, but you would hate to get super attached and get a rejection letter from that place. Instead, try to have a broad interest in many different schools. -CT, Hofstra University
Focus on the extracurricular activities you did for a long time.
You have a limited space to list your hundreds of extracurricular activities on the Common App. To help you pick which ones to use, focus on the ones that you did for the longest time. This shows commitment and interest in a few select things. -MA, St. Josephs College
Visit the schools multiple times before applying.
Visiting schools is the best way to get a feel for what life on the campus will be like if you were to go to that school. Contact admissions to see if you can spend the night with a current student, go to the school and just sit down in the dining hall and think about if you can imagine yourself going there. -KH, Hobart and William Smith
Make contact early and often.
College websites can track how often you have visited a certain page on their website- so do some digging! Also, reach out to the admissions office letting them know when you are coming to visit and let them know what you are most excited about. After your visit, thank them for their time (even if you didn't meet with them directly) and give them a few things that really stood out to you while you were there. -MB, University of New Hampshire
Take notes after each college visit.
Keep a running pros and cons list for each individual school you visit. When you go to apply, this will give you a good overview of the things that you saw while on your tour and may jog your memory about specific details. -TO, University of New England
