College Application Tips

It's May 1st which means National College Decision Day! If you guys didn't know, we're finally off to college! This year has been a wild ride for our senior year and has definitely been challenging for our college application process. We were hit with a lot of obstacles due to many changes that were made for our application year. With such a large increase in applications this year for many schools, it was an extremely competitive year. As the college application process has finally come to an end, we've decided to share some of our best tips for any future applicants! 

1. Apply early decision

If you have a dream school, apply early decision! ED is a great option for those who know what they want and are confident they will attend the school if they are accepted. I personally applied ED and it saved me from so much stress, application fees, and essay writing. I was done with the college process by mid-December, and I was able to avoid the dreadful "waiting-game" my regular decision friends endured.

2. Creating your "spike"

Being a well rounded student can be great, but what we personally found helpful was using our application to highlight our spike and base our application around showing who we are and our interests. One great way to do this is to know what you're really passionate about and try to list down the things that match up with your interests to show AOs that you're truly passionate about a certain topic/field.

3. Like your safety schools

Unfortunately, the college application process is unbelievably unpredictable. That being said, make sure you like your safety schools, as you could end up going there.

4. Attend college webinars

Most, if not all, colleges hold lots of information sessions for prospective students. They are great opportunities to learn more about the school as well as ask any questions you had in mind. Would recommend, especially if you are on the fence about applying!

5. Have someone you are not too familiar with read your essays

Having a friend or someone close to you read your college essay, in my opinion, is not as effective as having a stranger (like on Reddit) or someone who doesn't know you too well read it. Most of the time friends will sugarcoat their feedback which is not helpful at all, especially for a college essay. Personally, I found a Yale gap-year student to read mine, along with my school's college counselor. Make sure to find people who are not biased; I recommend the r/CollegeEssayReview forum on Reddit.

6. Watch Youtube videos/vlogs for the schools you're interested in

Doing lots of research on your schools is great, but sometimes it's hard to be able to visualize the facilities of a school and the day to day lives of students. In normal years, when in person tours were accessible, you wouldn't be able to see all the insides of the buildings and you'd mainly only see the highlights of the school. Watching vlogs will allow you to have a better visual for your schools and see the highlights and struggles that students could go through. Through vlogs, you could see some of the potential flaws at the school and gain honest insight into the day to day of a student. 

7. Fee Waiver

Talk to your school's counselor or main office to see if you are eligible for a fee waiver. This will save you hundreds of dollars in college application fees, and may even allow you to apply to more schools.

8. Apply to your dream school

As silly as it may sound, apply to your dream school! A lot of students actually don't do this or don't apply to top schools just because they don't think they'll get in. There is honestly no harm in applying (minus your wallet) and you never know, you could be in for a surprise! Don't restrict yourself just because you or someone else says you won't get in.

9. Be yourself!

As cheesy as it sounds, you should truly be yourself in your college application/essays. While you might have the idea that you have to be a certain type of person to fit into a specific college, that doesn't really matter! Through your application process, especially your essays and interviews, you want to let the real you show through. Colleges want to be able to see who you are as a person aside from your long list of activities. They also want to be able to get an idea of how you could fit into their school's campus and student body. 

10. Plan your application process ahead of time

For you procrastinators out there, this is your reminder to NOT procrastinate your college essays and application. For some schools, they might release their essay prompts in late summer and I highly suggest that you look at them. While you might not write your essays out that early, it's very beneficial to look at them so you have time to think about how you might want to answer those questions. It may be tempting to slack off during the summer, but you really shouldn't start your application when school starts. Senior year is going to be tough and you'll have lots of classes to balance, so you probably won't have a lot of time to put your 100% into your college application. That could end up with you stressing out especially when December starts to roll around. 

11. Don't beat yourself up over your decisions

Having received every single college decision letter you could ever receive, I've gotten first hand experience of how each letter could potentially make you feel. Tears of sadness, disappointment, joy, and tears of happiness, I've gone through them all. While it may hurt in the moment and feel like you're not going to get out of ur rut, trust me, it'll work out in the end. College decisions are very unpredictable and competitive (especially as years go on) so you shouldn't let a college determine your worth! You will be able to exceed anywhere and you don't necessarily need a "name brand" school to succeed.  

12. Give yourself a pat on the back

College acceptances are honestly unpredictable! There is never an exact formula for how to get into a school. No matter what your decisions are or where you commit, just know that you can do great anywhere! Be proud that you've made it through high school and finally moving onto your next big chapter in your life. Getting into any college is already an extraordinary accomplishment, so be proud of yourself!