Maya’s Guide to the College Application Process
The college application process has become a grueling one, but several stressful weeks can be avoided through vigilant preparation and advice.
On December 13th I received my acceptance to my dream school, Washington University. It is located in St. Louis, where I will be studying Global Health this fall. Since the start of high school, I have been primed with advice from family, friends, books, and the endless threads on College Confidential, a forum that provides subjective advice and information about colleges to prospective students.
Below I have compiled what I believe are the most useful tips, as well as the approach I used to tackle college applications.
EXTRACURRICULARS
My recommendation is to get involved only with organizations you are truly interested in or passionate about. It is not necessary to participate in extracurriculars that align exactly with what you want to pursue in college since your aspirations will likely change while you are in high school or once you get to college. Keep in mind that holding leadership positions demonstrates good character, so partaking in sports, volunteer work, and clubs that you genuinely enjoy will make it much easier to earn these roles later on. Personally, I am involved in varsity dance team, Red Cross Club, National Honor Society, and my town’s animal shelter, and I held leadership positions in the latter three.
TIME MANAGEMENT
Junior year was definitely the most hectic regarding college preparation, but I found that having a solid timeline to follow made the year more enjoyable than how others said it would be. I took the SAT twice, in October and December of my junior year. I found that studying more over the summer allowed me to distribute my time wisely during the school year. This was also the time I began visiting schools and exploring colleges online: many schools have virtual tours you can take if you can’t visit them!
The most convenient organizational tool I created was a spreadsheet with all of the schools I was interested in, which was easy to refer back to at any time. As I found new colleges I liked, I added them to the list and filled out information such as location, size, price, average test score, majors I liked, and application deadlines. After compiling information, the most time-consuming aspect of actually applying to schools were the essays, which leads me to my next point.
ESSAY WRITING
Start preparing essays the summer before senior year starts! As unappealing as it sounds to do work during summer break, it is much worse to be pulling all-nighters trying to polish off your essays the day before the deadline. While I did not begin writing my essays over the summer, I looked over many of the prompts to start thinking about what I could write. My three main tips for essay writing are:
Many schools generally have the same prompts, so grouping similar essays together will allow you to reuse your writing for multiple applications.
Start by writing the essays that come more naturally to you, those that you already have good ideas for. It’s easier to write the ones with difficult prompts after you have practiced writing others.
Write about what inspires you and what you are passionate about (in my case it was mystery books and Halloween costumes!), not what you think college admissions officers want to hear.
PICKING A SCHOOL
My application process was slightly different than that of the majority of seniors because I applied to WashU Early Decision, meaning I was contractually obligated to attend the school if I was admitted. Regarding early applications, I suggest you apply Early Action to all of the schools on your list that offer it. This way, you spread out your application due dates and if you are accepted, you also get the assurance that you got in somewhere. If you decide to go the Early Decision route, make sure that you select the school that you 100% want to attend and can afford. As an inherently indecisive person, choosing to apply to WashU was no easy feat. What ultimately drove my decision was the fact that WashU had everything that mattered most to me for my undergraduate education: outstanding academic programs, great residential life, endless resources and opportunities, and a diverse and collaborative environment.
Something that helped me with my decision was determining the factors that students value the most at each school. For example, knowing that WashU students tend to have diverse interests and be self-motivated swayed me towards the university because I think of myself as having those qualities.
It’s understandable how the college application process can seem convoluted, but hopefully these tips provide some insight into how balancing your time can lead to your desired result!