5 Tips to Help Eliminate College Application Stress

College applications often seem daunting and stressful. You may find yourself feeling hopeless as you struggle to create a perfect application that will wow the admissions office. But it doesn’t have to be this way!

This article explores how to make your life easier with a few simple strategies for applying to college. We’ll show you how to get organized, take care of pesky paperwork, and prepare for interviews so that all of your hard work pays off in the end. So stop stressing out over deadlines and start using these effective tips today!

So what are you waiting for? Grab some coffee or tea because it’s time to learn how to beat stress when applying for college!

1) Submit Your Applications Early

Many colleges allow applications to be submitted four times throughout the year. If you apply early, you’ll receive notification of your acceptance (or lack thereof) earlier. This way, if you are denied or deferred, you will have more time to plan for alternative options that could be better suited for you, whether it’s a different campus or major.

Depending on the school, early applications may have different deadlines. For example, at Harvard University, an early decision application is due in November if you are looking to be notified by December 23. If you are applying for a regular decision, then the deadline is January 2nd. One of the benefits of applying early action or early decision is that you can apply to just one school at a time. In contrast, with regular applications, you are free to submit as many applications as you want.

2) Double Check Your Essay

Even though you may have worked with an editor to review your essay, it’s always a good idea to read through and check it yourself. It’s easy to skim over mistakes when you’ve looked at the same thing so many times. It’s also easy to miss those small mistakes when someone else is looking at them. Make sure you have a good rapport with your editor, who should offer corrections and suggestions without making too many changes.

If you don’t feel comfortable with how the edits are being made, pick another editor or look for an editorial service specializing in college essays. You can also look for the best ACT tutoring online to offer more specific feedback on the writing itself, rather than just edits of grammar and spelling.

There are also some revisions you can do yourself to prevent simple errors from creeping in again. First, have your essay read out loud by someone else before submitting it to colleges. You may not notice every small mistake when you’re reading it over, even if your essay is excellent.

3) Be Honest and Genuine

With all of the required applications, sometimes students tell little white lies to make themselves stand out. If you don’t believe your application is strong enough, and the only thing you can do is write a false essay about yourself, then maybe this school isn’t for you. What’s more important: getting into college or being honest? The choice is yours.

Of course, this also works the other way around. While you don’t want to be deceptive on your college applications, showing that you care about what they are looking for and that you’ve researched the school is a positive thing.

Many students believe that colleges will think less of them if they don’t have an impressive list of extracurriculars or grades, but this is not the case. If you love what they do, and you are willing to put in the effort to learn about their school, then they will want to go out of their way for you. Think of it as more of a relationship between people than an application between colleges.

4) Visit Campus before Applying

Many schools offer virtual tours online, which are helpful, but it’s also lovely to see the school in person. You can get a feel for certain aspects of college life that you may not be able to experience through an online tour.

5) Dissect Your Mistakes

If you were denied admission or received a deferral, don’t beat yourself up. Some schools defer students with a solid application to ensure they have enough time to complete the materials required for review. So it’s okay if you struggled along the way, as long as you know what to do differently next time.

College applications can be daunting and stressful. We hope that we’ve helped you find ways to lighten the load a little bit, but if not – don’t worry! There’s always plenty of help out there for those who need it. Reach out anytime, and we’re happy to provide any advice or assistance possible. Good luck with your college application process!

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