Imagine: It’s the summer of your junior turning to senior year, and the realization hits you—“I am so far behind on my college applications, and the deadlines are approaching too fast. I don’t know where to start… what do I do?”
We understand this predicament—it happens far too often! For many, preparing for college applications is one of the most important steps in transitioning from high school to higher-level education. With tight deadlines, tricky balancing acts, and stressful situations, preparing for your applications can feel daunting and unapproachable.
Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be! We’ve compiled a handful of tips around college application help to support you as you embark on this journey! Want to find out more? Keep reading!
1. Outline your desired college list and all of the requirements needed for applications.
You can’t apply to colleges without knowing which ones you want to attend! When beginning your college admissions journey, creating a list of desirable colleges for your interests, personality desired significant choice, and more is a precious tool to help guide you through the admissions process
Why so?
Consider this: You’re embarking on a treasure hunt, but you’re not given a map. How do you navigate this search? How do you know what clues to look out for, where not to focus your time on, and how to narrow down your search? The college admissions process is quite similar – without a list of potential schools you want to apply to, you may struggle to make the most of the limited time you already likely have.
What you can do:
Make lists your best friend! By compiling a checklist (or spreadsheet – whatever works best for you) of every school you are interested in, all the requirements needed per school, and the deadlines you should be looking out for, you are taking control of your college application journey. This early planning and organization will empower you to navigate the process with confidence and find your best-fit university choices early on.
As you narrow down this list to the top schools you are seriously considering applying to, add these dates and tasks to a calendar, either on paper, on your phone or computer, or anywhere else you find most helpful. This way, you can know what materials you need to prepare and how much time you will need for applying to each school.
This video by Mariana Kebaso provides some helpful tips to aid the process!
Video: how to make a college list | google spreadsheets/excel | applying to college | class of 2023
2. Take your exams early.
Standardized tests and exams make up a significant chunk of your college application prep time, so it’s crucial to prioritize them in your schedule! Since the SAT and ACT are still important to many colleges and universities, planning and tackling these tests early on will help drive your college admissions journey and prepare you to secure a competitive spot at your best-fit school.
While many universities have publicly stated that they are test-optional for the SAT and ACTs, it is not a good rule of thumb to follow as you progress through your admissions process. In fact, Harvard University has announced that starting for the Class of 2029, they will require standardized tests for admission. Even though they had promoted a test-optional policy to encourage a more holistic approach to the admissions process, Harvard joined other elite institutions like Yale and Brown in their decision to make standardized testing once again a requirement for students on their applications.
So what should you do?
Don't panic! Even though the SAT and ACT might seem daunting, you can conquer them with some planning, online tests, and plenty of flashcards, but make sure you take it early to give your best shot at a high score! Additionally, keep in mind that each test is different; for instance, you may need to prep a certain way for the SAT that will differ from your preparation for the ACT, and you might realize that one fits your college admissions requirements better than the other, so see which test will benefit your situation the best.
3. Work with an advisor to help you track, plan, and optimize your applications.
Embarking on your college admissions path shouldn’t make you feel alone! Having an expert in your corner can make all the difference as you navigate through challenges you may face along the way!
How can you help?
Empowerly is here to help support you through the ins and outs of the entire process. Our wide variety of tools and resources can help support you on all levels of your journey, including essay planning and editing, extracurricular support, and much more! Our Startup Internship Program, for example, will help you land an internship at a real company and gain skills that will carry forward into your professional and personal paths. Interested in gaining research experience? Our Research Scholar Program will pair you with a PhD mentor to produce an independently developed research project and gain valuable experience within the research space.
Additionally, our team of college admissions experts, including counselors and former admissions officers, can help you understand nuances and challenges you might face and provide clarity until you submit your materials at application deadlines. They’ll support you through the planning, providing guidance and support every step of the way!
Learn more about all of the ways we can support you on your journey here:
4. Plan your essays early and plan to revise often!
When it comes to the admissions journey, essays will serve as the gateway into your world for admissions officers. They are a place where you can share your personal experiences, show admissions officers your values and beliefs, and provide context into your life and why you make a good fit for the universities you’re applying to.
Knowing this, it’s key to begin them early and give them extra nurturing during the admissions preparation! While it may be tempting to focus on other parts of your application, starting early and planning the prep into your schedule ahead of the game will immensely benefit the college application process for you.
So, how do I start?
Start by allocating ample time to brainstorm potential topics or themes that reflect your personality, experiences, and aspirations. You can use mind maps, read other essays, or even record voice memos about your life story! Once you've narrowed your options or topics of interest for each piece, begin writing, exploring different angles and perspectives to support the prompts.
Now that you’ve gotten your drafts down, don't hesitate to revise and refine your essays as often as you need until they shine! This iterative process ensures your essays are polished and authentically represent you and your personality, maximizing your chances of making a lasting impression on the admissions committee. Additionally, having another set of eyes on your written pieces can be very beneficial, especially if you’ve been writing your pieces for some time. It’ll be an iterative process, but well worth the effort when you hit the application submit button!
5. Find a balance & take care of yourself!
Let’s face it: college application preparation is exhausting! There are so many moving parts between balancing your academics, extracurriculars, standardized test prep, your friends, family, and even your everyday life, so it’s crucial to balance to help support you as an individual during this process!
Video: High School Students Talk About Self-Care
How can I take care of myself during these stressful times?
Self-care can take many forms, such as taking a deep breath outside, participating in your favorite hobby, exercising, listening to your favorite playlist, or going to the movies with friends! Taking time to support yourself along the journey with self-care acts as a buffer against the rigors of the admissions journey and allows you to rest and recoup to take on the next day.
Want more tips? Check out our Guide to Student Wellness for extra help with college application stress! Remember, while applying to college takes hard work, don't forget to care for yourself, too. Self-care is like building a strong base to rely on when things get tough and by looking after yourself, you'll be ready to face challenges and come out stronger on the other end. So, take a breather and prioritize your well-being—it's key to a successful college journey!
6. Ask for letters of recommendation ahead of when you think you’ll need them
Another aspect of the application process that is often overlooked is the letters of recommendation. Most top universities ask for these to be submitted, but students often wait until it's too late to get letters of reccomendations and cut it close to their application deadlines.
How do I prevent this?
It’s important to remember that teachers are likely to receive hundreds of requests for letters of recommendation during the college application season, so it’s essential to have a game plan to ensure you get the best recommendation possible. Thankfully, you’re not the only student going through this process, so we have some tips!
First, it’s important to ask the right person when receiving letters of recommendation; ask teachers and counselors who know you well and have seen you grow and adapt in your academic journey. Additionally, make sure you come up with a list of questions and information about yourself to guide them through the writing process, including what you’ve accomplished, a resume and unofficial transcript, and information about extracurriculars you’ve participated in.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to ask for strong letters of recommendation to support your application, here are a couple of videos created to help you in the process!
Video: Elements of a strong recommendation letter
Video: What makes a good college recommendation letter? | Ask the College Experts
7. Look at your current academic and extracurricular activities and see what you can improve on earlier rather than later
You’ve likely participated in several academic and extracurricular activities during your time in and out of high school, so why not capitalize on them for your applications? College admissions officers are looking for students who have demonstrated dedication, passion, and growth within their holistic profiles, so using that as a guiding tool to build out your profile further can be an exciting and excellent way to show why you are a great fit for a particular university.
Take a look at all of the activities you’ve already completed.
- What was the quality of that activity?
- Did you hold a leadership role?
- How did it impact you in your life?
- What lessons can you learn from your experience, and how can you apply them to your future academic, professional, and personal journey?
These are all great questions to ask yourself as you reflect on what you’ve already accomplished and can be great assets for your resume and admissions essays comes time to apply.
Feel like you don’t have enough?
This is an excellent time to reflect on where you could add more targeted activities to your list or gain more experience higher up in the activities you’re already participating in. Can you find your way onto a board? Can you start your own club or organization? Are there gaps in your school's activities, and can you help bridge those gaps? These are great ideas to remember as you look through your extracurriculars, and they can be a wonderful way to become competitive with admissions officers. And, who knows, maybe you’ll find your next favorite hobby or future career path in the process!
8. Start and submit your applications early
You may be thinking, “I’m so busy in my daily life, I’ll just start on my college apps later - what’s the harm in that?” We know life is incredibly busy, but as the wise old tale says, time waits for no one! College admissions deadlines approach much faster than you may think, so having a game plan to start and submit applications early can be incredibly helpful when things get extra busy during that time of the year.
How will it help?
Submitting your applications early allows you to avoid the last-minute rush, giving you ample time to carefully review and refine your materials to ensure they showcase your best self. This time of the year is very stressful for students across the board, so planning on finishing your applications earlier will allow you to spread out your workload over a longer period and give you extra time to tailor your test scores, essays, and more.
Are you planning to apply early action or early decision to any schools? These deadlines typically fall much earlier than regular decision deadlines, so keep in mind that starting early is key to ensuring you have the strongest and most competitive profile possible!
9. Use goals to help you stay on track
We all have goals. Goals for sports, hobbies, academics, or even for the smallest tasks in our daily lives. But how can goals be useful when it comes to college admissions?
Like everything else, goals help make something as complex as the college admissions process much more attainable and easy to work through. Creating your goals can be easy as one, two, or three, but can make the biggest difference in helping you stand out from the competition by the time admissions deadlines roll around.
First, start by writing down each part of the college admissions process on which you want to focus the most attention. Then, break them down as small as you need into actionable steps you can achieve efficiently. Finally, mark these off as you complete them and feel happy with how much progress you’ve achieved!
Here is a great way to make goals to help you get through the admissions process with ease:
Video: Goal Action Plan Example for Students GOAL SETTING FOR TEENAGERS
10. Ensure the colleges you’re interested in are a good fit for you!
One question many students ask during the college list-building process and when figuring out what colleges they want to apply to is, “Is this college even a good fit for me?”
As the question above reveals, exploring potential colleges goes beyond just getting in; it's about finding the perfect fit for your academic and personal growth. There are a lot of factors you might not even realize are important to your college experience, but can make a difference later down the line as you work through your degree!
Take the time to thoroughly research and evaluate each institution, considering factors such as curriculum offerings, campus culture, extracurricular opportunities, and location. Look beyond just the name or prestige and assess whether the college aligns with your values, interests, and aspirations, and whether or not you can see yourself enjoying your time. Additionally, make sure to spend time visiting campuses, attending information sessions, and connecting with current students - it’ll provide a valuable window into the schools you’re interested in applying to!
11. Ask friends and family who have recently gone through the process
When it comes to college admissions help, there’s a high likelihood that someone in your network has gone through this process at some point in their life! Even if they’ve studied a different major or went to a different college than you’re interested in, we believe there are many lessons we can learn from those who have gone down this road!
Here are some questions you can ask to those in your life:
- What was your college experience like?
- What did you study, and what was the workload you had to manage?
- Did you participate in extracurricular activities, like intramural sports, fraternity/sorority life, or theater/art?
- Did you live on or off campus? How did you enjoy your life there?
- What did you find to be the most effective tools during your college experience?
These questions can provide deeper insights into the types of schools you might be interested in, the type of student experience you’re looking for, the activities you want to experience during your time in university, and so much more, so use your family and friends as assets in the process!
12. Watch YouTube videos from other students' experience
Another great way to gain valuable knowledge about the college admissions space is through YouTube! You likely already spend a lot of time on the platform (cat videos, am I right?), so why not use it as a useful tool during this time? There is a ton of valuable information available from small and large creators alike, including these videos:
Video: How to Get Into Stanford| Application Advice from 20 Current Students
Video: Viewing My Stanford Admissions File | How I Actually Got In
Video: COLLEGE DECISION REACTIONS 2023 (all 8 Ivies, Stanford, UCs, T20s, and more)
By immersing yourself in the stories and experiences of students like you, you gain a broader perspective and practical tips and strategies that inform your approach. Engaging with these videos not only equips you with valuable information but also can show you that you’re not alone as you embark on this transformative chapter of your academic journey.
13. Listen to podcasts about college admissions
If you’re like many, you’ve likely listened to a podcast or two; they pass the time, and you can have them in the background as you do your schoolwork, drive, work on your hobbies, or even do your laundry! Did you know, though, that you can also use them to gain important knowledge about college admissions help?
This list of college admissions podcasts is full of insights into admissions news, tips and tricks for navigating the process, stories of parents and students who have been down similar paths, and much more. While they may seem long and packed with too much information, you’ll likely find many golden nuggets that can help you along your journey, all while doing normal tasks in your day-to-day life!
14. Plan ahead
If there is one tip that we emphasize the most when it comes to preparing your college applications, it’s to plan ahead. According to a study conducted by NACAC of over 1,000 students, over half of them found the college application process to be their most stressful academic experience, with 3/4s of surveyed students feeling that one application error could mess up their chances for admission!
From the ever-changing policies to the competitiveness of application pools to tight deadlines and tough decisions, applying to college is one of the most academically, personally, and professionally challenging experiences students will likely encounter in their young lives.
How can I plan ahead?
Thankfully, there are so many tools at your disposal! Create a calendar, write a schedule, use tools like Notion, and even use Post-it notes around your room to help mark out the time you need to spend each day on your tasks! A designated plan will help you know when to focus on your academic studies, extracurriculars, and college applications while still allowing for self-care, making for a well-rounded solution to an already quite stressful time.
15. Be genuine and true to yourself
Our final tip for success is to be authentic on your college applications. You are a unique and amazing human being, so why not be true to that? We each have stories of what we’ve been through, our hobbies and interests, and what makes us tick, so it’s important to lean into that, especially during college admissions.
First and foremost, it makes the application process much more approachable—it’s all about you! Look introspectively at who you are as a person and find the highlights for the application. Colleges want to know the type of person they are admitting to their institution and why they make for a great fit or will benefit the campus community, so make them remember you! Remember: your story matters, and college admissions officers want to know the real you.. so be you!
Looking for extra support? Empowerly is here to help! With our personalized and tailored approach to the college admissions process, we can assist you at every stage. From customized counseling to internship guidance and beyond, Empowerly's team of college admissions experts has successfully guided thousands of students on their unique paths. Schedule a consultation today to discover how we can help your student gain admission to their ideal university and empower them to reach their full potential!
Julia de Raadt
Gelyna Price
Madeleine Karydes