The fact that your high school counselor asked about your grades, your college rep gave you flyers and memorabilia, your older sibling got into 35 colleges and your parents expect you to do the same. alone, you may find yourself feeling pressured during your college years. application season.
There may be too many documents involved to consider a college application, funthey also shouldn’t give you ulcers. Here are some handy tips for staying calm during the stress of college exams.
1. Organize your priorities
First things first: What do you hope to get out of your college experience? Be honest. And write down your honest answer somewhere. Do you want to stay in your hometown or are you at least 5,000 miles away? Do you want to go to a small school or a big school? Are you involved in sports? What is your academic ranking?
Decide what is most valuable to you in college and stick to it. That way, if you decide you only want to attend a small school, you can filter out the big schools that try to recruit you. Having guidelines on what to look for in a school can help narrow down your list of options and make decision-making less stressful.
2. Get advice (but not too much)
It’s natural to ask someone you trust for advice when you feel overwhelmed. Avoid taking advice from your parents, counselors, best friends, cousins, cousin’s cool Michigan friends, and her neighbors. Rather than accepting general advice from everyone, it may be helpful to have an in-depth conversation with one or two people you respect and know you well to avoid harassment.
If there is a particular school you are interested in, please speak with one of its representatives. If you have friends or family who always give you good advice and do what’s best for you, talk to them too. And no matter who you’re talking to, don’t sacrifice what you want for what someone else says you want.
3. Schedule
Applying to college is a big step and can be stressful. If you’re not careful, it’ll come to your head while you’re playing a video game or trying to make a sandwich. In situations like this, compartmentalization is your friend. Take some time each day to do some research about the school or prepare your college application. After that time, try not to dwell on it too much.
There are times when I think about college and wonder if I should write an application when I’ve almost drank a gallon of milk at a time (which, let’s be honest, is probably a bad idea). you are trying to sleep Give yourself permission to stop thinking about your application. you deserve it!
4. Reduce slack
The most important thing is to be kind to yourself. Unfortunately, when you’re feeling stressed about applying to college, it’s easy to start thinking about yourself in terms of test scores and comparisons. Try to consciously avoid such thinking! No one can do everything. As long as you keep trying, you are already on the right track. It may not seem like it right now, but all will be well once you get through the college application season. And if you find that nothing you do can stop you from worrying about college, then you may find that taking some time out to focus on your mental health by talking to a professional can be very helpful. Please do not forget.
Applying to college can feel like a lot of stress. But instead of getting crushed by a tsunami of application essays, free magnets, and intrusive questions from your extended family, step back. Set aside time to focus on college applications and, just as importantly, set aside time to not think about college applications. Take some time off and give yourself permission to reduce your stress. That way, you can get through college application season in no time.