Do you know a senior who is extremely worried or stressed about their college applications and feels like giving up? As the summer comes to an end and students are starting off the 2022-2023 school year and college applications are becoming seniors’ top priority. The summer provided students with an opportunity to rest and recover from the previous school year, but that time has come to an end. Instead, deadlines, essays, and recommendations are taking over the seniors’ minds. Here I will provide methods seniors can use to minimize their stress during this year’s college application season.

   Procrastination is a very common habit among students across the world. A Student Psyche study reports that distraction is the most common reason for 48% of students procrastinating, and feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start was another common reason for procrastination for 40% of the students surveyed. One way to eliminate procrastination habits for good is setting reasonable goals and deadlines for yourself, allowing time for concentration and time to put together your ideas for a task to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Those who write down their goals are 20% more likely to achieve their goals than those who don’t write them down, so setting those goals is a very important contribution to eliminating procrastination, resulting in minimized stress.

   Being heart set on one school is another common stressor for high school seniors, as the fixated mindset of their possible future at a certain college can possibly impact their confidence in applications where everything must be perfect to secure their chance of admission. Making a vast college list and creating a pros and cons list is one method to explore outside of just one university, because being able to choose, compare and contrast each school from one another allows for a thorough and realistic process of choosing which college is right for you.

   Having a comparison-based mindset when pointing out the negatives and positives of one’s work can be very draining and destructive to one’s confidence. In the process of completing college applications, seniors may find themselves comparing their class rank, GPA, extracurriculars, etc. to their friends and classmates, which can bring forth doubt and a loss of dignity. Seniors should remind themselves of their accomplishments and what they have achieved throughout their high school career that has gotten them to the point they are today. Although comparison is a common way to boost self-esteem and satisfaction, it also comes with the negative results of guilt, fear of failure, and a loss of motivation, which can all lead to stress. Setting realistic expectations and goals for each aspect of a student’s college application is a great start to pushing through and finishing up the process in a timely manner! Using one’s strengths and focusing on the positive outcomes of a college application will allow seniors a smooth transition from their senior year into their freshman year in college!