As I begin the very last chapter of senior year, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the past year- scared and excited of where I would end up the next year, and just barely dipping my toes in the waters of applying to college. I've recently committed to my school and it still doesn't feel real to me. Senior year was such a big year in so, so many facets. Even though I had to endure a painstaking amount of AP classes, draft a myriad of college essays (that really began to sound repetitive, yikes!), and dread opening up my college decision emails, I also had more fun this year than I did any other year in high school. Now that I am on the brink of graduation and becoming an official college student, I wanted to give a little bit of advice on not only applying to college, but making the most of your senior year.
Trust the College Process: You can literally ask anyone I know and they would tell you that I was stressed out to the max my senior year. I had applied early to a school, and the entire week leading up to decision day I didn't eat or sleep much. Even though it was a pretty rough day (and that's an understatement), I was a little more relieved after the first round of decisions. I knew that I would eventually end up somewhere I belonged, and the college I had applied to just wasn't for me. This realization made me approach the second round of applications with what everyone else had told me before- to trust the process. It's definitely a lot easier said than done. Trusting the process makes the application cycle less stressful because you can remind yourself that 1. once you have submitted all of your applications, everything is completely out of your control so it's pointless to stress over it and 2. at the end of the day, you will end up at a place that is perfect for you.
Stay on Top of Your Game: I made the mistake (like many other first semester seniors) of thinking that I didn't really have to try much my senior year. Thankfully, I had someone remind me that your colleges look at all of your grades, even those from senior year. (which was honestly such a duh! moment for me but I'm grateful for it) Two pieces of advice- 1. put in the necessary effort to get the absolute best result you can possible produce and 2. deadlines are not due dates. You can't be upset over a bad test grade or a rejection letter if you know that you didn't put in the necessary amount of work, and I definitely learned this the hard way. To my second piece of advice, make sure that you finish your entire application (the profile, supplements, essays) a couple of days before the deadline so you don't panic at the last minute, or don't have the chance to submit your application right before the due date. I've heard so many horror stories of application portals crashing minutes before midnight, and not being able to find an essay because it wasn't saved properly. Although some due dates are flexible and you can talk your way out of them, college deadlines are not and colleges will not have a single ounce of sympathy if you try to submit your application at 12:01 AM on January 2nd.
GSD(E) {Get stuff done early}: Sure it's great and all to stay on top of things, but it's also crucial to finish things early. If you'll indulge me with a brief detour, I can tell you why this is probably the hardest thing I had to learn my senior year. Days before New Year's, I had already finished and submitted most of my college applications, with the exception of one, because the essay prompt was quirky and just so different from all the other prompts. I ended up being busy with family and friends over winter break that I had barely gotten started on the essay. 30 minutes before I left for a New Year's party, as I was getting ready in my friend's bathroom, I typed up the essay and submitted it without second thought. It was an application for a reach school, and I ended up being waitlisted. Even though I've already committed to the school of my dreams, I still wonder if I would have been waitlisted if I had just put a little bit more effort into my application. So, yes, get your applications done, but get them done with ample time to have someone proofread your essays, spellcheck your supplements, and submit your applications. You'll feel so relieved going into the holidays and finals week, so just get them done!!
Actually, like, work: I feel like with each one of these blurbs I say that it's the most important piece of advice you can take away, but it's really (like I can't stress it enough) to put in a lot of effort your senior year. Senior year grades do count- and especially the first semester. It's so easy to get buried under your school work, college applications and the never-ending cycle of essays, and other extracurriculars. If a college is on the fence about you, your senior year grades will make or break your application because they're the most recent and accurate indicator of the type of student you are. Colleges can rescind applications when they see a drop in grades, so try and keep them up (even though it's second semester and all you want to do is go to the beach and brunch at Urth Cafe. oops.)
Push yourself: This isn't just a senior year thing, but more of a life thing that's definitely applicable in this circumstance. It's easy to play it safe with college applications and only apply to colleges that are targets or safeties. I had applied to 20 schools on the Common Application, and a couple more on the UC portal and private portals. All of my Common Application colleges were primarily on the East Coast, and only schools I applied to in California were a handful of the UCs (Berkeley, LA, SD, SB, Davis). Berkeley was a reach for me, as I'm sure it is for most people, and it's definitely not a school that you can just assume you'll get an acceptance to. Because of it's competitive nature, I hadn't thought about Berkeley much, but in the end, I ended up committing to Berkeley. I can't imagine where I would've ended up going if I hadn't gone out on a limb and applied to all of my reach schools (including Berkeley). If I didn't give all the schools that caught my attention a chance, there would have been a looming "what if" going through my head.
Make lasting memories: Cliché? Yes. Totally true? Yes. I had the best year in high school my senior year (and I can't wait to make more memories at prom and graduation) where I made the greatest friendships, went on the most fun and spontaneous adventures, and the most wonderful memories. Go out of your comfort zone! Go on that last minute hiking trip, talk to the cute boy, drive and explore the nearest city, skip a little studying to catch up with your friends over coffee. Because in the blink of an eye, a year will go by and everyone will be saying their goodbyes and going off to college. Second semester is your last big hurrah before you and your friends go your separate ways, so make the most of it!!
Best of luck to all you soon-to-be seniors!
Love,
Joanna
