‘Tis the Season for Applying to Colleges

The stores may be ringing with holiday tunes, but throughout the country high school seniors are wringing out whatever they can grab on to with stress over applying to colleges.

The most daunting task for most students is writing their college application essays. Of course when they’ve completed them, they think they can take a deep breath and rest. And they can–until they realize that waiting to hear from their schools is often more stressful than applying.

College-bound seniors have two dates on their radar screens: Dec. 15 and Dec. 31. Students who have applied early should hear by the 15th if they have been accepted. The final deadline for applying to most schools falls on midnight, New Years Eve. I’ve helped several students who thought they were in good shape by applying early to their reach schools and then procrastinated with their safety schools. So for them, the two dates are a double whammy. Whoever said the junior year of high school was the toughest?

On a personal note, I’ve been dealing with my own writing deadlines. Some of my regular blog followers may have noticed that I hadn’t been posting as frequently as I had been last year. What gives?

I’ve had my own double whammy: a busy college application season with wonderful new clients, and the completion of my first book on–you guessed it–writing college application essays. My work and heartfelt anticipation of seeing the fruits of my labor have been similar the stresses high school seniors go through each year when toiling through their applications and then waiting to see the results.

My book just came out. But now that I have one, I realize that writing it was only the beginning; I must get others to know about it so my efforts will have been worth it. The same holds true for high school seniors. Once they submit all of their applications and hear back from the schools, their work will not be over. Sure, they can enjoy the rest of their senior year and can try not to let too much senior-itis seep in, but, in truth, their journey is beginning. Perhaps they don’t yet realize that the fun years of college are filled with hard work. But I don’t know anyone who looks back on these years and feels they weren’t worth it.

Be kind to high school seniors during the month of December. They’re under a lot of stress. It will get better–until spring, when the final notices of acceptances pour in from standard admissions. But let’s not go there now. It’s even more stressful. Instead, let’s just get through the holidays and the application season all in one piece.

Speaking of holidays, if you want to buy a useful and inexpensive gift for a high school student (a junior would be ideal), check out my book.
Hooking Up With Admissions Officers: Selling Yourself Through College Application Essays

About Nancy Frieder

Nancy Frieder hopes her passion for assisting students with their college and post graduate application essays shines through in her blogs. She created The Write Stuff Help to reduce the stress for the applicants and their parents by helping the student pinpoint an essay topic and write it in a way to attract admissions officers. Those who work with Nancy not only improve their writing, but also learn to target an audience with a unique reflection of themselves in a way that their test scores and GPA cannot. Nancy has lived in Montgomery County for more than 27 years. She has held reporting and editing positions for both local and national publications, and enjoys substitute teaching in Montgomery County Public Schools. Nancy and her husband just became empty-nesters, as both of their children now attend college. Their dog, Fez, is getting more attention than ever! Catch up with Nancy on Facebook and at her website The Write Stuff Help.

View all posts by Nancy Frieder