By Maddie Bourque
Senior year of high school is, without question, extremely stressful. With early decision deadlines as early as November 1st, the college admissions process forces its way to every crevice of your brain. You make your lists of potential schools, perfect your resume, continuously tweak your essays, and finally hit submit. And then, you wait. Not patiently, but anxiously—you lose sleep, you can’t focus in school, and the enormous questions of which schools will accept you and where you will be next year loom menacingly over your head. This waiting game = STRESSFUL! But fear not pre-collegiettes, there are ways to minimize and manage the stress that comes along with waiting to hear back from colleges.
So how do you deal with the stress and become a savvy senior, soon to be collegiette? Her Campus talked to Katie Malachuk, author of You’re Accepted: Lose the Stress. Discover Yourself. Get Into the College That’s Right For You and Colin Riley, Executive Director of Media Relations at Boston University to help pre-collegiettes power through the dreaded waiting game. Read on to see what you can do!
Stay Active
The busier you are, the less your mind will wander! Take this time to enjoy your final semester and in doing so, try some new things! “Rather than getting caught up in daydreams about the future, make this time all about this time,” says Malachuk. “Live the life that’s right here in front of you. It’s your last semester of high school! Don’t waste this time by projecting ahead into the future. Be here now.” Are there clubs you’ve never heard of that sound interesting? Is there a spring play you finally have the courage to audition for? Take advantage of what your high school is offering to you while you still can.
A Collegiette’s Story
Taylor White, a junior at Boston University, decided to try something new and different her senior year of high school. “During the second half of my senior year, I just wanted to have fun, so I decided to join the track team. It took my mind off of everything else that was going on. I was also on the golf team and directed the middle school play. These were all things I always wanted to do but hadn't had the chance to try before my senior year. I met new people, had fun, and throughout the spring I was able to get my mind off of the unknown.”
Read on for how to handle waiting to hear back from colleges, and click here to view the full story on hercampus.com.