By: Erik Slagle
No need to panic – whatever stage you’re at in the application process, you’re right on time!
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you’re way behind the 8-ball this time of year. Did you get everything done over the summer that you wanted to? Are the holidays REALLY right around the corner? Is my child starting off the new school year on the best possible foot?
And this goes double if you’re the parent of a college-bound high school senior.
You can’t blame it all on social media, but it certainly doesn’t help that a thousand influencers are telling you, and your teen, that you’re behind. That even though the early application deadlines are more than a month away, you haven’t applied early enough. That competition’s “never been tougher.” That you’ll come up short in Financial Aid offers if you don’t apply soon. That over [fill in a number] percent of seniors have already gotten acceptances.
And my child hasn’t even started yet??
Breathe. It will all be okay. I’m a big believer that every student ends up exactly where they’re meant to be.
To help parents make sense of this process, here are four main guideposts to watch for on the way to hitting “submit” on that final application.
- “Everything else” on the Common Application.
If you’ve already registered at commonapp.org and started filling in the general information, you’ve seen it’s a lot of basic info and drop-down menus. If your son or daughter hasn’t done so already, they can start populating their list of target schools as well.
- The Personal Statement.
Also known as “the essay,” this is the thing that gives students more consternation than anything else. If your child’s essay isn’t already written, don’t worry – and tune out the noise from friends and the Internet. Make it a 4-week process: a week to brainstorm the stories your teens want to tell and the messages they want to deliver; a week to outline and free-write notes; a week to draft; a week to revise.
- Supplemental Questions.
Most colleges have at least two or three questions that are specific to their school, the applicant’s anticipated major, and/or the importance of giving back to a community. These shorter essays give applicants a chance to show they’ve dug deeper into the colleges to which they’re applying. Try to knock two or three “school batches” off the list each week.
- Activity Listings.
A common question is what order these should be in – chronological, alphabetical, or “importance.” Chronological is for your resume; what you want here is a combination of commitment, leadership, and orientation. Rank first those activities in which you played a leadership role and have been consistently active – especially if they’re service-related activities or somehow give back to the community. The Common App gives you room for up to 10, but don’t feel obligated to fill them all up. Short, active descriptions are best; avoid summarizing. This is the space for highlights, not recaps.
And above all, don’t panic. If you can’t get a school’s writing done by October 31st, that’s what Regular Decision deadlines are for. Keep calm and apply on!
