The College Search

As a senior in high school, i can’t tell you enough how much i am kicking myself for not getting a head start on this. I have just finished applying to my four schools i wish to attend. You would think that is the end of the stress, but guess what?! It’s not. I want to bang my head against a wall and cry because my head hurts so much. There are so many decisions to make and not enough time to make them. If you wait until your senior year, you will feel overwhelmed and like you have to make a hasty decision about the rest of your life. It sucks.

I would suggest going on college visits and researching colleges during your junior year. That way you will have a vague idea of what you are looking for and maybe even schools you wish to apply to.

During the summer you should apply to the schools you wish to attend after highschool. You have bountiful time to write your essays and wait to hear back. If you wait to apply until the senior year, you might just find that finding time to apply is harder than you think. Once you get home from school, you don’t want to do anything. ever. It’s a little thing called senioritis. I’m not talking about this stuff everyone brags about like, “Oh man. I have senioritis so bad. I can’t wait to get out of here d00d.” I’m talking about where you lose all work eithic, your grades drop a little, you feel stressed, cry alot due to stress, and just want to sleep all the time. It sucks. It’s even harder if you have a job.

Once you get applying to the colleges of your choice out of the way (ASAP!!!), wait for your acceptance letter. When it is recieved, apply for housing super fast. This will give you a greater chance of getting the housing of your choice and it’s another thing to check off of your college to do list.

START LOOKING FOR SCHOLARSHIPS!!! Get that shit done. It is even more stressful and takes more work than applying to college does. You usually have to write a super awesome essay and even then only a few people win the money. Scholarships are hard. I advise going to your councelor for help. Fastweb.com also lets you create a profile and matches you to potential scholarships, but i haven’t had any luck with that. Googling scholarships will not work. Also, many have short deadlines. Another reason to get them done as soon as possible. Apply to all of them, even if they don’t really apply to you.

You should probably decide on what college you wish to attend now. We will guesstimate that it is around December to February of your senior year. Make sure you and your parents turn in your tax stuff early so you can get the results back fast. The faster you get that done, the sooner and more financial aid you will get. Accept to the college of your dreams.

Next you should find a room mate. Make sure you meet up with them so you don’t walk in to your dorm room on the first day of college and discover that your room mate is a hunchback who likes to sleep under the bed instead of on the bed. You don’t want someone who will steal your things. You want to be able to trust them. Or get a single room! That way when you bring people home at night, you don’t have that awkward “Will you give us some privacy?” conversation. And you don’t need to worry about people stealing your toothbrush, clothes, or money.

Lastly, you should coordinate your room supplies and set up. Then, enjoy your last high school summer. Go crazy. And move on to the begining of the rest of your life in the fall.

Sarah =]