From an admissions perspective, the calendar begins on August 1, when the Common Application goes live. August 1st was last Friday, so Happy New Year!
It took less than five days for the first application to the Class of 2019 to be submitted. I don’t know who that early bird might be, since the Class of ’18 remains the “active” class on our admissions database until it matriculates later this month, but the fact remains: the process starts anew.
Let’s be clear about an important point: There are still many weeks (12, if you’re inclined to count) before the first application deadline arrives. And there are a healthy 21 weeks until the ball drops in Times Square and the Regular Decision deadline hits. Even the most nervous among us should feel confident that there is plenty of time to complete this assignment.
But here’s the rub: senior year is fast-paced. November 1 and January 1 seem like distant dates but the weeks zip forward. AP English and BC calculus and senior activities and maybe a part-time job will occupy your time. You'll be busy. So here’s my best back-to-school advice for soon-to-be seniors: use these lazy days of August to get organized.
“Organized” does not mean get stressed. Organized means you take a moment to make a list of the colleges that caught your eye over the last few months. Don’t over-analyze the list; just be honest with yourself about the ones that resonated with you. Plan to share that list with your guidance counselor when school starts. Ask yourself if one really stands out: if so, maybe that’s an early application. Sketch out the application you might submit.
I’ll confess: when I was a student I never pulled an all-nighter to write a paper. I’m a planner. But I know from experience that the volume of application submissions during the last days of December is staggering. And I know that many (maybe most) of you will finish your application in a mad dash to the deadline. That seems silly. If you know you’ll be applying to college this year, start now.
Draft your personal statement this month and let it sit for a while. Log onto the Common App and complete the biographical and extracurricular sections of your application. Most of that info is as accurate today as it will be in late December. So why wait to complete it? Skim the writing supplements of the colleges perched on your early list of places you might apply: how many essays will you need to prepare?
I gave this advice (think of it as the admissions equivalent of summer reading) to my niece when she was a rising seniors two summer ago. She rolled her eyes and made a fuss when I suggested that she should start her application before school started. Her general reaction was something like a pout and a shout: “This is my time to relax!” (I’m not convinced my advice and relaxation were mutually exclusive.)
Grudgingly, she started a draft of her essay in this back-to-school moment. A few weeks later, when her senior was up and running at a breakneck pace, she fessed up. “You know,” she said with a wry smile, “you were right.” (Parents, how often does that happen? I was right?!) “I’m glad I started my app when I had time to think about.”
Yup.