Late to the College Game? Manage Your Application Time!

College applications are starting up for all High School Seniors! You might be late to the game if you're just now hearing about applying to Common App for colleges. However good news for you we will focus on how to manage our college application time through this blog!

Right now, time management will be your best friend during this process. Especially considering that many colleges have different deadline dates. Looking at everything at once the process may seem very stressful. However, it is nice to know that we still have enough time to submit our college applications. Why? Because we will be using the power of time management and Kollegio AI.

How to Start?

First, before we start writing those college essays we must track our deadlines. You can do this by checking the front page of your application for that specific college whether it be through Common App, the college application portal, etc. When tracking the deadline you must know some important terms as colleges will usually have multiple deadlines depending on how early or how committed you are to the college. Sample terms include early action, early decision, regular decision, and rolling admissions. They are defined as...

• Early Decision: A binding contract that allows you to submit to that college early. Binding means that if you get accepted to that college you MUST attend that college.
• Early Action: You get to submit to colleges early and the contract is non-binding. Usually, these applications are due in November.
• Regular Decision: The normal application process where everything should be submitted by December.
• Rolling Admission: You will get an email about whether you are accepted or not within a couple of weeks because they check the applications the moment you submit them.

Now that we have the terms covered we can use our calendar app to track the due dates. OR you can use Kollegio's handy "Planner feature" which will help you track your due dates and suggest a timeline for you to submit applications.

For an overall timeline for college applications for all your college choices, it is suggested that you...

• Take a week to create your list of colleges (make bullet points for what you want in colleges, then search them up. I would highly suggest you look at Kollegio's other blogs to find the best colleges for your preferences)
• Ask your teachers/counselors for recommendation letters as soon as you can (give them about 2 weeks to write you a recommendation letter)
• Spend 2-3 weeks inputting all your personal information (you will need social security information, transcripts, etc.)
• Spend as much time as you can preparing for the college essays and supplemental (more on that later)

How do I Create an Effective Essay?

This is undoubtedly the most difficult part of college applications and it is also one of the most important parts of the college application process. Hence why I suggest that you maximize the amount of time you spend in college applications on your college essays and supplemental (short response essays).

In this section, the colleges want to see your character so it is suggested that you take time to think about how you want colleges to see yourself. Are you resilient? Do you have a special skill? etc. While I as the writer can't help you one-on-one, Kollegio for sure can help you in this process.

Using Kollegio AI’s Essay feature you will be given the space to organize all your college essays, brainstorm your topic, and be given suggestions on how to make your essays stronger.

How to Manage Stress Overall?

As a student applying to college, it is very stressful as you are getting a taste of taking responsibility and the possibility of living independently. Sometimes there are moments when the work gets too overwhelming or you feel discouraged. In those times it is important to take care of your mental health. You should seek support from your peers because, in the end, you are all in this together.

Additionally, take some time to appreciate your hard work. You have gotten so far in life and you should take that moment to appreciate yourself.

Read more about how to manage stress during college applications in our blog: '10 Tips for Managing Stress During College Applications'.

Conclusion

College applications are a scary, but exciting process. It's a chance for you to break through and take the next step in life. With that in mind make sure to not stress yourself as with a good timeline and your friend Kollegio the process of college applications will become a lighter load on your shoulders.

As always, give it your all in these applications!

By Sreisti Chowdhury