Kristen BixbyWe know it can feel that there are a thousand things on your “college to-do list.” And, unfortunately, you’re not that far off. But, in this blog, we take a few of the unimportant ones off the list for you. You can thank us later.
Don’t respond to colleges you aren’t interested in
If they aren’t already, your mailbox, email and other message accounts are soon to be inundated with correspondence from colleges. One thing you can do to save yourself time later is not put yourself on mailing lists for colleges you have no intention of applying to. At a college fair, or when visiting a college with a friend, it’s okay to decline the offer to join their mailing list if you have no interest in the school. And, if you are getting unwanted emails, click the unsubscribe button at the bottom. However, it’s equally important to pay attention to the emails from schools you are interested in. They may give information about interviews, local open houses, etc. that is really important. By getting rid of the irrelevant mail, you can more easily find the information that is vital.
Take a Reach (or two) off your list
“I’m going to apply to that one just for kicks; I don’t really want to go there.” I hear this all the time from students, and it’s typically about a Reach school. Don’t get me wrong, applying to a couple reach schools is fine, if you really want to go there. But, adding a bunch of reach schools to the list, just in case, or because maybe one will let me in doesn’t work and is a big waste of time. A lot of time, these extra applications have several additional essays. And, why give them another application to reject just to inflate their already large percentage of rejected students?
Don’t worry about “what if”
Right around application time, it’s quite common for students, and parents, to feel a sense of “what if.” That is, “what if the perfect college is out there and we just haven’t done enough research?” “What if I am rejected from my safety schools?” “What if we went and visited schools in New Mexico…we haven’t tried there yet.” This is just a normal, anxiety-provoked reaction. If your Campus Bound Counselor is secure in your safety schools, and you have at least two of them, don’t worry! And, no, you probably haven’t researched every single one of the more than 3,000 colleges in the United States, but you probably have done your due diligence and now is not the time to second-guess yourself. If you have a list of 8-10 schools, two of which are safeties, all of which you love and would want to attend, then relax! Don’t add more work to your plate. It’s time to rest and celebrate (once those 8 applications are in, that is).
If you have questions about any of the above scenarios, or want to learn more about how a Campus Bound Counselor can help you, contact us today!