High School is considered by many as “the best time of your life.”You have freedom, friends, and your youth which allows high schoolers to live life to the fullest. But all these high school experiences and ups and downs all have one end goal for many. College. That word can send chills down many upperclassmen’s spines, and can bring back traumatic memories for college graduates. But like it or not, it’s that time. But don’t you fret, cause I’ve got some tips for you.
To begin, one of the first and the most important aspects of the process is picking the college you want to attend. This is a very difficult task, as there is an abundant amount of incredible schools out there, too many to count. But the most important part of picking a college is knowing yourself and knowing what the best school is for you personally.
It’s a very good idea to start early and plan and organize your process. The hard deadlines and the many parts of an application can very easily sneak up on you. Even if you have no clue, where or why or what you want to go to college for, you will thank your past self for getting even just a little head start, by preparing and mapping out your plans early on.
Be consistent and be careful. College applications are no easy task, and you will most likely have to fix many errors. And once you submit your work, there’s no going back. So it is extremely important to take your time, have others edit it, and read through it so your application is as perfect as can be. And having consistency by staying on top of all your tasks, will help you avoid errors. Being consistent can help your professionality, make the process easier, and keep everything organized and concise.
One of the most stressful pieces of the college application process is the essay. All your thoughts and feelings pour out into a couple pages, and all you can do is hope that the person who reads it is just a tiny bit intrigued. Joni Farinacci, a math teacher here at Fruita Monument, took a trip down memory lane, and reflected on her college application process. She says, “it was a difficult process, I was more of a mathlete than a writer, so the essays were difficult for me. But I found out that the best thing is to get very personal and find more about yourself, because you want the colleges to know your best self.”
Senior Rachel Park has been preparing for college applications for a while now. When asked what best advice she could give, she said,”start early, it seems too early but trust me, you won’t regret it. Also, focus a lot on your SAT scores, start studying early and if you need to take it multiple times, do it, you won’t regret it.”
College applications can be the most important and stressful point of your high school career. It can seem like the end of the world, but your hard work will pay off, and everything happens for a reason. As important as it is to stay on top of everything, please don’t overwork or discourage yourself. At times like this it’s more important than ever to take care of your physical and mental health. No college or grade should be more important than your health and happiness, even if it may seem like it. So work hard, rest hard, and good luck to all of our FMHS graduates.
