There's a fifth calendar season that appears during senior year: application season. With so much going on during this time, it's often difficult to stay organized and ahead of the game. The following tips are suggestions to help you stay on track and on time with your college applications.1. Make a Calendar for All Deadlines
With all the different steps in the application process, it’s easy to lose track of time and due dates, especially when the regular school year starts again, and you’re trying to remember more immediate deadlines for schoolwork assignments. Print out a calendar exclusively for keeping track of college application deadlines, school visits, and overnights, and place it in a central location to ensure that you’re always on top of where you need to be and what needs to be sent in.2. Work on Applications and Essays in a Designated Workspace
Just as you might have a specific study area for when you do your homework, choose a spot in which you work only on your college applications and essays. It can be difficult to focus relaxing in your bedroom or in the kitchen with the television on, so consider setting aside a certain time to visit the library or stop in at the College Bound Admissions Academy classroom to ensure you get some work accomplished. Meeting deadlines rather than missing them is easier to do when you work ahead and concentrate.
3. Create a Folder for Each School
Because there are often entirely different sets of requirements for individual schools, get organized by making a file folder for each school. Keep promotional materials sent by the school in the folder, along with a master sheet of contact information for your admissions counselor and other people you have or may work with in other departments in the folder. Other information, such as logins and passwords for school websites and online applications should also be kept in the folder as well.
4. Prepare Beforehand for College Visits
Rather than scramble as you run out the door, take some time the night before a college visit to review each school’s folder that you’ve put together and refresh yourself on the programs and opportunities each university offers. If you’ve scheduled an interview for your visit, consider arranging for a mock interview beforehand to anticipate what might be in store.
5. Work from a Checklist
In each school’s folder should also be a checklist of things you have done and still need to do for the admissions process. Trying to keep up with deadlines is one thing, but keeping track of whether you’ve actually met them is just as important. By working from a checklist that marks whether you’ve submitted your application, letters of recommendation, and completed any other scholarship information or other requirements of the school, you won’t be scrambling to ensure that you haven’t missed any important pieces of the process.
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