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We don’t need to tell you that it’s common for students to experience anxiety during the college application process. There’s a lot to do, the stakes are high, the deadlines are strict, and you’re being asked to make major decisions about your future. It would be stranger for you to not be stressed out during this time.
However, just because admissions anxiety is normal doesn’t mean you just have to deal with it without any help. There are a number of different things you can do to help mitigate the physical, mental, and emotional consequences of admissions anxiety and preserve your well-being during this tough time. A little self-care can free you up to more effectively complete college admissions tasks—and even enjoy your senior year of high school along the way.
Here, you’ll find CollegeVine’s best advice for dealing with the anxiety of applying to college. Use these tips to help keep yourself healthy as you work on your educational future.
The thing about applying to competitive colleges is that admission is, well, competitive. Chances are, you won’t get accepted to all the colleges on your list, potentially including the schools you most wanted to attend.
Rejection is a fact of life in the college application process, even if you’re an exceptionally strong applicant—top schools attract many more qualified applicants than they can actually admit. You can’t eradicate the possibility of rejection, but you can anticipate it and come to terms with it in advance, and that can help head off some of your anxiety about applying to college.
In the early stages of the college planning process, it’s also important that you take an honest look at yourself, from your strengths and weaknesses to your educational and career plans and needs. The colleges you like most may not be schools that are likely to admit you. It’s fine to apply to a few long-shot dream schools, but it’s wise not to pin your hopes and plans too firmly on a school where you’re unlikely to be admitted.
Applying to an appropriate range of colleges ensures that even if Plan A doesn’t work out, you still have an exciting Plan B to fall back upon. Not getting too attached to one dream school above all others leaves you with less potential to be crushingly disappointed if you’re not accepted. Most importantly, assessing yourself and where you stand as an applicant will help you to develop reasonable, realistic expectations for the admissions process.
There’s no shame in admitting that admission season is stressful; most applicants share that feeling to a greater or lesser extent. There’s also no question that this stress can have a negative impact upon your well-being. Combating these negative effects of stress can seem like a daunting task, but it’s important to realize that you don’t have to go it alone. Everyone deserves and can use some help in managing stress and anxiety, even if you feel like others need it more or have it worse.
The first step in getting the help you need is admitting that you need it. Everyone needs other people sometimes, and having a strong support structure is immensely important when you’re going through any major changes in life. There are people and resources out there who are willing and even eager to help you in ways both practical and personal, directly and indirectly reducing the strain as you navigate college application season.
Every applicant has access to a different set of resources, which might include family members, teachers, guidance counselors, admissions consultants, tutors, mentors, friends, and many others. Whatever options you have, there’s no benefit to stubbornly refusing to take advantage of them. Accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness or a negative thing—it’s admitting you’re human, and making full use of the resources available to you.