By Barbara Connolly For MediaNews Group – Aug 3, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken up the college admissions world like an earthquake. Many students and parents are feeling overloaded with panicked questions, because every aspect of the college application process, from campus visits to standardized testing, has been disrupted — all of this on top of the disruption of our daily routines and regular work habits!

Be proactive and stay on task to succeed in your college application process, says Barbara Connelly. Photo by Antonio Guillem/iStock

Be proactive and stay on task to succeed in your college application process, says Barbara Connelly. Photo by Antonio Guillem/iStock

This year, the college application process can seem more intimidating than ever, and many students may feel at a loss for how to attack this huge project. You need to bring order to the chaos you’re experiencing. Here are my top 5 tips for acing this application season.

Be proactive: Start early

This month, you might be enjoying some of the laziest days of the summer, or maybe even an Up North getaway. And that’s why it’s the best time to start working on your college applications. Many students make the mistake of waiting until the start of their senior year to begin this process. This year, more than ever, you will want to avoid overloading yourself with too much at once. It might seem counterintuitive, but to avoid stress you should actually cut vacation short and take advantage of these late summer days to make strides in the application process before you get busy with school. The best time to start is yesterday!

Schedule, schedule, schedule

Approach your college applications in a well-planned and methodical manner. When it comes to getting work done, nothing is scarier than a huge, yet poorly defined, list of responsibilities. While it might sound overwhelming to plan the entire process, what’s really overwhelming is stumbling through blindly, unaware of how much time you really need to get each task done.

• First, you will need to research all the schools you’re interested in and decide which ones to apply to, and learn what their requirements are.
• Then, you should organize all of those requirements into a list.
• Take out your calendar and look at how much time you have between today and your application deadlines.
• From there, decide how long to allot for each step in the process.

The last crucial task is, of course, to stick to those deadlines, so you can get everything done in time.

Incentivize and conquer

Completing tasks in a timely manner to avoid them stacking up is one of the best ways to avoid a college application disaster. One great way to hold yourself to deadlines is to create incentives. For example, maybe you won’t allow yourself to watch Netflix or check your phone until you finish an essay draft. Or, instead of restricting, you can make the process more fun by rewarding yourself with special treats. If you struggle with sticking to agreements you’ve made with yourself, you can ask a family member to help—tell them to hold onto your phone, or hide that slice of cheesecake you plan to enjoy when you finish your work. And, of course, tell them not to hand it over until they’ve seen your completed work!

Be accountable

Sometimes, talking about your goals with others can make all the difference between procrastination and achievement. Keep your family and trusted friends — or a tutor or college counselor — in the loop as you go through the application process. If you let at least one person know about each deadline you’re working toward, then you’ll have someone to hold you accountable in case the work doesn’t get done. Just make sure the person you share this with is someone you can count on to hold you to task. Accepting outside accountability might sound daunting, but it can help you stick to your plan, and help you complete your applications in a seamless, step-by-step process.

Visualize success instead of giving in to stress

All of the procrastinators out there know that half the hard work we do starts before the project even begins. Have you ever put off an assignment or household chore to perilous lengths, only to find that once you started, it wasn’t so bad after all? That’s because the first battle in the war of getting a task done is mental.

So, take a deep breath. Remember that although the job ahead might feel intimidating, students just like you do it every year. And recognize that some of the reasons you’re nervous about completing your applications might be how disorganized and detached you feel.

Don’t give in to fear. Instead, use these tips to create order and direction to help you succeed in this important process. If you do, your fear will soon give way to feelings of competence and control.

Barbara Connolly, JD, is the founder and director of Birmingham-based College Choice Counseling, and a certified educational planner. She can be reached at barbara@collegecc.com.