How to Deal With College/Grad School Application Anxiety
Are you stressing about your college applications?
If you're reading this, then that probably means that you've just finished applying to various schools. Whether you're applying as a transfer student or post-graduate candidate, you're most likely feeling just as anxious as the next potential college student. I’m sure I don't have to tell you that it's really common to experience some level of emotional turmoil and anxiety during the college or grad school application process. There is a lot on your plate, the stakes are high, deadlines are strict and you're being asked to make a big decision about your future. In my personal opinion, it would be strange if you weren’t stressed out while applying to colleges.
While the actual college application process itself is stressful, what is equally as anxiety inducing is the period of time AFTER you've hit submit and before you hear back about your potential admission status.
I myself remember the moment when I hit submit on my UC application and the immediate feeling of anxiousness and impatience that set in, knowing I would have to wait at least five months to find out whether or not I was going to be successful in my attempt to transfer. So if you're in the same position as I was last year, anxiously awaiting to hear back about the admission decisions to the schools you've applied to, then this is the post for you. Today I want to chat with you about dealing with what I've decided to call "college application decision anxiety” (Yes, it’s a bit wordy. I’m still workshopping the name!). This list of tips and advice has been curated for you from my personal experience as a transfer student!
1. Manage your admissions expectations
This might sound harsh, but chances are you won't get accepted to all of the colleges on your list, especially if you're a high school student applying as a freshman to a dozen schools. Admittedly, the admittance rate as a freshman student is usually lower at most schools when compared to transfer students. Anyways, the point is that rejection is a part of life, and you can't entirely eradicate the possibility of rejection. With that being said, rejection is not the end of the world. Not getting into one specific school is a chance to pivot and find new opportunities with whatever schools you do gain acceptance to!
2. Remember that you’ve already done the work
Your application is a reflection of the fact that you've already gone through the process of doing the hard work to learn what you need to learn and experienced what you need to experience in order to gain admittance to a college. Your high school, community college, or undergraduate experience has already laid the foundation for your ability to succeed in and ultimately graduate college. I have confidence that if you have taken the initiative to do the research and seek out resources such as this blog post, you're probably someone who has done a lot of hard work and have anticipated the things that you needed to do. I’m sure that you will be able to thrive wherever you end up!
3. Take care of your physical health
Physical health is not only important for, you know, staying alive, but it's also an important component of mental health. Anxiety or emotional stress can go hand in hand with various physical symptoms, but taking care of your physical health as well as your emotional health can help to relieve some of these symptoms and manage anxiety. Taking time to ensure that you’re getting good nutrition, getting regular sleep and exercise are some of the basic things that may help you deal with the physical side of managing anxiety surrounding college application decisions.
4. Try not to play the comparison game
Every single person and every single college/grad school applicant is unique, and with so many different factors that go into college admissions, it's basically impossible to make a meaningful comparison between yourself and another person. Even if another student or your friend looks similar to you on paper, you still may not know every single detail of their application. Most importantly, you weren't there during admission deliberations, so when it comes down to it, you really just don't have enough information to make an informed comparison.
Obsessing over what other people are doing won't change anything and it'll only serve to increase your anxiety levels. Instead, try focusing on figuring out what's best for you. Identifying which colleges you applied to feel like a good personal fit for you, and adapting to whatever circumstances you find yourself in will be far more helpful to you than comparing your application to another student’s.
5. Remember that 'prestige' isn’t everything
While there may be benefits to attending a "top tier" college, a college with a high profile:
1. Might not be the right place for you.
You are far better off focusing on finding a college that is a great overall personal fit for your needs rather than basing that decision on name recognition. When it comes to choosing a college, looking deeper than the name is very important because you want to find an environment where you can thrive and put yourself in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way
2. Will not do the work for you
Getting into a “prestigious” school is not indicative of future success. What is indicative of future success is being able to put yourself in a position where you know you’ll be able to do good work, and again, take advantage of the resources and opportunities that are offered to you.
3. College is about learning
Going to college is about earning your education. It’s not about name and it’s not about prestige; it’s about learning. Going to a school where you can really focus on your academics and your education will be far more valuable to you in the long run than going to a school with name recognition.
6. Don't forget to do what you love
Scheduling time to spend time with family to participate in activities that you love, to do things that aren’t concerning school, will help you diffuse the pressure and hopefully remind you what your interests and passions are that are driving your academic journey. Your entire life doesn’t need to revolve around school and academics. In fact, making your entire life about school is a really good way to burnout fast. To offset this, make sure you’re still setting aside time for hobbies and extra curricular activities that bring you joy, like making art, playing video games or going for your morning jogs. Sometimes you just need something to do that isn’t school related so you can take a break from school.
I know a lot of these tips are most definitely easier said than done, and I know that nothing I can really say will stop you from stressing about college applications at least a little bit, but the basic point is that what happens will happen, and that getting into any college is opportunity to learn and grow as an individual and will help you on your way to successful future. I hope that implementing some of these tools will help you through this waiting period, and I wish you the best of luck on your college endeavors!