When you think of senior year of high school, a utopic vision of all the fun activities and听senior perks seems to mask the hard work that is still left. Yes, senior year is fun, but as many of听you have realized, senior year is tough. So, why are the first few months a bit rough? Two听words: college applications. It is during these first few months where you鈥檒l get to know the听Common Application very well鈥 almost too well.
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For the most part, the Common App is easy to navigate, but it can easily become听overwhelming because a lot of schools do their application process through this service. The听Common App has its own section of filling out basic information like name, address, grades,听SAT/ACT scores, and so on, but it also requires the choice of one essay question to write about.听On top of the Common App essay question, almost all schools require supplemental essays; when applying for Oxy you get to choose from about five prompts they provide听you with. Personal essays can be challenging听because it can be hard to write about you, but filling out college applications is one of those听instances where it鈥檚 actually OK to brag about yourself. A lot of the time, colleges also add fun听little questions to their applications such as, "What鈥檚 your favorite book?" or "If you could听interview one person (dead or alive) who would it be and why?" and maybe even, "What鈥檚 your听favorite movie?" They really do try and make it a little bit less painful to fill out an听application.
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In many ways applications can be daunting. What often helps, and what worked for me,听is reaching out to teachers who can help edit essays, and asking friends or family members to听revise essays or help brainstorm topics for them. Also, college applications are the perfect听opportunity for you to let your creative side run free! No application reviewer wants to read the听same thing over and over again, so try and think of things that are unique to you. Remember, you听aren鈥檛 the only one applying so do whatever you can to make yourself memorable and stand out听from the crowd. Don鈥檛 stress! Things will work out the way they are supposed to. And a final听note to all the seniors in high school reading this: Enjoy your senior year, get involved, and don鈥檛听be overly anxious to leave for college. It鈥檒l come soon enough. I look forward to meeting you听soon future Tiger!