Staying Healthy During College Application Season

It’s that time of year—sure, it’s the holidays, but it’s also time for something both dreaded and anticipated across the world: college application season! It’s a time where high school seniors anxiously type out login information and click to open admissions letters, almost like tearing wrapping paper off a present while eagerly wondering what’s inside.

Having gone through this experience a year ago myself, I can definitely attest to how stressful it was. But the process doesn’t have to be like that all the time! There are plenty of ways to stay healthy both mentally and physically while writing college applications and receiving decisions. Here are a few tips I personally found especially helpful last year, and I hope you do too!

1. Space out the time you spend working on your applications

It may be hard to notice in the moment, but writing for many hours straight at a time can be extremely draining. Personally, I found it really difficult to properly focus on college apps during the full swing of school, so I tried to knock them out of the way earlier in bits and pieces. I felt pretty overwhelmed by the essays at first because I didn’t know where to start. I started by brainstorming my notes on paper and talking ideas through with other people. Once I had a rough outline, writing didn’t feel quite so intimidating. The main takeaway is: don’t procrastinate!! If you have applications due in January, try to start them a few weeks before winter break. You could have questions about parts of the application, and those can’t wait until the very end.

2. Exercise once a day (especially in between writing essays)

I would sometimes get writer’s block when drafting my college essays, and the best way I found to combat this was to work out or go for a walk outside. A change of scenery helps you to destress more than you realize, and you’ll often find that your brain thinks about and “works on” your problem even when you’re not consciously focused on it. After sitting back down at my computer, I’d feel inspired to write more and wouldn’t feel so burned out.

3. While writing essays…

Listen to music if that’s your vibe! For me, it helps to take the focus away from the stress of essay writing and instead makes it more of a fun experience. (Except I wouldn’t recommend music with words because it tends to be a bit distracting if you like to sing along 🙂 )
Also, if you find that it’s hard to get your words to flow right, try using a font that you really enjoy! Somehow, that makes the writing process happen faster for me because if I see a pleasing font, I want to write more words using that font.

4. The first draft doesn’t have to be perfect!

One of the worst ways to get caught up in your own writing is to believe you have to make your first draft your best draft. This should never be the case! It takes a lot of the pressure off to realize that you can write the messiest, most inconcise first draft and it will still be okay because you can edit. I felt relieved when I had a draft written—even though I knew it wouldn’t be my final submission, I at least had something concrete to work with.

5. As decisions come out…

Remember that it’s completely natural to feel a large amount of stress. This is a pivotal moment in your life—but in a good way! Don’t let that stress overtake your daily life. It’s still important to spend time doing your favorite hobby, or just setting aside some time for yourself. Even just talking to friends and family about what you’re feeling can help your mood significantly. I also found it really helpful to journal my thoughts every night. That way, I wouldn’t feel like my brain was constantly full of jumbled ideas from the day. And when the time comes to open your college decisions, open it whatever way feels the most comfortable for you. If you’d like to find out the news with support right behind you cheering you on (whether that be family or friends) then by all means do that. I found it helped me personally to not be alone while opening my decision. However, others feel less pressure when they open it alone because there’s not an immediate demand to tell other people. Or you could record and post your reaction if you enjoy that! Any approach is valid. It’s whatever works best for you!

I hope that you are able to take these tips to heart with what’s remaining of the college apps season. It’s amazing to me that a year has already passed since my application season, and before you know it, you’ll be feeling the same as me next year! I know it sounds cliche and you’ve probably heard it thousands of times before, but you’ll end up at the college that is the right fit for you. An admissions letter certainly does not determine how capable you are as a person. Wherever you end up, I wish you the best of luck!