By Areesha Velani and Christopher MacNeil

Are you a rising/current senior? How can you manage your time this academic year?

Summer is ending and students are eager to get back to school. With the start of the school year comes many positive opportunities for students including reuniting with friends and teachers, getting into the swing of classes, and rejoining extracurricular activities. However, students (and parents) will also be faced with increasing levels of stress, a demanding workload, and looming deadlines.

Our admissions counselors recognize that students who are seeking admission to top North American universities and colleges will have another challenge to grapple with this year: the application process. The fall term of the school year for seniors is also called the application season. This time period requires students to pick their schools of choice, prepare for the SAT/ACT and other tests, draft essays, and upload a variety of documents for online application portals.

A good way to approach this cycle is to create an extensive calendar, including deadlines and dates for academic and personal activities. Scheduling will allow you to attend to both your urgent and important tasks, while also creating room for free-time and relaxation. Since there are several distinct dates for college applications, in-school examinations, athletic competitions, and more, keeping track of these engagements on a physical and/or virtual calendar will allow you to organize your commitments and prepare for them in advance. Our admissions experts at Hale are here to support in this process.

Another key action that will allow you to sail smoothly through the intensive application season is learning to say yes, but also knowing when to say no. High school is a hub filled with endless opportunities for students to gain and improve skills and values. Trying new sports and socializing with new circles allows one to take on adventures unfamiliar to them and grow their current network. Other times, extracurriculars might be offered, but other commitments may make one’s dedication and focus to newer activities impossible to attend to. Thinking strategically and making beneficial choices will come easy with a pro and cons list. When thinking about committing yourself to non-academic pursuits, if the timing doesn’t fit, if the losses outweigh the benefits, and if it diminishes your focus on academics and applications, then the right answer may just be no.

What about younger students? How can they prepare for college applications, even if they are not applying to schools yet?

Younger students in high school can prepare themselves for college admissions in a number of ways. Aside from keeping top grades, strategically choosing courses based on what the student seeks to study in the long term will help. In addition, choosing extracurricular activities that show a variety of positive attributes of the student can be a way to stand out in the application process. This can include having a diversity of activities across the spectrum of student government/associations, athletics, community service, and involvement in the arts. In addition, students can take on activities that show passion, entrepreneurship, and dedication. Examples include long term participation in activities to address local issues like environmental or animal welfare issues, starting a small business, or joining a music or performance program outside of school.

The start of the school year can be an envirograting, albeit daunting period. Starting to think and plan for college admissions is a great way to ensure that things go smoothly once it is time to get college applications rolling.

- Hale Education Group