Application Advice

Seniors’ suggestions on applying to college

Paige Fitton at her college visit to Mizzou.

Figuring out the submission process for colleges is not a one step process. There are many different aspects that can be easily overlooked, but here are some seniors who have learned through their experiences.

Schedule: “When applying to colleges, it is vital to ensure you have a schedule for yourself,” senior Riley Mooney said. “It’s super easy to get buried in the process, so it’s important to set deadlines for yourself. It’s important to know when you are going to finish writing your essays and what you are going to submit your application to.”

Look it Over: “I think my biggest piece of advice would be don’t rush it and take your time,” senior Paige Fitton said. “It is a great strategy to split it into a few days. Unless the deadline is that day, there is no reason to start and finish an application all in one day. Also, proofread, proofread, proofread! Have a parent or friend read over any essays.”

Start Early: “Make sure you are starting at least a month earlier than you think you need to,” Mooney said. “And start getting teacher recommendations ASAP, or else teachers will be too overwhelmed with everyone else’s letter that they will not be able to do yours.”

Essays: “A smart tactic is to reuse as many essays as possible,” Mooney said. “That way you can focus on making one or two really good essays instead of trying to pump out seven or eight essays. A lot of prompts are the same between colleges, so make sure your essay is generic enough to be reused for other colleges. In the common app, you can choose one prompt for each school. You can also make your own prompt. So I went to the school that had a specific prompt I needed to answer and made that my prompt and rescued it for a couple of schools.”

Money Conscious: “It’s also pretty pricey to apply to a lot of schools so make sure you set aside funds for the application fees if you need to,” Mooney said. “Understand that application fees can be upwards of $75.”

Do Not Stress: “I wish I would have known to not stress out so much,” Fittion said. “As long as you take it one step at a time and put a lot of thought and heart into your essays, everything will be just fine. All of the time on them will be worth it.”