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- It was easy to feel anxious between finishing my college applications and waiting to hear back.
- Thinking about what I'd do regardless of where I went to school helped me survive.
- Reframing my goals to be independent of college was invaluable.
College-application season is over. The personal statements have been written; the résumés have been submitted. All that's left for applicants is to wait.
When I was applying to eight schools last year, I remember this awkward period as extremely stressful. Submitting that last application and no longer needing to revise supplementals and fine-tune Common App activity descriptions can be a weight off the shoulders. But the months between submitting applications and hearing back are ripe for anxiety and worry.
Waiting for months to find out if I got into the college of my dreams was painful. Plus, I kept reflecting on how I could've done better throughout high school. Weeks of this sort of reflection weren't productive or enjoyable.
But here's how I got through the waiting period with my sanity intact.
I didn't try to avoid thinking about college or my applications
If I could have forced myself to stop thinking about my college applications, I would have. I'd spent the better part of the past year thinking about which colleges I wanted to attend, touring colleges, and poring over my applications.
My brain wanted to be thinking about college and the future, so I didn't fight it. Instead, I tried to redirect that energy somewhere productive.
I was grateful I'd applied early to certain schools. Early-action programs — which require earlier application deadlines and earlier decisions — can help reduce the time spent in college-application purgatory.
I heard back from UNC Charlotte first and got accepted. With that decision in hand, I turned all the energy I'd spent reflecting on my applications into planning what I'd do at Charlotte, the classes I'd take, the research opportunities I'd have, and more.
By getting invested in attending the first school to accept me, I minimized my anxiety. The other seven didn't matter; I was going to college anyway.
Whenever college drifted into my mind, I'd play around with hypotheticals instead of worrying about my chances. By the time all my acceptances rolled in, I probably had plans for every school in my notes — making those was less stressful and more fun than worrying where I'd end up.
I internalized the idea that the specific school I'd go to didn't matter
I'd thought the advice that it doesn't really matter which college you go to was corny. But I came around to the idea when I noticed I could do what excited me practically anywhere.
I loved to write and wanted to see how far that could take me. I didn't need to go to my dream school to do that; I needed only a laptop and an internet connection.
I wasn't comparing colleges based on what otherwise inaccessible pathways they'd make available for me. Being in college already opened enough doors; the differences between schools were about which paths they made easier to pursue.
I believed this so strongly that I told my Yale alumni interviewer I didn't need to go to Yale. That wasn't the best idea from an application standpoint, but I still got in, so maybe I won points for authenticity.
I outlined goals for the next 4 years independent of college
Throughout the waiting period, I tried to come up with goals I wanted to pursue over the next few years that had nothing to do with which college I decided to enroll in. Focusing on those things I could do anywhere made the where irrelevant.
Eventually I got accepted into my dream school, Yale. Now I'm a freshman at the Ivy League school.
I'm happy I'm here, but reframing my goals to be college-independent meant I'd be OK if I didn't get in. I'd still be me, doing what I wanted to do, wherever I was.
With that mindset, the waiting period flew by, and I was able to enjoy those last few months of high school.