May is Mental Health Awareness Month and marks the “end” of college application season, as many have decided by May 1st which school they will call home for the next four years. Looking back on the college search and application process, it is a months-long (if not years-long!) journey that is often marked by a lot of stress. One of my main goals as a college counselor is to help you navigate the complicated, nuanced college search and application process and help break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks that don’t feel as overwhelming. Ultimately, I hope to help mitigate stress throughout the journey–and even inject some joy into it. Below are some of my favorite tips to help you manage your stress and find more joy and confidence – not just in your applications, but in yourself.
In the college search and application process, the most important thing to focus on is your mental health and wellness. Because if that is not taken care of, then nothing else matters. If you’re not getting enough sleep, eating healthy food that energizes and fuels you, or managing your stress, then it’s going to make it a lot harder to focus on doing your best work.
Too often I hear of students pulling all-nighters before tests or staying up until 1 a.m. to finish their biology project or history presentation. Personally, I know that I don’t do my best work when I’m sleep-deprived–if I wake up after a night of restlessness or too little sleep, I am not on my A-game mentally (or physically). I often ask my students questions like:
I promise that this experience will be more enjoyable and less stressful if you are checking in with yourself consistently to make sure you're taking care of your mental health and wellbeing.
One of the best habits you can get into early in high school is starting your work early and not putting it off for the last minute. I met with a student recently who told me that she’s often a victim of “revenge bedtime procrastination” (a term I’d never heard of before!). It comes from a desire to have control over your own time and schedule, which is often harder during the day when you have strict schedules for school and extracurriculars. It means she procrastinates during the day because she would rather spend any leisure time with friends or doing more fun things–sacrificing her sleep and often staying up until early hours in the morning to get her work done. As you can imagine, this makes it harder to put your best efforts forward.
Time-management is essential in this process. I’m not saying that it’s always going to be easy, or even enjoyable- especially junior year as schoolwork and application work ramps up, you might have to make some tough calls when faced with the decision to spend two hours practicing for your upcoming cello performance versus popping in to a game of pickup soccer with your friends. But planning ahead, staying organized, and getting a jump start on your goals and deadlines (whether academic or otherwise) will help you maintain balance and manage stress. It’s an important habit for life, not just the college application process!
I’m the type of person who gets excited by many projects and topics and that means sometimes I can bite off more than I can chew. If this sounds like you–you genuinely like being busy and having a hand in a lot of things–you’re not alone. It’s important to remember that if you try to do too much, it probably means that you’re not able to give 100% effort to everything you’re doing.
This is also the reason that I want students to have balanced summers. Instead of feeling like you have to have an internship and a part-time job and volunteer and enroll in an academic program and pursue independent research and start a business, take a deep breath and take a step back. You need to build in time to relax and be a kid. It doesn’t mean I want you sitting on the couch playing video games for two months straight. But it does mean that between your intellectual and academic pursuits, I want you to have down time to find relaxation and restoration (hello, mental health and wellness from my earlier tip!). The goal is never to take on so much that you stretch yourself too thin. If you arrive at the start of your school year feeling exhausted and burnt out, you’re not going to lay a strong foundation for success for the year ahead.
You do not have to do it all. No one can. And colleges don’t expect you to. If you’re overcommitting yourself to the point that a college rep is scratching their head, wondering how you fit everything into your days, then chances are you’ve taken on too much. Remember, you are not a robot. You need sleep, breaks, and balance.
Want more tips on prioritizing your mental health, especially during the college search? Start reading part two now to learn about saying no, why hobbies are important, and asking questions.