College: Navigating Pressure

Reassurance on stressful college process

Jason Rotenberg | Food Editor

We have all been there: somehow, some way you start talking about college, and the person you are conversing with asks where you are looking. If you haven’t been there, then trust me, you will be very soon. If you have started looking, and you have a sense of what you like and don’t like, you may feel confident in this situation knowing you have a plan. If you haven’t, this question can lead you to panic because you start to feel behind. Feeling both ways is completely normal, and this article will attempt to answer the question of when you should really start the “college process.”

To start off, there really isn’t a concrete answer of when you have to start. There are benefits of both starting early and starting late, but starting early is preferable. Starting early allows you to keep your options open and start thinking about where you want to go. Students may start as early as sophomore year, visiting colleges and making a preliminary list of where they want to apply. The benefit of doing this is being able to see the school in person for the first time, or putting the idea of college more prominently in the student’s head. Remember, it’s better late than never.

The earlier you start the better. This doesn’t mean that all your time is devoted to college searching, but rather that you set aside some time to research schools, set up visits, brainstorm possible personal essay ideas, etc. Starting early also takes a lot of stress away at the end of junior year and the beginning of senior year if you already have a plan on where you want to apply, and a head start on your essays. The process will look different for everyone. During your junior year, the process will be broken down and seem less daunting.

I think students sometimes get lost in the excitement of the college process, trying to do the right thing to ensure college application success. There is no harm of starting to look at colleges and starting your essays early. Starting early does not mean that you should neglect your school work, however. After all, school and extracurriculars are what get you into college in the first place. So, next time you are in the situation where someone asks you about college, don’t worry where you are in the process. You are going to be completely fine at whatever stage you are at. Also know that wherever you are in the process, you are in control of what comes next.