Juniors: It’s time…

We know, this seems crazy. College is eons away and the whole process is insanely stressful, so why on earth would you start now?! 

There are many different reasons to get cracking early, but here are three that we think are really important: 1. it reduces stress; 2. it puts the focus on exploration and finding your best fit; and 3. it puts you in a position to have a significant portion of your application done before you start senior year. 

Let’s look a little more at how each of these reasons look IRL (in real life for the parents out there), and how we can help you with the process:

Stress! Inevitably, this is a stressful process. We hope that our last blog post helped with managing the frenzy, but there’s another strategy for reducing stress: getting ahead of the process. By starting now, you can have your list of colleges to explore built by January, plan some visits for next Spring, and head into senior year with a list of schools that is intentional and thoughtful and with most of your applications completed.

Best fit! A huge benefit of having this year to build a list and plan your college visits is that it seriously increases the likelihood you’ll end up at your best fit school. We have a great strategy for the entire search process-- you’ll learn a lot about yourself and what the college experience can look like, and then we’ll explore schools to find some great options for you.

Start senior year nearly done! After spending junior year exploring your big list and then narrowing it down to where you want to apply (reach, possible, likely), we’ll work with you over the summer to get way ahead on your applications. We’ll start by focusing on your personal essay-- it’s a fun process and when we’re done you’ll have an outstanding piece of writing that will catch the attention of admissions offices. After that’s complete, we’ll turn our focus to the rest of the Common App and any supplemental essays you’ll need to write. By the time you start your senior year, you’ll be nearly done with your applications and you can relax and enjoy events such as homecoming and fall sports seasons. (And try not to be too smug as your friends beg you for any ideas they can write about for their personal statements.)

We’re great at taking an overwhelming process and making it manageable, fun, exciting, and most importantly, all about you. Send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com or give us a call (617.447.0186) and let’s chat.