Dear Future Senior,
As my senior year of high school wraps up, I would like to write some pieces of advice about college, friends, and closure.
- Don’t let Senioritis take over your life. It may be tempting after Thanksgiving break or Christmas to get caught up in the days left until graduation but that’s how you can let the best experiences fly past you. If I succumbed to Senioritis when we came back from Christmas break, I would not have taken Intro to Ordinary Differential Equations at OU (which has been the most challenging course I have taken to date) nor would I have transferred into a more challenging English class which has helped me expand my writing skills. The last semester of senior year is crucial to prepare for college and forming bad study habits is a terrible way to prep for college. I am thankful for the opportunities that have presented themselves to me and I look forward to using the skills I have developed in the future.
- Writing college essays is hard. It is overwhelming to think about how many essays I wrote for college admission people. It took me months to finish applying for college. At one point I was writing an essay a week for weeks on end. What I wish I knew from the beginning just how many essays I would be writing and paced it out better. Figure out how many essays you have to write and when they are due so you have a plan to get it done. I think it could also be helpful to write your least important essays first. I felt so underprepared when I first started writing personal narrative essays and the ones that needed to be done first were for the most important schools that I wanted to apply early decision/action for. I could have been a lot better at conveying myself to them had I warmed up with some easier prompts and colleges to get into. If you can start in the summer!!!
- Limit your reach schools. I applied to seven schools in total and I got into four. The three I didn’t get into have an acceptance rate in the teens. You have to be realistic and you cannot let the college propaganda sway you into applying to unrealistic schools. I wish I had replaced those three schools with places I could have actually gotten into instead of hoping I would be the lucky 12% to receive an acceptance letter. Having options at the end of the process makes it feel like all the effort you put into apply was worth it. And while you might still get rejected from a school regardless of the acceptance rate, it’s better to have a chance than to basically be wasting your time with a college acceptance lottery.
- Ask for letters of Recommendation ASAP. The one thing I did perfectly is asking for letters of rec early. I had one recommender write my letter in the summer and I asked the other one very quickly. It felt good to not worry about that while other people were scrambling at the last minute. Your teachers will thank you as well for the advanced notice.
- Try to stay out of the drama. What has helped make my senior year enjoyable is hanging out with good people who don’t attract negative energy. You want your memories of high school to be happy and ugly people will not help you with that. It’s ok to sever ties because in a few months you’ll never have to see them again.
- Enjoy. I did say don’t let senioritis take over your life and take challenging classes but that doesn’t mean senior year has to be the hardest year of your life. Make sure you are taking some fun electives and have plenty of time to enjoy your friends.
-A