For all my life, all I’ve ever heard is the word “college”. Questions like “Where do you wanna go” or “What do you wanna do” would be asked repeatedly by almost every adult I’ve met throughout my life. Honestly, I hadn’t really given it much thought until my sophomore year.

I spent a lot of time watching my older friends going through the process and realized how much work it really is. That’s when I decided to make the best decision for myself. I set to meet with a college planner. Best decision I’ve ever made.

Now, I know, starting anything college related at the end of sophomore year sounds too early. But trust me, you’ll want to do it. Even starting the beginning of junior year will help. When I first started meeting with her, we slowly worked through creating a resume, ideas for my essay, and the basic Common App information. I would meet about once a month during my junior year for an hour, and by the time I hit May, I was done with my essay and all the Common App information.

When the Common App opened back up for applications on Aug. 1, I was able to focus on the questions the colleges listed and submit all early action, the earliest day available. Now, a month into my senior year, Watching my friends scramble to fill out all the basic Common App information, plus doing normal school work, and then everything that the colleges required made me realize
how thankful I am to have completed all of that ahead of time.

Although, even if you do start early, you’ll still have some work to do. Extra essays or random questions are required for different colleges, but staying on top of them and doing them right away will keep you ahead of the game. I’ve even already been accepted into one college, and I can’t begin to express what a relief it is to receive that acceptance letter. Knowing that I’ve been accepted into college took a heavyweight off of my shoulder.

Do yourself a favor. Start thinking about colleges early. Do everything you can do with a professional so you do it right. Stay on task with the questions even when they seem pointless. Your future senior self (who just wants to have fun and not worry about responsibilities just yet) will thank you later.