As you look to make the transition from high-school to college, you are probably feeling as though there is a never ending and maybe even growing “checklist” of things you need to worry about or check off your list. Don’t worry if you feel this way, as it is very normal and quite common.
When it comes to getting into one of your top college picks, you might not think much about your level of organization, but it is actually of paramount importance in the process. The more organized you are, the greater your chances of getting into one of your top college picks. The odds are higher for ultimate success in college as well.
If you haven’t been “much for organizing” in the past, now is definitely the time to change that. Studying for the SAT, meeting deadlines, writing essays, taking practice tests, evaluating your different college options, investigating financial aid for college tuition and direct federal student loans takes a lot of time, and that means a lot of organization is essential.
One of the single largest steps towards great organization is being willing to prioritize what is important and what is not important. Tackle this step first, and getting organized will become a great deal easier.
Sacrificing things that you enjoy doing in order to do something that you don’t like or find unpleasant is easier said than done. One trick is to start small with small sacrifices of things that you enjoy. Instead use that “recovered time” for something that relates to getting into the school of your dreams, or at least one of the schools that you like the idea of attending!
You could tackle this issue on a week by week basis. Here is an example of how you could structure your college prep organizing. You don’t have to use this exact model, but instead you can adapt this strategy for whatever works for you!
Week One-Spend more time studying for SAT
Week Two-Research colleges
Week Three-Get College applications
Week Four-Research financial aid related issues
Week Five-Make list of relevant deadlines
Week Six-Think about ways you can become more efficient and effective in how you use your time and make a list!
Each week look for ways that you can set time aside so that you can apply that time towards getting into college. As a result, you will become far more organized and also far calmer! Being organized has a benefit that few consider; being organized means less panic and that means better decision-making.
Many students “end up” at universities and colleges that were nowhere near their top picks for no other reason that a failure to get organized in advance. They had all the tools, the necessary grades, good letters of recommendation and maybe even good SAT scores, but they lacked proper preparation.
Think of getting into college like you would think about starting a business. You wouldn’t just try to open a business without preparing in some fashion, would you? You instinctively understand and know that a business, at least one with any chance of success, needs work and planning. If you invest your time in this fashion, you will be surprised by what you can accomplish.
You’ve probably heard a good deal about the wildly increasing price tag of a university or college degree. This is not to state that there are still not great deals in education to be found, but there is no doubt that these deals are far harder to find and require much more research than in days past.
When it comes to your college career and your career goals, more than likely there are many people wanting to give you advice and lots of it. Quite often people will put pressure on you to follow their advice, whether its friends or family. If they can’t recognize that their advice is useless or even downright bad, what are you do to in such a situation? What do you do when college advice goes beyond financial aid and grants or how to find scholarships and instead dives deeper into your decision making process?
You may have parents who were kind enough to tell you what your major was going to be before you were born. Now that is a tricky situation indeed, but for those of you whose college destiny hasn’t be predetermined and prearranged, there are decisions to be made. In this article, we will explore how far in advance you should be thinking about your major.
