W INTER 2016
P AGE 3
The College Application Survival Kit
How to reduce the stress
Caroline Bradbury
Staff Writer
If you’re a junior or a senior, I
can probably guess what you are
thinking right now. You are
most likely spending your time
filling out applications, looking
for scholarships, or planning
college days to visit the school of
your dreams. While all of this is
exciting, it can be extremely
stressful as well. The cost of
applying to college alone is
enough to wipe out a student’s
motivation, but don’t fret.
There are plenty of things you
can do to take your mind off the
taxing application process, so
you can make your last high
school years memorable. I
f you are not involved in a sport
or club already, you should definitely think about joining one,
especially if you are feeling the
pressure of choosing a school.
Sitting at home all day after
school, before you go to work or
do homework, will add to your
stress, and makes for an unhealthy mindset. Having a club
or sport to let out your energy
will give you a break from the
stress and might even help you
decide, based on your passions,
which school to choose. It will
also give you the opportunity to
talk about the application process
with people who are going
through the same thing, which
you will probably find comforting.
If all else fails, turn to music.
Silence is usually just an excuse
to worry about college, and
having a great playlist can motivate you to get work done, or
simply empower you to think
positively. Spotify has great mu-
sic for studying or even meditating. You can choose from all
types of music from “pump up”
to peaceful instrumentals.
Regardless of the type of music
you fancy, it’s very important to
take time to listen and calm your
mind down. This may even lead
to you becoming passionate
about a certain band or artist,
which definitely can take your
mind off of this stressful time. So
many people use music as an
escape, but it can also motivate
you to conquer the world.
It’s also important to have events
to look forward to. Instead of
hanging out in your friends’
living rooms like you usually do,
get a group together and do
something different. You have to
remember that even though you
are almost an adult, your time
to be a teenager is still here.
There are so many exciting
things to do in or around the city
of Boston, and it’s only a short
train ride away. You could go
see a play, go shopping on Newbury St., or go to a concert at
the House of Blues. If you want
to stay local, plan a game night
or drive around singing along
with friends in the car. Anything
is better than watching movies or
having everyone sit on their
phones the entire time. Having
fun events to look forward to
really takes the stress out of your
year and will motivate you to be
successful in school.
It’s also helpful if you step out of
your comfort zone and hang out
with new friends. Your original
friend group may get stuck talking about what schools they are
applying to; it might be beneficial to take a break from that
conversation and talk to people
that won’t stress you out. It’s
extremely important to put yourself and your positive mentality
first. Having a fun social life that
doesn’t make you afraid of the
future should be a top priority.
The most important aspect of this
process is to remember that getting a rejection is not the end of
the world. Getting rejected does
not mean you are not good
enough, it means that thousands
of people apply to certain colleges every year, and only a handful
of those applicants can be accepted even if they are all equivalent
in the school’s eyes. Knowing
this alleviates a lot of stress and
makes it easier to have a clear
mental space. There is a school
for everyone and a spot for everyone that wants to get a higher
education, so don’t waste time
stressing over failure. It simply
won’t happen.
If you don’t know what you want
to major in, that’s okay. There is
a major for everyone and a path
for everyone. You have to be
patient and open yourself up to
all possibilities; your future will
become clear to you.
So don’t spend all of your time
worrying about the future, live in
the present. Even though high
school might not be your favorite
experience, you only ge