Prep now, or later?

College decisions can be a stressful process, especially when you wait until the last minute to start making decisions. Requirements for certain colleges don’t really strike your mind until you begin to apply, so preparing ahead of time can help alleviate a little bit of the stress. With college acceptances being more competitive than ever, the process has become much more difficult. I can tell you first hand that I wish I had started college prep and research A LOT sooner. The stress would have been much more managed and could have even been avoided. College prep should start at a younger age to prevent the ‘college admissions frenzy’ that takes a huge toll on the mental health of teens.

Applying for college had to be one of the most stressful parts of high school for me. I didn’t really start extensive research until the summer going into my senior year. I had an idea of places that seemed like a good fit for me, but I really didn’t have a clue about the more technical side of things. As my senior year started and teachers began to ask questions about college, I started to realize that I really had no idea what I wanted to do, or where I was going. I was lost. I began to panic and spent countless hours researching and looking up colleges on the internet. Often times I would prioritize this over my school work, which caused me to fall behind in many of my classes. This took a toll on me mentally. I needed to make decisions about my future, but I also needed to graduate. When I tried to catch up on my schoolwork, I would panic about college. Decisions and deadlines were approaching fast so I quickly began to feel the pressure. So much to do, so little time. This is why I wish I would have started my college/career research process way earlier. Sure, it might have been annoying as a middle schooler, but high school me would thank my younger self. I feel as though I panicked and just made a fast decision on where to take my life next. Do I regret my decisions? No, but I wish I would have thought about my decisions sooner, so I could have been 100% confident in my choices.

I understand that people are worried about burn out in teens if they start the college process at a young age, but I think that not starting them at a young age is sabotage. These types of decisions take lots of time and of thought. The more time kids have, the more confident they will be throughout the process. This can help prevent the real burn out and help kids out in the long term. I think the real burn out comes from cramming everything in at the last minute. I was scared to make a ‘wrong’ decision. College shouldn’t be scary, and neither should the decision.

The truth is that no one in my life really pushed me to start my college prep before my senior year. My parents would tell me to start looking into colleges and such, but didn’t really push me further than that. I don’t blame anything on them though because I was their first kid going to college, so they were just as clueless as me. If I was introduced to this process at a younger age, my ‘college admissions frenzy’ would not have been as stressful and hard. I think that our school should push kids from their freshman year to starting researching and thinking about the next steps they want to take. Maybe, even implementing the importance in middle school. Burn out hits worse when things are last minute so let’s help the future generation out by preparing them ahead of time.

“Teen woman with headache holding her hand to the head” by wuestenigel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.