by Shannon Presley Alexander
      Connect with me via email: [email protected]
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This post is brought to you by the talented and insightful Shannon Presley Alexander. Through eCubed Coaching, she works with students to help them create and maintain good habits, establish and work towards their goals, and become the leaders of their own lives, amongst other things! She's awesome, and she has some awesome advice for how to cope with the stress that can accompany the increasingly competitive college admissions process. 
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As if life isn’t hard enough, many of you are now facing one of the most difficult things you’ve probably ever had to tackle.  Applying to college is strenuous for any student, but with the rising cost of tuition, a cut throat admissions process, the acceptance rate diminishing, and an unstable job market, it's more taxing than ever before. 

To make that perfect impression, you’ve put yourself through the ringer: pursued a rigorous curriculum including advanced classes, increased studying, athletics and community service, all to demonstrate your skills, abilities and remarkable character. While those activities may have put you in a better position in getting accepted by the college of your choosing, the admissions process can still be anxiety provoking.  I’d like to share a few things for you to consider as you go through this phase as well as techniques to assist in minimizing the stress. As you continue reading, understand that devoting time and attention to one of these will make a difference; however, taking advantage of all of these will boost your confidence, drastically reducing your anxiety.

1.     Make a strategic academic game plan, be organized and maximize your time! These are critical components in keeping your anxiety in check. When you are prepared there will be fewer “surprises” to deal with throughout the process.  Knowing what you want to do is essential in figuring out where you are going and how to get there. Sounds pretty clever, right?!?! However many students are clueless about what they want to do after college, some don’t take the time to do their homework to learn what it takes to achieve their dream career. Once you have your major selected and an idea of where you want to attend:

• Get on target with time management – make a schedule, a visual reminder of upcoming deadlines. Each college may have more than one deadline: for early acceptance, early admittance, regular admittance, etc. Allocate time efficiently as you fill out applications; do not procrastinate. 
• Be organized – keep a notebook or digital folders on colleges you’ve researched, deadlines, pertinent points and / or facts regarding each. You may also want to consider keeping up with an application checklist to monitor what’s been completed, unfinished tasks, etc. Track your progress in comparison to the deadline dates. 

2.     Don’t be afraid to ask for help… parents, mentors, school counselors, academic coaches, etc. Rely on your resources to assist you through this stressful time. If you have questions about the process, ask. Remember the only stupid question is the one that’s not asked. It’s better to ask now than look back at some point in time and realize you’ve taken a wrong turn because you were afraid to do so. Or maybe you just need additional support during this time, reach out! Many of those around you have been through a similar process and at this time you may even have friends encountering the same pressure.

3.     Maintain a healthy mindset; be positive and optimistic yet also realistic.  Have realistic expectations. I'm not saying don't stretch or challenge yourself; however, if you are a ‘C’ student don't cross your fingers thinking you’re going to get accepted at Stanford. If you didn’t do the work, you probably won’t make the cut.

4.     Learn to accept rejection; this is part of life. While it isn’t fun, learning how to cope with rejection is an essential part of growing up.  And chances are, during this process it is likely it will happen.  Stay focused on the things you actually have control over; remember if you aren’t accepted into a specific school, it is not personal, other opportunities await.   

5.     Stay mentally and physically focused. I’m sure this is easier said than done; however, aim for 8 hours of sleep each night. Maintain a balanced diet and exercise. Not only does this create endorphins, a stress blocker, but is a great way to release tension. Find ways to work in fun; take time to enjoy your family and social life as well as a bit of quiet time for yourself.

Remember, while the college admissions process can be stressful, it doesn't have to be a gut wrenching, palm sweating, heart pounding process. Try and enjoy this time. It’s exciting to discover who you are and where you are going. As you go through this process, keep these tips in mind and just breathe. Soon enough you will look back and realize it wasn’t as bad as you thought. Good luck!

As college admissions get more competitive, the difference between an acceptance and rejection can be miniscule, perhaps as small as 140 characters.

Social media is now a staple of the way we communicate, not just for young people, but for business professionals, soccer moms, and, hey, even Grandma is getting on Facebook nowadays. The cat memes are just too much to resist, I suppose.

The internet also provides a more anonymous, impersonal form of interaction, making is easier to adopt an alter ego online that may not be the person you want to make a first impression, especially to, say, an admissions officer come college application season.

It’s true that “Googling” an applicant’s name is something that happens more often now. If an admissions officer wants more information on you, they are likely to search your name to see if they can find you on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or one of the zillions of other social networks out there. Retweeting something raunchy, lowbrow, or littered with foul language could be enough to get your application thrown in the metaphorical waste basket (it’s all digital now—do we even need paper?).

However, before you make moves to delete sweet little Sally’s Twitter account, consider this: social media can work both ways. Just as easily as your latest status update can send a negative impression, it can also surprise the reader by showcasing a cause or subject you find interesting and are passionate about – and score you major bonus points in the process.

Consider this scenario: an admissions officer is looking at the applications of two candidates for one spot. Both are pre-med, members of the honor society, varsity athletes, yada yada yada. Fairly comparable in many areas, the admissions officer decides to dig a little deeper. Both applicants have Twitter accounts. Applicant A’s feed is mostly retweets of inspirational quotes, a couple Bible verses, and some harmlessly uninteresting conversations with friends. Nothing special there. Applicant B, however, was involved the night before in a hashtag conversation about challenges facing healthcare in developing countries. She follows change makers in that industry and uses her social media as a source of exploration for her interests. Without a doubt, I’m taking Applicant B over A.

Social media can be that persuasive; it’s a powerful new tool we need to teach our children to take advantage of by showing them the possibilities out there for using technology to create positive changes in their lives. It’s a huge value added I don’t think many parents of teenagers realize is even out there.

I think teenagers get overwhelmed with the messages about being cautious online and careful what they are “putting out there” at the expense of teaching them that they can be using that technology in amazing ways to connect to amazing people and ideas they would otherwise have little access to.

So there’s the challenge. How can you turn that cell phone that’s already in their hands (and under their pillows) 24 hours a day into something positive, not only in terms of the impression it will make when they apply to college, but years before that, by unlocking the opportunities within the networks where they already spend so much time.

By all means, monitor their networking for sure. After all, these are teenagers and they are bound to do a few stupid things every now and then. But the fact is that technology is not going anywhere, so show them the alternative. It’s more than just a way to pass the time by keeping up to date on the minutia of others’ lives: it’s a way to explore interests and ideas, grow and learn, and that’s a pretty cool thing, hashtags and all.

Questions about college admissions? Send me an email: [email protected]