I have always been someone who plans everything out. I do not like going into situations without knowing what will happen so I tend to overcompensate by researching everything that I could ever encounter to ensure I can have the best outcome.

With this mindset one would assume that my application process for college would have been solid, seeing as since I was born I had always known I would be going to college. I thought I had it planned, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to major in, but once the time finally came, everything flew out the window.

I tend to stress myself out more than I need too, and college applications and deciding what I wanted to do for the rest of my life sent my stress level into overdrive. When I become stressed I tend to shut down, and not wanting to talk or do anything. I did not want to hang out with friends and I started to lash out at my parents for no apparent reason.

This made me become slightly depressed and more inclined to just shove everything away until the last possible second. I procrastinated with everything until about two months before applications were due.

Obviously, I would not suggest this unless you want to be one of the last to hear back from colleges and have countless days, even weeks, of stress. No matter what you do, you will experience some stress, but if you do what I did then you are guaranteed to pull your own hair out.

If you do not want to be like me I would suggest making a calendar. Set aside time once a week, or every other day, to either decide what colleges to apply too, write essays or complete applications. If you do this, and stick with it, I am sure you will get everything finished on time and will be able to hear back from every college in a timely manner.

In the end I ended up applying to four schools: University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University and University of Texas at Dallas. So far I have only heard back from one, UNT; I was accepted.

It is a great feeling to finally get accepted into a college, even if I do not end up going there. It is nice to know that I am guaranteed to have somewhere to go, which makes me a little less stressed about waiting to hear from the rest.

I am eagerly awaiting for the rest of the schools to get back to me, and while it is not nearly as stressful as applying, there is still a slight bit of anxiousness in the back of my head. I know it will be this way until I hear back from every school, and is most likely this way for everyone, but you need to learn to not let it affect you everyday until you hear back.

The more you sit and refresh to check if you got in, the more frantic and doubtful you will become. You will start second guessing everything you wrote, thinking about what you could have put and comparing yourself to every other person that applied there and has already been accepted.

Just because someone heard back before you does not mean you have any less of a chance of getting accepted. There are so many factors to take into play like if they sent their application in before you, what they are majoring in or even their last name. Every college has their own way of going through applications so it is hard to tell which one each decides to use.

You have to stay positive or else you will live your life in a constant state of anxiety until you get that fateful letter or email back from the college. Do not give up on yourself, and if you get denied it might seem like the end of the world but it obviously is not.
It is fate, or whatever you choose to believe in, that you did not get into that college. You never know what will happen in the future, so not getting into that beloved college you have been dreaming about might be the best thing for you. Keep an open mind and the future may end up being better than you ever could have expected.