Written by Ruth Moon Lopez
You’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into achieving the grades you were striving for, crafting the perfect supplementary essay and gathering all the other required application material for your post-secondary application. But now the true challenge awaits: how are you expected to stay calm after pressing submit? That anxiousness you are feeling is common amongst aspiring post-secondary students everywhere, so don’t feel as if you are alone. Instead, give these tips for relieving your nerves a try, and hold on tight as you wait out this period of uncertainty.
As cliché as it might sound, try to not overthink your possible results. Overthinking can lead to overhyping certain schools, meaning that you might start to envision impractical outcomes. For instance, you may think that you’ll definitely get into a certain institution and have a slimmer chance with another. This unhealthy mindset can lead to attachments to fictional results, which may cause feelings of disappointment and hopelessness once a decision has been made. Don’t attach yourself to one choice and believe that if you don’t make it into your dream school, your academic career is over. If you keep yourself open to all your selected choices, you won’t be as disappointed once you receive the results from your applications, and choosing the right school will come easily.
“But how do I stop myself from overthinking?” One coping mechanism is picking up a new hobby. Now is a great time to learn something new or jump back into old traditions, since the pandemic may have freed up some time in your schedule. Learning a new skill or concept can be satisfying in the interim and rewarding in the long run. A productive distraction will allow your brain to replace concerns about your admission status with a focus on whatever task you’ve occupied yourself with.
Another great way to stay cool and collected is by keeping a journal. Even if you don’t consider yourself a literati, writing to yourself can be quite therapeutic. It allows you to reflect on your experiences and map out the steps for improvement and growth, whether the situation is academically-oriented or not. Try putting a pen to paper and write out how you feel or what you learned after going through the rigorous, draining application processes. Don’t hesitate to leave anything out; remember that your writing is for your eyes only.
Additionally, reach out to your close friends and family about their admissions process, or community members who have applied to your prospective institutions. Ask them how they felt and what their process was like. Sharing your feelings and thoughts with others creates a culture of support, optimism and confidence, which will naturally ease your nerves.
While this period of your life may feel like it is dragging on forever, remember that the uncertainty is temporary and that you will soon be celebrating the results that you worked relentlessly for. Rather than attempting to predict your academic fate, take each day one at a time. Eventually, you will come to understand how this moment is simply a jigsaw piece in the puzzle of life waiting to fall into place.
Works Cited
“7 Ways To Stay Calm When Waiting For College Decisions.” HuffPost, 1 Dec. 2015, www.huffpost.com/entry/ways-stay-calm-waiting-college-decisions_n_6456598? guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHPfIznJUseIcFNTLamMUuSmXpIeR05adJwTp0dJN5ggrrrpGmfmE4G2swiVQi0LBtNqf87_X6WEqq3dDhdlHzOR__wELjJMdaEDUk_c89bAUwnLS8hl88RUY6lIsl7YHcrA1lD56VhcSOcdbg5YsDMa8RMw-igpn79wNRkS_zfu.
IvyWise. “6 Healthy Ways to Unwind While Waiting For Admissions Decisions.” IvyWise, 8 Oct. 2020, www.ivywise.com/blog/6-healthy-ways-to-unwind-while-waiting-for-
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