The college admissions process can lead to sleepless nights before you have dotted your Is and crossed your last Ts. Getting into college can be the make it or break it moment. Admissions decide whether or not your dreams come true.

“Figuring out where you want to be for the next four years after high school is intimidating,” said senior Jared Ford. For seniors at NKHS, these next few months will be filled with stressed out teenagers attempting to complete all aspects of applying to college.

Mrs. Normand said, “UCLA has an extremely early, October 1deadline, but most other schools range sometime before March 15 because schools must share their results with you by April 1.”

As many seniors know, there are three types of applications: early decision, early action, and regular first year deadline. Early decision applications are for those who know exactly what school they want to go to and are willing to sign the binding agreement. This means that if you are accepted you must attend. The other two ways of applying to schools are non-binding, but early action helps a student stay less antsy than regular decision.

Early action is a good choice for you if you can pull the aspects of your application together in time. According to collegeboard.org these deadlines can range from October to November.

Regular first year decision deadlines can vary over the next few months so refer to the college’s website to find out more.

“The college essay is the most stressful part of applying,” said senior Jon Becker. This is the case for most students since the college essay is arguably the most vital part of a submission and can decide the fate of your educational career.

The questions vary depending on the school you wish to attend. Much like everything else in society, changes and improvements are often made to applications. One of the most popular ways to apply right now is through Common App which can be found on commonapp.org. More and more schools are gravitating towards this because it is simultaneous and makes less work for a student. “When writing your essay, pay attention to the prompt and if you are given a general statement write something that no other part of your application states,” said Normand.

You can visit commonapp.org and search a school to see if they fall under this application, otherwise you must visit the college or university’s site to fill out their application. The common app gives students the option to be creative with their essay where as other schools can give you options or a specific question to answer. Oftentimes you must answer in less than 500 words.

On average, places like collegeboard.org along with guidance counselors suggest that you apply to 6-8 schools. Now is the recommended time for seniors to get a jump on their letters of recommendation, resumes, and essays because deadlines are just around the corner. You’re about to reach the finish line, so don’t give up.