<p>if you could go back in time what things would you change about what you did? </p>
<p>What would you suggest a rising senior, such as myself, to start doing now. i.e. draft a personal statement, make a list of activities . . . etc. </p>
<p>thx :)</p>
<p>Visit schools. Think about your LIST before your application. So many of my friends got into 7 or 8 schools and only wanted to go to two or three (often the two or three they hadn't gotten in to). Poor planning is part of what makes for a poor outcome.</p>
<p>I would not change anything.</p>
<p>I started my first essay with plenty of time, and worked on it for a while. Then I did that with a few more. They all came out great.</p>
<p>Then I had about a week to do 5 more essays. Those could have been better. So, make sure you have enough time to do drafts of all your essays.</p>
<p>1) Start visiting schools now if you haven't already, visit during the summer
2) Start thinking about essays this summer
3) Do not get your heart set on only one school. Find several that you love
4) Start trying to write down and record all of your activities.
5) Do make sure to savor care free moments before school starts.</p>
<p>-Get more people to read my essay
-Actually put down a major for my Cornell app</p>
<p>Definitely agree with visiting schools if you haven't already, this was probably my biggest problem since I had only visited three schools come April. Also, give your essay plenty of focus. Get it read by plenty of people. And distract yourself from January to March so you don't get too worried when April decisions come out. Good luck :)</p>
<p>How long do did you guys actually spend on your essays?</p>
<p>10 hours?
10 days?
etc.</p>
<p>Just an estimate.</p>
<p>VISIT SCHOOLS! i didn't visit ANY of the schools i applied to (long story... don't ask), and even after getting all the admissions decisions i only visited 3 out of the 7 i was accepted into. i don't recommend it!</p>
<p>also -- i would try to create your final college list early-ish. i didn't have my list done until the middle of november of my senior year (!), and i mailed out my apps at the very end of december... admissions decisions all turned out fine but it made for a very stressful december!</p>
<p>enjoy your summer, and best of luck in the college application process! :D</p>
<p>I think I spent less than a day on every one of my essays except for the long one which I used on nearly every one of my aps (either as it's main essay, or as an optional one). I spent a bit more time on that, but it was also adapted from an essay I wrote a year before that, so the bulk of the work was already done.</p>
<p>Honestly, the only thing I would change would be to not have applied anywhere early. It sounds weird, but the only application I didn't feel comfortable with was the early one because I just didn't have time, and it put a lot of pressure on me once I was deferred to finish the rest of my aps quickly. Honestly I think I would have had a better shot everywhere if I just ignored the early acceptance at my reach and went regular admissions everywhere. Not like it made that big of a difference.</p>
<p>i haven't visited any schools.... taking a plane or driving very far to all those schools thar i like would cost too much. therefore..... i would visit the school only once offered a scholarship... if u aren't going for any big scholarships. visit once u get accepted (if u apply EA... THAT WAY....the campus/dorms/dining could be ur deciding factor between two schools or more) if u can;t travel, ask ppl who have. on CC.</p>
<p>If you apply ED to a school…get to work on your other apps before you here back! I was lucky and got into Wesleyan early, but if I hadn't I would have been really screwed for winter break…I would have had to spend the WHOLE time working on my applications for other colleges, because I didn't work on them at ALL before I heard from Wes.</p>
<p>i would have applied early to my first choice college</p>
<p>Take the ACT everytime it is offered. They only send the best score and practice really helps on that test because of the time factor.</p>
<p>Make sure you like almost every school on your list and would attend if you had to. I had a decent list. I wouldn't have HATED attended most of them, but there was only about 4 that I truly wanted to go to. I got rejected by most of them, but was accepted at my top choice even though it was a high reach.</p>
<p>Also, don't give up on your dreams. I thought I'd never get into NYU so I basically didn't even tell people I had applied. My stats are below average and I didn't think a 28% acceptance rate was in my favor.</p>
<p>Believe in yourself, don't stress out too much, and try to have fun!</p>
<p>Be smart when choosing safety/low match schools. There are plenty of good schools out there that you can fall in love with, but are still fairly easy to get into. Don't do what one of my good friends did and apply to lots of reach schools and practically no matches, ending up with only two safeties that your not at all thrilled about going to.</p>
<p>thanks for all the feedback!</p>