All big transitions and changes will contain some component of fear. It’s simply the unknown and it’s easy to let it cloud the experience that will reign over the last two years of your high school experience.

A wise person once said, “Fear is just false evidence appearing real” and this is absolutely true. All of the fears that you have surrounding your college application process probably have little to no basis in reality. So many students wonder “What will happen if my dream college doesn’t accept me?” or “What if NO colleges accept me?”

If these are the thoughts swimming around in your head, please know that every other student embarking upon this process feels the EXACT same way. And you know what? It always seems to turn out just the way it was supposed to.

Fear likes to sabotage and it likes to try to lead the way. But the most important thing to do right now is to let go of the fears and refuse to allow them any ability to dictate the actions you take right now. Here’s what I mean:

• Don’t get so overwhelmed by fear that you don’t apply for any college programs at all.
• Don’t let fear tell you that you’ll never make it into your dreams schools so you only apply to your safety schools.
• Don’t let fear decide where you go to school and what you study while you’re there.

The best way to drown out the inner voices of fear is to write a list of the things you actually do control and the actions you can take to ensure you have the best possible college experiences.

While you can’t control which colleges accept you and which ones don’t, you can control:

• Creating a schedule for your testing and college applications to make sure you submit everything on time.
• Making sure you keep your grades up in your current classes.
• Putting in your research to make sure you’ve looked at a variety of college options.
• Scheduling college tours so that you get some on-the-ground experience walking around campus and testing out student culture.
• Getting enough sleep to make sure you are well-rested and able to give this work the energy it needs.
• Working with your families to create a plan for you and asking for professional help when you need to.

If you find yourself overwhelmed, I recommend going back to the things you do have influence over and remembering that if you’re putting the time and energy into those things, you’ll lead yourself in the right direction. If the unknowns become a little too much, I’m available to do a consultation with you and answer whatever questions you may have.