Applying to college can be one of the most daunting tasks a high schooler has to face, and combining that with school work, extracurriculars, and household responsibilities makes for very little time to do much else. The key to dealing with all the excess work is to figure out how to correctly manage your time and deal with your stress. Most importantly, remember, different methods work for different people. Many LACES Seniors have figured out their own strategies.
LACES Senior Katelin Nichols is applying to 21 colleges. She claims that applying to college has made her days exceptionally busier.
“On a good day maybe two hours on working on my college apps, but most times it’s more,” said Nichols. She also spends another 2-3 hours a day on extracurriculars such as soccer, piano, and helping her family cook. Nichols has been using a few strategies to manage her time.
“I like to use the Schoology calendar. I check the boxes if it’s done or I can see if something’s coming up. I also usually set timers, so basically I’ll set a timer for however long and until it goes off and I’m gonna work and not check my phone,” said Nichols. Kaitlyn is not alone in her struggle to have enough time for everything. Miya Zborovsky, another Senior at LACES is applying to 20 colleges. She claims she spends about 3 hours a day outside of school doing college applications and schoolwork.
As for extracurriculars, “I volunteer at Friendship Circle Los Angeles, and then a lot of times, I have meetings after school for about, like, 45 minutes to an hour, so in total around 2 and a half hours,” said Zborovsky. Zborovsky has a different approach than Nichols to manage her time.
“Last year, my sister made me start a Google Calendar, so it’s gotten me a lot more organized where I know what assignments are due on what days. And it’s an easier way to structure my meetings so I know how much time I have each day,” said Zbrovsky. One thing both Miya and Katelin agree on is that the extra workload has increased stress levels a great amount. Both say it’s important to have coping mechanisms for stress, their methods differ.
“I like to exercise, specifically do pilates to calm me,” said Zbrovsky. While Katelin claims that listening to music has helped deal with the stress. Although Senior year can be a challenging one, it is a learning experience that many people will never forget.
