When my senior year of high school was coming to an end, the most prominent thing I can remember is the overwhelming stress looming over my head about choosing the perfect college. I had done my research, I had gotten accepted, and I even had a chance to visit all of my top choices. One-by-one, my friends started announcing their commitments to schools, sporting their brand new college sweatshirts and even chatting with potential roommates. Yet, I still let my fear of making this life-changing decision fester, and haunt me for months on end.
I ended up waiting until the week before the final deadline to finally commit to Naz… not because I was unsure about Naz being a great fit for me, but because I was anxious to take my first steps into the next chapter of my life. Even though things eventually did fall into place for me, I sometimes wish that I had just stepped up to the plate and committed to an early decision application at Naz.
You may be thinking, “What’s the point of rushing the application process, when there’s still so much time to apply and choose my college in regular decision?” When I was applying to Naz, I wasn’t aware of all the awesome benefits and opportunities that open up exclusively for incoming freshmen who enroll via early decision. One of the most helpful resources for students at Naz is the Career Center. Every student is paired up with their own career coach, who can help you direct your focus on a specific career, polish professional resumes / cover letters, and secure internships / part-time jobs during the school year.
As an early decision applicant, you can meet with your career coach before your first year of college even begins! You can get inside information about opportunities for studying abroad, internships, volunteer service learning, and on-campus jobs. You can also receive an invitation to the job fair on campus, and early access to Handshake, a portal where many local organizations post job / internship openings. Being able to browse job and internship opportunities is a great way to get ahead of the game in terms of work experience, especially if you’re looking for a work study job on campus. These positions include working at the info desk, library, sports games, dining locations , mail-room, book store, and many more! These jobs are convenient and low maintenance for students who need or want to earn money. Because they can be in high demand, having access to Handshake means you can get those job applications in before everyone else!
It’s also nice to commit to early decision enrollment, so that the stresses of not choosing won’t build up as the final deadline gets closer and closer. One of my close friends got through all the steps of her college searching processes by the end of our junior year. She found her dream school, applied early decision, and she was accepted without much delay. For the rest of her time in high school, she was pretty much floating through her classes and had enough time and energy to focus on simply enjoying her senior year. Meanwhile, I was still color-coding my charts and overthinking all the different possibilities of college, with millions of statistics and “what if” scenarios.
Senior year is your last year to see your best friends from your hometown every single day, and your last year where your house still feels like your one and only home. Your time at college will no doubt be a grand adventure full of opportunities to learn, grow, and build new relationships, so where you go to college is an important and life-changing decision. It’s important to put a lot of thought into something as significant as that, but you also deserve to enjoy your final moments of this chapter of your life. Applying early decision will help you avoid worrying about the future and give you that freedom to appreciate the present, during your last year of high school.
I was one of those people who procrastinated and made my decision at the very last second, and I definitely felt anxious and overwhelmed about it for a majority of my senior year. If you commit to Naz early, you will not only have access to all those great opportunities in the career center, but you will also have more of yourself to give to your friends and family before you move onto your next great adventure. The first application deadline for Early Decision I may have passed, but luckily, the 2019-2020 Early Decision II application isn’t due until January 10. Though it’s not the end of the world if you’re planning on making the decision late in the game, applying early decision is definitely something that I urge you to consider.