Admittedly, the process of choosing and applying to colleges is scary. You can plan and prepare as much as you want, but it’s never going to be exactly what you imagine. However, once you get started on the process, it’s fulfilling and rewarding once you start to receive those acceptance letters.

The first thing I did was decide which schools I wanted to apply to. It was a pretty easy decision, considering I didn’t want to write an application essay. I only ended up applying to UNT and UTA, the only schools I had my eye on. Applying for both of these schools was insanely easy and nowhere near as difficult as people had me believe. I applied as early as I could, and in a few short weeks, I received admittance to both schools. 

Some people will tell you to apply to as many schools as you want to, and I agree, in a sense. Don’t feel the need to go out of your way to apply for schools that you know you won’t attend or be able to attend. I looked at applying to SMU but knew it would take a miracle to be able to afford four years there. In the end, applying to the two schools I was interested in was the only thing I needed to do.

After receiving my acceptance letters, I accepted my admission to UNT and plan on attending this fall. Now comes the fun part: scholarships. The scholarship applications through school, work, fine arts, etc. have proved to be more difficult than applying to the schools themselves. Each application is easy enough, until you get to the essay. Each prompt is worded just differently enough that you can’t just copy and paste one essay into each application. The reward will be worth the work…hopefully. 

The best advice for someone applying to colleges is just not to worry about it. It’s just something you’ll eventually have to do, and there’s no reason to be scared. Even though I knew the fate of my admittance due to my class rank, the scariest part was waiting for those letters. Actually filling out the paperwork for it was a breeze. 

So if you plan to attend college and don’t know where to start, just talk to someone. The best answers you’ll get are from someone who has already gone through college, or at least the application process. Online forums make applying seem impossible, but if you have enough patience and support, you’ll quickly find yourself receiving those letters in the mail.