Reduce some of your stress for the college application process. Create a calendar for completing critical tasks. Map out what needs to be done.

Next, dive into research. Search the best practices for applying to college. Look into what your state’s flagstone university requires for admissions. Review insights from social media groups and expert websites. What have other parents discovered? Use that research to create deadlines for key milestones, so that everything is ready for your student to apply by October of their senior year in high school. Essays completed. Transcripts requested. Tests taken or scheduled. Clear on their college major. Clear on which 5 or 10 colleges where the student will apply. If college visits are part of the plan, determine how many and by when. EVERYTHING prepared and in place, so students are confident and ready to apply by October.

October may seem early, but early submissions increase your chances for everything – admissions, scholarship offers, etc. Think about the TV show The Voice. As the coaches are building their teams, they have a fair bit of flexibility and consideration on vocal talent early in the process. Yet, when those coaches are down to their last spot to fill, they want vocal phenoms. They want Jennifer Hudson or Adele level talent because it is their LAST spot. If you wait until the application deadlines, scholarship funds may already be allocated, and any flexibility for consideration could have a higher level of scrutiny.

Create a realistic calendar and then commit to it. Parents, you know your child. If it takes them three nudges before taking action, build that into your planning. Parents, you know yourself and the rhythm of your support system. If you frequently have work emergencies or other interruptions to your weekly errands, then build in extra time to your timeline. Then add a buffer week in the beginning and another in the middle in case someone gets sick, or you have to support a family member. Life happens. Plan for it.

Lastly, create a reward system for each week that you keep those deadlines. Build in motivation for completing the process. Also, if your student is behind, acknowledge this fact and build in plans to catch up. How could they complete key milestones within the next six weeks? Who would you need to ask for help to get this done? A straightforward plan helps things not feel quite so overwhelming. And, the plan helps you know where to ask for help.