Distinctive

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D.

In June of every year, commencement speakers appear onstage to impart words of wisdom to excited and anxious graduates. Their messages are meant to fortify young people as they transition from childhood into adulthood. 

While tradition holds that most students sit and listen, I thought it was important to allow my seniors to pass on their own wisdom, especially to younger students who are following in their footsteps. 

To each graduating senior, I asked, “If you had one piece of advice to give younger students, what would it be?” I was not surprised by the most popular answer. 

“Get started early!”

I think one bit of advice I’d give is to get everything planned in advance. Setting a huge calendar can help. In fact, I made one from September 2018 to January 2020 with key applications for colleges and internships. Long term planning really came in handy since I knew my deadlines in advance and could work towards them. – Aditya

If I could give one piece of advice to those about to go through the admissions process, it would be to get a head start on all essays and college work because this reduced potential stress for me and gave me time to focus on each individual essay without feeling like I had hundreds to write. – Isabelle

One piece of advice I would like to pass on is to finish as many essays as possible over the summer so that you don’t get too overwhelmed during the school year. – Anya

I would definitely recommend starting early and keeping organized. Know that college acceptances are sort of a lottery. You never know what school you’re going to get. Don’t get upset if you get deferred or rejected. There’s still going to be a college that has what you want. – Allison

I think it’s good to start everything as early as you can, because then we were able to have a first draft of everything and then refine my essays a lot more over time, instead of submitting the first draft. That was really helpful. – Alex

Start early! Do your research on the schools. – Kylie

Finish the process early, because then you can relax and enjoy the rest of senior year. I finished my applications in November and it was nice having them done while all of my friends were stressing out. And do a lot of activities and go to the events, too! – Saaya

But getting started early wasn’t the only piece of advice my seniors left for you. Here are their other thoughts:

Your senior year, there’s so much stress surrounding colleges. You need to remember that there are so many opportunities for you out there in the world. You will be happy and things will work out, because there are so many great people at every college. Also don’t compare where you’re applying with other people. That creates so much stress! – Jane

You’re capable of more than what you think! – Briana

Don’t be afraid to change your mindset, the way you think about things in life, during the process. – Arielle

Put yourself out there and try something you wouldn’t normally try while in high school. I tried a play, and never thought I would do that. Get yourself interested in something new. High school is ultimately about exploring and finding new passions and things that you could be interested in. – Shailen

Stay on top of your grades and don’t let them slip. It reduces the stress so much in the long run. And do a bunch of clubs. Even if you don’t like them. Just do them! – Parth

Keep organized and stay on track in school, but also stay well-rounded and have fun outside of school! – Christina

If you have community service hours that you have to complete for school, ask your teachers for opportunities. You never know if the people that you’re doing community service with know about internships. And get them done during your first two years. So many of my friends are freaking out because they don’t have them done, yet! – Leah

Carry these words of wisdom with you through your own admissions process and you’ll find that, by the time you reach your own commencement, you will be the better for it.