College applications begin to open for submission in August. It’s imperative that you don’t wait until the last minute to get your materials in order. If you’re not a strong writer, the anxiety of having to write the all-important essay may tempt you to keep putting it off. But you can’t! If you think you’ll need help, contact us right away to take advantage of our Summer College Essay Special. Here are five reasons why you need to start working on your essays, right now!

1. It takes time to craft something compelling

Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes. Neither is a great essay! Writing is akin to sculpting - you start with a rough idea and a huge block of material, then you steadily chip away at extraneous words and imperfect structure, until all that is left is a smooth and shining work of art. Your application essay needs to exude who you are: your thoughts, fears, dreams, and wisdom gained over the years. It needs to be written in a way that draws the reader in and makes them feel the way you do. Too many college application essays read like drab five-paragraph reports that only rehash what’s on your resume. It takes time to truly explore an idea in a unique fashion, and you need all you can get.

2. You want as many people as possible to proofread it

Yes, grammar and spelling count. You don’t want to come across as careless in your execution. This essay can make or break the admission committee’s decision on whether to let you into their prestigious university. If you finish over the summer, that gives friends, family, mentors, and teachers plenty of time in their own busy lives to help you out. If you get too close to the deadline though, teachers will probably be swamped with schoolwork and other students asking for the same favors. Don’t put yourself in a position of having no one around to help. To prevent this, look into our Summer College Essay Special.

3. There aren’t as many school assignments due yet

Sure, you’ve got your summer reading and maybe a math packet to complete. But this is nothing in comparison to the daily barrage of work you get during the school year. Not to mention your full schedule of clubs, sports, and maybe a job. During the summer you have a lot more unscheduled time to spare. Take full advantage of it! Once the school year starts up again, everyone will be busier, and finding time to finish the essays and have someone proofread them will be much harder.

4. There are plenty of other parts of the application to worry about

The essays aren’t the only piece of your application. You might still have to take the SAT one more time to bring up your score, so you’re busy studying for that. You have to fill out a resume with your long list of activities, awards, and accomplishments. You have financial aid forms to sign, letters of recommendation to obtain, and possibly an interview to schedule and prepare for. Maybe you still haven’t visited all the colleges on your list and you need a couple of weekends to do that to make sure you really want to apply there after all and to show ‘demonstrated interest’ - an important part of your application. If you’re a performer or artist, you have an audition to practice for or a portfolio to put together. Overall, you have a lot to do, so you better get started!

5. Procrastination is a bad habit to feed

It’s been proven by science - the anticipation of having work to do causes more pain than actually just doing the work. It’s also been proven that the more you behave in a certain way, the more likely it is that you will continue to behave in that manner. Procrastination is a success-killing habit. It’s also addictive and therefore very hard to break. Do yourself the biggest favor - don’t feed the beast. It will never help you in the end.

If you’re finding the college application process overwhelming, we are here to help! In addition to our Summer College Essay Special, we have a variety of College Coaching programs aimed to get you through the grueling admissions process and accepted to a school that’s a perfect fit for you! Contact us today to learn more!