Submitting a college application, or several, is an achievement. You should allow yourself to celebrate and feel proud of your accomplishments before you get your admission results. However, waiting to hear from the colleges can be anxiety provoking. It can be so difficult to acknowledge that at this point the decisions are largely out of your control. You have earned your grades, involved yourself in activities, taken standardized tests, written essays, visited and researched colleges, gotten letters of recommendation, interviewed, and yet it isn't over. Now the colleges have the results of your efforts in one college application. It is time to let go, and let the admissions officers do their jobs. You have done everything you can do, and now you must wait.

High achievers tend to have the most difficulty with the waiting they must endure. After all, high achieving high school students have accomplished their successes by taking control-taking responsibility for their schoolwork, immersing themselves in extracurricular activities and projects, and maintaining a strong work ethic. For some, the period after one has submitted his or her applications is more stressful than actually writing the applications.

However, others let out a huge sigh of relief after turning in that last application. Finally, you have completed your work and now the decisions rest in someone else's hands! You can finally study for your next test, go out to the movies with your friends, or even watch television without that little voice in your head (or perhaps a parent or IvyWise counselor) saying you really should be working on your college applications.

But what can you do while you wait?

One practical thing you can do is update the colleges on your accomplishments, should anything new occur since you submitted your applications.

In addition, now is a great time to begin to reflect on your college applications and the college search process thus far. What have you learned about yourself? How have your ideas about what you thought you wanted changed? What did you discover about yourself by choosing topics for college essays and spending all that time writing about yourself? What would you change about the college admission process if given the chance? Writing college applications is not just about impressing enigmatic admissions officers. It is also about assessing where you have been, where you are, and where you would like to go. Hopefully you have learned something about yourself that you will take with you.

If you find yourself obsessing over your college options during this waiting period, there are a few tips that can help you manage your stress. Maintaining healthy eating habits and exercising regularly are most important in times of stress. Healthy eating and regular exercise help to mange stress, and are two things you can easily control. Next, you will want to surround yourself with people-family and friends-who support you and remind you how great you are, no matter the outcome of a college admission decision. Continue to deal with stress in ways that have worked for you in the past-whether you write in a journal, spend hours on the phone with a friend, or play an extra game of basketball, cope in the ways that you have found work for you.

If you feel like you only have a few schools on your list that you would be happy attending, then you should definitely spend some time continuing your research on schools that you applied to but you know less about. This research will help you get excited about many options and prepare you for when you are the one who has to decide where you want to go to school.

Another point to remember is that you are still in high school. Focus on your classes, activities, friends, and family. Take time to relax. Any period of intense work requires time for relaxation and reflection. Learning to take care of yourself physically and psychologically will help you adapt to the changes in your life that college will bring.

Here at IvyWise we have some very impressive admissions statistics. Even so, perhaps the most important statistic to remember during stressful times is that 100% of IvyWise students go to college. You will have a fabulous college to attend. Maybe we don't yet know what the sticker on your car or your new collegiate sweatshirt will saybut we know we can wait until we find out.