The stress and pressure applying to colleges may seem daunting, but it is easier than you think. Stay organized by planning ahead and your application process will be a breeze. Use the tips below to help simplify your application process and increase your chances of being accepted to the college of your choice.

Don’t Apply If You Won’t Go There

There is no point in applying for a college you are not going to attend. You will just stress yourself out trying to get everything done in time, and your applications for schools that you do want to attend will suffer. Also, college applications can be quite pricey, so use your money wisely. Instead of applying everywhere, do your research and decide upon a few colleges that you actually want to attend. If you are unsure, narrow your choices to the top four to six colleges that you are interested in, and only apply to those.

Submit Early

Make sure you know the submission deadlines for every college you’ll be applying to as they often vary. Many colleges even have a different deadline for scholarship applications than they do for general admission, so if you are applying for scholarships make sure you meet that deadline as well. College Simply puts out a list of application deadlines each year for nearly every college in the United States, so check with their list to see when deadlines are. Of course, it is also a good idea to check with each college’s admission board for exact dates. Always try to submit your application early. Your application is more likely to get a more thorough review if you submit it early, as colleges receive thousands of applications on the due date, while they only receive a couple in the weeks prior to the deadline. Unfortunately, if you are looking to apply for the 2016/2017 deadline, many application deadline dates have already passed. However, some colleges have multiple application deadlines throughout the year.

Read the Instructions

Every college application is a little bit different. Make sure you fully read the instructions before submitting your application. Also, don’t write one essay and then change a few details and use it for all of your applications. Every college asks for different things in each essay, so make sure that you meet ALL of the requirements.

For more tips and tricks, check out our next post, More Tips For Applying To Colleges.