There is a lot going on in your senior year of high school and the college application process can sometimes be one of the scarier pieces of it.

Anthony Fontana is a Program Director at the University of Denver. He recommends these tips for getting started on the college application process.

Tip 1: Start the process right away

I recommend starting right as school starts before all of the other things that go on in September and October happen.

Tip 2: Wrap up the application by December

Make sure you wrap everything up in your application by December.

Tip 3: Stay organized

For students to stay organized throughout the college search experience, I recommend starting with a spreadsheet. Include the schools you are interested in, the schools you plan to apply to, and the schools you have visited. Then add the dates you might need to apply by and deadlines for scholarship applications or honors programs.

Tip 4: Use your legal name and proofread

Use your legal name throughout the entire piece. When you are going through your essays, make sure that you proofread them and have two or three other people proofread them as well.

Tip 5: Ask for fee waivers

If you can’t afford the application fee, a lot of applications will have an option for you to click fee waiver.

Tip 6: Check email to confirm submission

After you hit submit on the application, you should get something in your email that says thanks for applying and information about when you’ll be hearing a decision back.

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