First Gen: When Applying for College Avoid These 3 Mistakes

The first time I applied for college I made so many mistakes! Luckily, you don’t have to!

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I know how hard it is as a First Generation student, because I am one! You feel completely out of the loop during a time in your life when you shouldn’t be. You want different things than your parents or your parents’ parents, but they can’t help you get there. You just don’t know where to start! Please don’t trash your positive vibes before the process gets underway; I promise, you’ll be fine if you avoid the following mistakes!

Mistake #1: Letting stress get the best of you.

When I was applying for college the first time around, I used stress as a crutch so that I could wallow in anxiety. At the time, I didn’t see it that way. I think we all do this sometimes… we think we’re doing ourselves a favor by being pessimistic. Looking back, I should have been more optimistic. I definitely used my stress as an excuse when I failed to control my emotions. I regret all of this time lost, but I mostly regret that I didn’t enjoy the process of visiting the university and nearly butchered my interview.
Don’t let stress get the best of you. Make self-care as important as your application(s)! You’ll never have this time back, so don’t push yourself too hard. Que sera, sera!

Mistake #2: Isolating yourself.

At the time, I thought that my high-school friends wouldn’t understand what I was going through as a first gen. I thought that I was the only one who had it hard. I never talked to them about them process, but I should have. After graduation I felt more isolated from my peers, and (again with the self-deprecation) after a while I figured I’d let them down gently by vanishing from their lives because. I was too ashamed to explain it all, so I ended up more alone than I needed to be. My social life slowed to a stop. I thought I was alone before, but I was really alone after that.
Don’t take on more stress than you need to (easier said than done)! It’s not hard to imagine your life snowballing out of control at this point, but it takes courage to continue to be hopeful and actively try to work through misunderstandings without shutting down. Use your friends and family as an anchor for your emotional health. This is a time where you’ll need them the most, and whether they truly understand first gen probs or not, they’ll be there to support and care for you.

Mistake #3: Withdrawing your application out of fear.

This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Being the ignorant first-gen that I was, I thought that if I wasn’t able to pay out of pocket (I’d previously been turned down by a bank for a student loan) then I wouldn’t be able to attend at all. I know now that I was wrong, and that there is always a way. I was so afraid that I be booted out of academia if I didn’t pay up soon. Fear of the unknown (and possibly the inevitable) made drove me to make a big decision far too early in the process.
There are many options out there to pay for college! Don’t count yourself out prematurely without assessing all of your financial aid options. Many schools offer semester-by-semester or yearly payment plans. After you’ve been accepted to the college you’ve applied to, you will receive your financial aid package. Once you see how your much the school will help (in addition to other loans/scholarships you may be eligible for), then you can contact them to ask what payment options they offers if they haven’t told you yet. You’ll have time before the first semester starts to figure it out. If you have questions, don’t let fear stop you, get answers ASAP!

I hope you feel more confident about the application process. Moral of the story: don’t be too hard on yourself! I’ve been lucky (or crazy) enough to go through the process 3 times now. So if you have any questions about the process, let me know in the comments below, or you can send me an email at majoralienette@gmail.com

Talk to you soon,
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