If I could eliminate two behaviors that breed the most college admissions anxiety with virtually no positive return, here they are:
1. Becoming attached to outcomes that you don’t control, like getting into Northwestern or Rice or UCLA.
2. Closely tied to #1: experiencing failure before it actually occurs. That sounds like this:
What if my SAT score doesn’t break 1900?
What if I don’t get an A on my physics test?
Should our student appeal if he’s not accepted to his dream school?
When you feel admissions anxiety creeping in, ask yourself:
Am I fixating on an outcome that I don’t ultimately control?
Am I worrying about a future event that hasn’t actually happened yet?
If the answer to one or both is yes, step back and redirect your mental energy to real things that you can influence today.