Scary movies build fear with suspense. What’s going to happen? Is someone hiding behind that door? Who’s the real killer? But by the end, all the fear is gone because the suspense is lifted. In fact, some of those previously scary scenes may seem less so in retrospect. The uncertainty is what made it unnerving. If you had fast-forwarded to the end, most of that fear would never have existed.
Like a scary movie, much of the anxiety around college admissions is based on uncertainty. Will I do well on the SAT? Is this a good essay topic? Where will I get in?
But for most students, if you could just fast-forward to the end, you’d see yourself as a happy college freshman somewhere. It might not be at your top-choice school. It might not be at a school that you currently believe could ever make you happy. But starting life at college is an exciting enough journey that just about everyone is able to get on board and enjoy the ride once they get there.
As much as you may want to at times, you can’t fast-forward through this process. But you can look at what happened to those students who went before you. You’ll probably see, given how they’re doing today, most of the tension, tears, and turmoil they experienced was unnecessary and often self-induced.
Every now and then, remind yourself how this particular movie is likely to end. And if you need some help, here’s a previous post with a spoiler alert.