3 Things Seniors Can Do to Jumpstart College Admissions Right Now

Not every student I work with is extremely excited about applying to college. Some students just need a little extra time to ease into the idea of it.

But if you know a senior who feels behind, here are three easy things they can do immediately to jumpstart their process:

1. Take an impromptu visit to a local college.

This is a beautiful time of year. And nothing is more inspiring than being on a college campus when the leaves are turning colors and students settle into the semester. If you can get registered for a campus tour, do it. If you can visit during the week when classes are in session, go for it. Even if you only have the weekend, try to plan your visit for mid to late afternoon on a Saturday when students are out and about.

READ MORE: What I Learned on College Visits With My Daughter

2. Apply to a Rolling Admissions college.

There are about a 100 colleges with Rolling Admissions which means they evaluate applications as they "roll in" and tend to have a quick turnaround with making decisions. Sometimes an admissions decision comes back within a few days or a few weeks. Most Rolling Admissions colleges have few requirements. For example, essays and recommendation letters are not always required. The sooner a student applies during their senior year, the better chance they have of being admitted.

3. Use the direct admissions program through niche.com for immediate acceptances and scholarships.

This is a new program that over 100 colleges are offering through Niche. The student creates a profile, searches for colleges with direct admissions, adds them to their list, and voilà, the student can have several acceptances and scholarships in hand.