As I frantically rushed to pay the fee in order to confirm my application submission, I continuously lost hope in my chances of being accepted. Over the past couple of years, my friend attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill frequently called me, wanting to share his wild stories and experiences. It was practically once a week that he would call me to join his frat if I were to be admitted there. Nonetheless, his great memories he has made at the university moved me to apply there more and more. Every time I signed up for the ACT, I would always send my scores to UNC. I felt obligated to; besides, I was pursuing the path my friend, whom I look up to, took. As my senior year rolled around, however, time was against me, and with soccer season engulfing my life, I found no time to prepare myself for the application process.

October acted as a wake-up call. At the turn of the month, my inbox flooded with emails nailing me about early admission deadlines. Early admission is the process in which students apply to schools rather early in an attempt to boost their chances of getting in and receiving their decision faster. The importance of early admission, however, is often overlooked by counselors and other community members that guide students through the lengthy process of applying to college. In my personal experiences, I had to learn the importance of early admission by taking the initiative to go on college tours in the summer from junior to senior year.

    For many schools, especially the more competitive ones, early admission can be a make-or-break deal when schools admit students. As I scrolled through my inbox near the beginning of October, the date October fifteenth caught my attention. This was a date thrown into an email from UNC, one of my top colleges. I quickly realized that October fifteenth was the early admissions deadline for the school, giving me exactly a week to complete my entire application and essay.

    Through that busy week, I spent my time writing my college essay, taking multiple drafts before I found something that I deemed worthy of being turned in. Through the help of my teachers, I was provided with great insight on my essay, making the final product something that I held to a great standard. While my friends went to Topgolf on the Friday we did not have school, I found myself completing the common application in my mom’s office for hours on end. After hours of selecting the correct bubbles, switching the wording of my extracurriculars, and recounting my awards through the years, I found myself nearing the end. Knowing this application is due tomorrow, I could not wait overnight to think about my application as a whole. In short, I rushed. I whipped together an application in a single day. The application, looking back at what I submitted, looks like I did a great job or at least the best I could do. However, I still feel a sense of unreadiness when someone brings up UNC. When I hear that word, my mind races to an application that was quickly put together to reach an important deadline that I was unaware of for quite some time. I feel a sense that I am missing something, whether it be an important community project, hobby, or lifestyle that I exemplify. UNC did not receive an application from Eric Wolford. UNC received an application from a student that vomited their resume onto a page. 

    Fortunately, every other school I applied to has a much later early admission deadline, which gave me more time to rethink and alter my application. I have submitted my resume to the rest of my schools confidently, and I am excited to see where it takes me. However, when I remember the process of applying for years to come, I will always remember my struggles with applying to an unaware, procrastinated deadline of UNC. I encourage future students to research their college deadlines and application processes as quickly as possible, for I understand that there is a lack of that information given to us by the very people that support us.

    College immediately plays the role of maturing, and letting a top school feel out of reach due merely to a deadline is something no student should experience.