Applying to college holds many questions and fears that swamp the mind of every high school senior and aren’t answered until four months after submitting your application. I couldn’t wait that long to find out where, so I decided to apply for early decision for the colleges that offered it.

Early action is an option offered by certain universities that allow for applicants to turn in their applications at an earlier date. The deadline for the application varies from college to college, as I had a deadline as early as Nov. 1. Applicants will then receive either their letter of acceptance or rejection sometime before winter break.

I decided to apply through early action for three out of the eight universities I chose: Lewis and Clark College, Willamette University and University of Redlands. Despite the quick deadlines and unprepared amounts of stress, I’m grateful that I decided to apply through early action. It allowed for me to actually get my applications done on time and to complete them to the best of my ability. I knew that if I didn’t have real motivation to get my applications done as soon as possible, then I would continue to procrastinate and wait till the last minute. With early action, I pushed myself to stay on schedule and keep myself focused in order to ensure the best possibility of an acceptance letter.

The beginning of winter break came around and waiting for me in my inbox were three emails with acceptances from all three institutions. I felt myself fill with pride and pure joy as I saw my hard work and determination pay off. It was amazing to not have to wonder for months if there would be a college that would accept me. Little did I know that the best part was yet to come. Each of the colleges began to send me the financial aid packages and the amount of money they offered me was incredible. I realized that applying through early action and completing my Free Application for Federal Student Aid application as quick as I did allowed for each of these colleges to offer me the maximum amount of money they could since there wasn’t that large of a pool of students I was competing against.

Early action was the push I needed to get through the stress filled months of college application deadlines. It was my motivation to complete my applications and not wait till the last minute. It saved me from experiencing the stress and stomach churning anticipation of which college I would be accepted into. Early action provided me the quick decision that led me to decide where I’m going to college and to start to prepare for the new journey that lies ahead of me.