Setting up a CommonApp account comes with the territory of being a pre-collegiette™, but as exciting as the prospect of college is, filling in little white box after little white box after big white box (Word Count: 500 = “UGH.”) isn’t nearly as thrilling. It takes quite a bit of time and a whole lot of patience to complete college applications – especially when you realize that most of the schools you’re applying to don’t even have the CommonApp – and even though you’re doing all that tedious essay-writing and question-answering for your own good, it only seems fair that by the end of it, you’ll receive a reward. Now that you can breathe (relatively) easy until decision time rolls around, allow yourself to celebrate the completion of your college applications using some of Her Campus’s best suggestions…
1. “GO ____!”
Pile on college gear from every school you visited (That’s right – all of it. Layer it on, it’s cold!) and go out for a huge brunch or dinner with your friends to eat your worries away and enjoy the stress-free company of your besties.
2…but show some HIGH SCHOOL spirit, too.
Support your high school sports team by going to an away game – and of course, being extremely rowdy! It’s your final high school season, so no matter how bad the team happens to be this year, cheer them on with t-shirts, flags, pom-poms and face paint to really go all out.
3. Light it up.
Build a huge fire in the backyard and burn all those first-semester notes – don’t forget the drafts of your college essays, too! Okay, fine – maybe not all your notes. Save some that will help you study for cumulative finals. But still, take this time to reminisce on the past semester, and the past few years, and plan out some fun things to do as second-semester seniors. Oh, and don’t forget the s’mores.
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4. Invade your local fro-yo shop.
I can’t really think of an instance where frozen yogurt isn’t relevant – celebratory or not, it’s a tasty way to get together and indulge (without too many calories…) in sweet success.
5. Hang with the fam.
If college application season had you stressed out, chances are your parents and siblings felt it, too. Spend some quality time with them – on the living room couch or out at dinner – and ix-nay on the ollege-talk-cay.
6. Be artsy.
Get together with some of your friends and put together a scrapbook to document your high school years. Be creative with the decorations and write funny captions under the embarrassing pictures from freshman year.
7. Pamper yourself.
Whether you prefer at-home DIY-style pampering, or decide to go for the real deal, treat your stress-induced, broken-out skin to a cleansing facial and your bitten, worn-down nails to a mani to feel fresh again.
8. Hit the ice.
Holiday ice-skating is a must-do, but if you were too preoccupied to get to a rink this year, post-application-submission is the perfect time to go. Grab a few friends, bundle up and skate around for a while – and follow up, of course, with hot chocolate.
9. Keep it classy.
Host a cute and festive dinner party with a bunch of friends. Go for easy snacks and hors d’ourves like veggies and chips, and serve true comfort food that you know your friends will love… followed up by decadent dessert.
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10. Shop ‘til you drop.
With frat parties and middle-of-the-week ragers in your near future, it’s time to amp up your wardrobe to fit the college lifestyle – the essentials: heels, flowy tops, miniskirts, cute dresses, and cross-body bags. Get to the mall for some serious retail therapy, amazing post-Christmas sales and a full-on closet overhaul.
11. Hit the road.
Plan a mini-getaway weekend – Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend (January 14-16, 2012) is a great opportunity to plan one – for you and a few friends to a close-by destination. If camping isn’t really your thing, head to the nearest city for a couple of days to see the sites and experience places other than your desk – just make sure to leave your computer at home!
12. Veg out.
While crudité is delicious, that’s not what I’m talking about. Either alone or with a few friends, take a couple of days to do absolutely nothing except nap, watch movies, catch up on TV shows and mindlessly peruse Facebook. You have our permission.
13. Rock on.
Get tickets to see one of your favorite artists in concert with a friend. This beats listening to their songs on iTunes as you write and re-write those college essays…
14. Organize a scavenger hunt.
You know, the ones with 400 things to collect and take pictures of at the mall and random places around town. If this doesn’t take your mind off of college applications, I don’t know what will! Break your friends off into teams for the day, and reassemble later to go through everything together to see who won.
15. Bake a cake.
For yourself. It’s not your birthday or anything, but this is quite a momentous event. Choose Funfetti if that’s your style (you can even go for cupcakes with this one, too), or make them from scratch.
Whatever you choose, don’t skimp on the decorations – the more icing and sprinkles, the better. Whatever you choose to do, try not to make it all about what’s to come next, now that all your applications are submitted. The process will continue, but since you’ve done your job, all there is to do is wait. Enjoy the rest of high school and create memories with your friends that you’ll be able to take with you to college – wherever that might be. But until then, try to resist that ants-in-your-pants feeling that barely allows you to make it through until April. View this celebration as Round 1 – with the best one to come when those letters start arriving in the mail this spring.
Sources
http://www.sofarsochic.co.uk/2010_06_01_archive.html http://whatscookingamerica.net/Cookie/Smores/Smores.htm
http://gloucester-rd.co.uk/shopping/