#RevealToHeal: Overcoming Application Anxiety and More

A few resources for conquering anxiety, discouragement, procrastination and other experiences during the application process.

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It’s hard to combat the anxiety that comes along with the application process when pursuing college, graduate and professional schools, funding or job hunting. It can all be quite stress-inducing. You may find yourself questioning your goals and desires, double-guessing the path you’ve forged from long hours and tons of hard work.

What if I’m not good enough? What if I’m wasting time by applying to this ____? What if I don’t get it? But what if you do?

I want to share a few articles I found on how to manage application anxiety, depression, discouragement or procrastination. The application process doesn’t have to be too burdensome. Check out some of these resources!

Advice from admissions officers

Applying to college? Emma Sarran Webster wrote a great piece for Teen Vogue. Webster includes tips for the college application process, from staying organized and to getting a handle on things before they become overwhelming. Part of anxiety is the worrying process — having an organized game plan can reduce some of the stress.

Emma Sarran Webster’s piece in Teen Vogue about managing college application stress.

College Board also has several helpful mini-articles on how to handle both the task of applying, and some of the anxiety that comes with it.

Applying to medical, dental, or graduate school? I can’t imagine the stress that comes along with applying for professional school, but I am too familiar with the graduate school (Ph.D.) application process.

If you’re considering graduate school, but have time, please check out The Academical’s “Tips for Future Graduate School Applicants.”

Future dental students, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has just the advice to “Control the Stress of Applying to Dental School.”

For the future medical students, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has a piece on “Dealing with Application Anxiety.” You can also check out the Harvard Independent’s musings on Application Anxiety. These are applicable to overcoming grad school application anxiety, as well!

This is a helpful piece provided by The Academical.

More specifically, for the future graduate students, I’ve found a few more resources that could’ve definitely helped me out while I was applying. The Academical has a plethora of materials. If it’s not too late for you (meaning if your applications aren’t submitted, and even still) take a look at some of these pieces. You can start with the “Grad School Beginner’s Guide.”

Have you submitted your applications early? Are you refreshing your email at least every hour? Resist the urge and go check out how to stay sane while waiting for admissions results from the Academical instead.

You’ll also find Jeff Schiffman’s — Director of Admission at Tulane University — blog post to be very helpful. He lays out a list of simple, actionable advice to minimize dread from as you wait for admission responses.

Jeff Schiffman on “Admission Anxiety — And Twelve Steps to Reduce It.”

Part of the anxiety that comes along with applying to graduate and professional schools stems from the fear of rejection.

The answer is yes! (If graduate school is part of your dream plan.) I applied to graduate school during my senior year. I wasn’t confident about the strength or competitiveness of my application. As I suspected, I did not get into graduate school right away. I did, however, have an application strong enough to be referred to and accepted into an NIH Post-Baccalaureate program at one of the institutions from which I received a rejection letter. In this program, I completed a full year of intensive research, personal statement and CV building, Individual Development Plan (IDP) development and more. Afterward, I reapplied to graduate school and got into all but one of the schools that I applied to. The second, third time or even ____ time can be the charm! Check out The Academical’s advice on reapplying to graduate school after a rejection or three.

Overcoming Job Search Anxiety

Photo courtesy of the Jopwell collection.

The job search can induce stress which can in turn cause job search-related anxiety. Nicole Douglas shares her five tips to combat this feeling while job hunting.

If you are early-on in your career, this can often cause anxiety, too. One may wonder, “Am I good enough?” In Workopolis, you can find four strategies to cope with early career anxiety.

Managing Your Mood Disorder During the Job Hunting Process?

I can’t stress enough how stressful the application process can be for anyone. However, submerging yourself into an application process while attempting to actively manage an anxiety or mood disorder, such as social phobia and depression, can make things rather difficult.

Alyssa Fusek gets frank on why job hunting sucks when you have anxiety and depression in The Mighty. In Psychology Today, Barbara Markway shares 6 tips for managing anxiety during the job search.

Word to the wise: the job search can become depressing. Melody J. Wilding wrote “5 Ways to Keep Going When the Job Search is Getting You Down” in The Muse. (See below for tip #5.)

Melody Wilding’s fifth tip for pressing forward during the job search process.

Additional Resources:

1. Kaneisha Grayson’s “How to Deal with Insecurity Before and During Grad School.” (Warning: Please be advised that this blog post contains light profanity.)
2. Melody Wilding’s Psych Central piece on the “4 Ways to Deal with Job Search Rejection.”
3. Katharine Brooks shared “Rejection and the Job Search” in Psychology Today.
4. Additional reading on “The Secret to Overcoming Job Hunt Procrastination.”

I hope these resources will be helpful for those dealing with various forms of application anxiety.

Whether it be college, graduate or professional school, grants, fellowships or any early career science position — anxiety or any challenging mental state that may come along presents in different ways. Be prepared for it. #OnTheComeUpOctober with #VanguardSTEM aims to help make your journey a smooth and healthier one. Throughout your application process, remember to maintain, as best you can, and keep your head in the game! :-)

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