Happy Halloween to all of our readers out there, whether they’re spending the day dressed as ghosts and goblins or haggard applicants and stressed-out parents!
With spooky things lurking everywhere today, I’m writing a short post to warn you about one of the scariest things that I personally know of: the deadline zombie (cue “dun dun dun” along with a crash of thunder and some lightning). These creatures, which most often struggle to life the day after major college application deadlines, are exhausted shells of the people they usually are, having spent the vast majority of the previous day and night hunched in front of a computer desperately trying to finish and submit applications in advance of an impending due-date. They are virtually impossible to communicate with, incapable of meaningful work, and crave nothing but large quantities of caffeine and sugar in a frantic attempt to alleviate their total exhaustion. Beware these horrifying creatures…
This year, with early-application deadlines at some schools extended due to the Common App problems from earlier this month, it’s entirely possible that deadline zombies will be even more plentiful than usual throughout the beginning of November. If you’re an applicant, do what you can to avoid turning into such a wretched being by finalizing and submitting your apps before the last minute. You’ll feel much better, as will the people who would otherwise have to suffer through your presence the day after a deadline.
Oh, and by the way, for some more dos and don’ts related to college applications, check out this piece I wrote earlier this year on Peterson’s – deadline zombies aren’t the only thing you should be thinking about at this time of year…
Now go eat some candy!
