Thunder booms and lightning cracks outside your window on the night before the application deadline for your dream school.

You just finished recording your prescreen video earlier that day and are uploading it to your computer. You filled out the last of the question fields on the application and check the clock. You still have 30 minutes to spare before the deadline expires. Feeling good, you take a second to review all your media one more time: headshot looks great, your resume is polished, prescreen video sounds...weird. You play it back just to make sure, but you still hear it: the faint sound of a car alarm in the background of your concerto. And there’s no time to re-record.

 Everyone procrastinates. It seems to be a part of human nature, and most of the time we can get away with it no problem. We tend to get things done, even if it doesn’t happen until the last minute. But procrastination can get you into trouble when you’re applying to college or for scholarships, especially for the performing and visual arts. Luckily, there are three basic steps you can take to avoid finding yourself in a college application nightmare.

1. List it!

Because you’re pursuing a degree in the performing and visual arts, you’re most likely applying to several different art programs. You don’t want to get deadlines confused, so make a chronological list of the different programs’ deadlines and the date one week before the deadline. Aim to have your materials ready to submit with at least a week to spare.

2. Plan it!

A lot of these programs will have different application requirements. Some will require a headshot or supplemental media like a prescreen recording, and some will only require a resume or recommendation letter. The key is to make a plan. Prescreen recordings will take more preparation to execute than a resume, so budget your time.

3. Attack it!

Start early! Look back at the list you made with the deadlines and remember your goal of having the application materials ready with a week to spare. What do you need to do to reach that goal? Enlist the help of parents, teachers, and friends for your prescreen recordings, and be sure to ask for letters of recommendation at least two weeks before you plan to submit. The more time you give yourself, the better the quality of your applications.

We know that everyone procrastinates. Some things you can afford to put off, like doing your laundry, but some things require careful planning. Do not procrastinate on your application process, especially for the performing and visual arts. There’s not a lot you can do to salvage your prescreen when you discover a problem 30 minutes before the deadline, and you don’t want to find yourself in that position.

When you’re applying to college with Acceptd, we’ll be there to help you throughout the application process, even if it’s a nightmare situation the night before before a major deadline. And we’ll do everything in our power to get your application submitted on time. But it’s easier for you if you have your applications ready to submit with a little time to spare.