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If you want a spot on the team, then you have to be ready to compete—whether it’s an academic or athletic team.

That’s one way to think about college applications. We all know that if we want something—whether it’s a job, a good grade, or yes, acceptance to a particular university, we need to commit. We need to prepare.

And most importantly, we need to start early.

College applications aren’t necessarily difficult, but they can be a bit daunting. They’re long, the questions take thought, and different schools may have different requirements. So know what you need going in.

Map out your strategy; write it down. Use a notebook, a spreadsheet, or whatever online tool suits you. But don’t try to keep it in your head. If you’re applying to more than one school—and you most definitely should be—then map out a strategy to get your application to that school completed on time.

Find out what’s required and when. What do you have control over—and where will you need help? Do you need teacher recommendations? Test scores? Transcripts? Probably. If you don’t know how to get them to your schools of choice, there are plenty of ways to find out.

Maybe your guidance counselor at school can help. Or maybe your counselor is already swamped with requests. Don’t worry; there are plenty of other lifelines—including the colleges themselves. Most have websites with pages devoted to helping prospective students—and they usually include phone numbers or emails.

There are other avenues of assistance as well, like The National Association for College Admission Counseling or The College Navigator site sponsored by the National Center for Educational Statistics.

They don’t want to sell you anything. They’ll give you information.

So give yourself time to explore, to make mistakes and correct them. Give yourself time to think. Just like a long-term school assignment, you should be devoting regular time to your college application—at least 30 minutes a day by the beginning of your senior year in high school.

At the University of Michigan—and at other universities around the country—we want you to succeed. We want to hear your story.

Give yourself time to tell it the best way you can.