With a new year comes resolutions, and with resolutions comes…well, the breaking of resolutions. (We can’t stay away from sweets either.) But there are some resolutions that are worth keeping, especially for soon-to-be high school graduates. That’s why we put together this list of changes to make and goals to keep in 2015 that will not only make you a more appealing candidate for college admissions offices, but a better student all around.

Every month, our admissions team will post a checklist of a couple things you could be doing at that time to 1) move along in the admissions process, or 2) better prepare yourself for when you’re ready to apply. Here’s our advice for January.

Still haven’t completed your college application essay and feeling really…stumped? There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank computer screen, knowing your deadline is fast approaching. But don’t let a case of writer’s block deter you from getting your applications in on time. Here’s our latest roundup of quick tips, this time from people who write for a living (or have to write a lot), to help you get over your loss of words and start typing.

Did November 15 sneak up on you? We hope not, but if it did, we have good news. We’ve extended the deadline for Siena College’s Fast Forward application to January 5.

Calling all college students who are thinking about transferring! If you’re reading this, there's a good chance you're interested in finishing up your degree at Siena College—and to that we say, welcome home. In October, we shelled out some advice to help make the transferring process easier. Now, we’d like to share with you a few insights from some Siena graduates and current students, all transfers, about why they transferred or what their experience was like.

Every month, our admissions team will post a checklist of a couple things you could be doing at that time to 1) move along in the admissions process, or 2) better prepare yourself for when you’re ready to apply. Here’s our advice for December.

If you’re interested in Siena College but are concerned about cost, our financial aid staff wants you to know this: we’re committed to making Siena affordable and are here to help you and your family through the financial aid process. We invite you to sign up for a live video chat about making college affordable and financial aid on December 10 here. 

Our roundup of tips from a range of experts last month on staying calm during the college application process was such a hit, we thought we’d do another. This time, we asked people from all kinds of paths—a TEDx speaker, an etiquette consultant, a career adviser and others—to give us their best tips for high school students prepping for the all-mighty college interview. Is yours looming on the horizon? Read what they said:

A high school transcript and letter of recommendation can only tell admissions committees so much about someone. Where you really get to show off who you are and how well you write is in the application essay. Whatever stage you’re currently in—you’re dreading starting it, you’re stuck in the middle, or you actually think you’re done with it—we encourage you to take a look at our essay reference guide. 

We all know real life is different from what it looks like on Facebook or Twitter. But, when it comes to colleges and social media, you can gain a great deal of insight about an institution—and what it might be like to be a student there—by spending some time clicking through their social media accounts. Take your list of top schools and see what platforms they have accounts on, then log on and consider these seven things a college’s social media can tell you: