My daughter was accepted into her dream college, so I thought the admissions process was behind us. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

• I ensured my daughter was on top of the college admissions process since her freshman year.
• It was a stressful process, but my daughter eventually got into her dream school.
• I thought the stress was over, but she had much more to do in applying for scholarships.

I feel like I did everything right in helping my teen get into college. We started prepping four years ago in her freshman year of high school. That's when I encouraged her to create a spreadsheet of her activities and awards that she could add to every year.

My husband and I took her on college visits during her sophomore and junior years. We toured small colleges close to home, medium size universities a bit farther away, and a large school across the country. We also contacted admissions counselors and professors in her area of interest to ask questions and learn more.

The summer before her senior year, I nudged her to start writing her essay for the Common Application. After all, a college planning website recommended this timeline to prevent the stress of trying to write it once school was in session. We even attended a seminar on how best to describe each activity on the Common App within the 150-character limit.

She submitted her applications in the fall of her senior year, and we were ecstatic as the acceptances rolled in, including to her dream school. But little did I know that was only the beginning.

The applications and essays didn't end there

Once the college application process was over, I felt joy and relief. However, I was surprised and stressed by what came next. Neither her hard work nor my oversight of her journey to college were done.

First, she committed to her dream school and decided to apply to their honors college. This application required an academic statement about her proposed field of study, a teacher's letter of recommendation, and an essay. We hoped she could repurpose the essay she had already written for the Common App, but alas, there was a different prompt to address.

She spent weeks on this application, compiling and refining it — all while juggling school, a part-time job, and a varsity sport. It was like applying to college all over. I hovered in the background, offering support and proofreading services, plus some nagging to get it done.

Shortly after completing the honors college application, she focused on the university's scholarship application for various awards. Thankfully, the main part of this application was similar to that of the Common App, with a list of activities and awards, but there was a requirement for yet another essay — with a different prompt and word limit.

The housing application came next, which seemed early to me. However, my daughter's school of choice had a priority deadline of January 31. If she wanted the best chance of getting a primo dorm room, then she needed to describe her living habits, rank her top five dorm choices, and submit the down payment.

It was one more application to keep track of, complete thoughtfully, and submit on time.

Lastly (we hoped) was her high school's local scholarship application. While it was amazing that so many community organizations wanted to award students $500 or $1,000 scholarships, it was yet another lift to apply for them.

Although we were both getting burned out with the process, I encouraged her to keep going and offered proofreading and emotional support.

After scanning through dozens of descriptions, she found several local opportunities for which she was eligible. One required a 200-word essay about perseverance, and another requested 1,000 words about what sports have taught her. She also needed an additional letter of recommendation — this time from a coach rather than a teacher.

As she clicked submit for hopefully the final time, we both exhaled and hugged each other.

The end is in sight

It's the spring of her senior year, and we are waiting to hear the outcomes of everything she applied for after getting accepted into college. These applications took effort, so this period of waiting seems almost relaxing.

Of course, there are still things to do. We'll need to decide when she will attend orientation, and we are exploring disability services. Then, there will be typical college preparation tasks like shopping for her dorm room and taking math placement tests.

I felt like a project manager overseeing my daughter's work on these extra applications. They surprised me because I thought the biggest stressor would be applying to college — but I was wrong. It seems the application process for college is a much bigger task than I ever could've comprehended four years ago.

Thankfully, my daughter tackled these additional tasks with maturity and perseverance. For that, I am grateful and proud.