Senior Linus Lu cracked his knuckles and positioned his pointer finger perfectly above the mouse. Clicking the submit button with a feeling of accomplishment, Lu heaved a huge sigh of relief. It was Oct. 24, and he had just submitted his early action application to Yale University a week before the deadline.

For many of the 213 seniors who requested early letters of recommendation, the Nov. 1 deadline meant pulling all-nighters to squeeze out essays that could possibly define their entire futures. For Lu, however, this was not the case. With effective time management skills, he was able to finish most of his essays weeks before the deadline.

“I tried to submit early to have it done and not have to stress about it for an extra couple days,” Lu said.

Lu’s planning has been able to save him from unneeded pressure during the college application season. Unlike some seniors who are scrambling to just finish or touch up their Common Application, Lu is now working on additional supplements for his schools.

He plans to send music supplements to the schools that accept them. Lu started playing violin in kindergarten, but switched to viola in fourth grade at his mother’s suggestion. He is now the principal violist in Saratoga Strings, the school’s most prestigious orchestra. In addition, he has placed first in numerous competitions, including the Northern California Viola Society Competition and the VOCE Regional Viola Competition.

“Since [viola is] such a big part of my life, and since I have had quite a few accomplishments that I'm proud of along the way, it's just natural for me to put it in my college apps,” Lu said.

These music supplements differ from school to school. Some want music teacher recommendation letters, some want resumes, some want recordings of contrasting pieces and others simply have a 10-minute maximum limit.

“I have all the materials ready,” Lu said. “It’s just a matter of organizing it to meet each school’s requirements.”

Lu has also written his fair share of short stories, flash fiction and poetry in his spare time.

“I'll definitely continue to write, though writing isn’t the most lucrative of careers,” Lu said.

For this reason, he has been compiling literary supplements to the schools that accept them. Most schools, however, don’t want too many supplements because they’re already reading multiple essays.

“Picking and choosing has been hard for me,” Lu said. “I’m trying to show versatility.”

As Lu works on his supplements, he has been forced to focus most of his energy on college applications and in turn sometimes feels lost in classes like AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and AP Biology. He admits that at times his classmates will ask him about a certain assignment and he has no idea what they are talking about.

With the early decision results coming up on Dec. 15, the first Monday of finals, Lu is beginning to envision his life as a second-semester senior.

“I don't think I’ll just blow classes off and not do any homework,” he said. “You’ll see my stress level decrease and I won’t be as obsessive with grades.”

At the same time, Lu does not see himself being severely affected by senioritis. Because he enjoys most of his classes, he plans to remain the interested student he has been throughout high school.

Lu is not bound to attend Yale this fall because he applied early action (which is different from binding early decision). Nevertheless, Lu said Yale is his first choice. If he gets in, he plans on removing Northwestern, Pomona and Rice from his list, but he will still apply to the rest of the Ivy League schools and the University of Chicago.

According to Lu, the most difficult part of college applications has been his essay supplements.

“Essay writing isn't the easiest for everyone so I’m sure each person has their own way of motivating themselves,” he said. “Plan out what you want to do when you want it to be done. As long as you keep on making progress you won't feel as overwhelmed.”

A few days away from finding out his future college on Dec. 15, Lu was optimistic but not overconfident.

“I’m not thinking I’ll get in, but hoping,” he said.