As a senior attending SUNY Cortland in the fall and studying Communications, but my college admissions process was not a steady one: I didn’t really know what I wanted in a school, I applied all along the East Coast and I didn’t have a “dream school” either. I felt very lost, but hopefully reading this column will make you less worried than I was! Here is some advice I’ve learned throughout the process.

Tour as many colleges as you can during the summer

Find out what you like and don’t like about colleges now if you have not already. Decide whether you want a big school or small school, campus feel or city feel, on campus housing or off campus and so much more. This can help narrow down your search for schools quickly and easily.

You don’t have to have your entire life planned out at 17

You are still so young, not knowing what you want to major in or what path you want to directly go down is perfectly fine, no matter how much you think it won’t be! It is all a learning experience. The admissions process is not an easy one, so take it slow!

Be careful with general procrastination

The procrastination will slowly spiral into a bad case of senioritis! Keep up with good habits like maintaining a manageable schedule, prioritizing deadlines, and overall organization. Your mid-year transcript and end of the year transcript will still be sent to your schools so do your best to stay on top of everything throughout the year! (Especially at the end of the year!!)

Start CommonApp early

CommonApp officially opens on Aug 1st, so start doing the personal information now so you aren’t rushing it before the November 1st deadline. It’s all the easy stuff. The more schools you apply to early, the quicker you get it back, the more money you could possibly get, and it takes the stress off early.

Enjoy it

This is the last year you will be in high school. Have fun, document everything, go to all the games you can make it to, enjoy having access to your friends all the time because trust me, it will go by quick.