It’s that time of year again: graduation. For the high school class of 2016, it’s time for all the pictures, Senior Week, the endless stream of congratulations, and preparations for their first semester as college freshmen. For those college students who have already experienced freshman year, it’s time for liking and sharing the hilarious memes floating around Facebook about how the incoming freshmen aren’t ready for this college life. For me, graduation season makes me reflect back on my own graduation and how much I’ve changed since then. And, three years later, I can safely say that I was definitely not ready for this college life. So I got together with a few of my friends* and complied a quick list of the 16 things we thought the class of 2016 should know before they start their freshman year.

1. Don’t expect to keep in touch with ALL your friends from home

How many of your high school friends were really your friends, and how many were just there to keep you entertained during school hours? You’ll find out freshman year. You’ll be busy getting settled on your campus, they’ll be busy getting settled on theirs. You’ll start getting into classes, different clubs and groups, meeting new friends, etc. You’ll keep in touch with a few, of course, but all of them? It just won’t happen.

2. Those 8 am classes are not your friend

Taking an 8 am class at some point in your college career is inevitable. But having an 8 am every single morning gets really old, really fast. Late nights in college are common, and hitting the snooze button and skipping gets tempting for any morning class, let alone one that early.

3. On move in day, don’t take your parents’ help for granted

My mom decorated my entire side of my dorm room freshman year. I left the room for maybe five minutes and, when I came back, she had gone full blown Suzy Dormmaker. She said that she just got so excited that her baby girl was finally a college student that she couldn’t wait for me to get back. I’m sure most parents can relate.

Yes, their excitement may be embarrassing. Yes, you may be ready to pack them back in the car and send them on their merry way as soon as the last poster is hung. But give them their last moment of treating you like their little baby before they surrender you to the college life. Trust me, when junior year rolls around and you literally have to beg them to help you move in, you’ll miss that excitement.

4. On move in day, don’t take your parents’ help for granted

Some people luck up and find their best friend as their roommate, others… not so much. Just because you’re living with somebody doesn’t automatically mean you have to be besties with them; going in with that mindset to only end up living with the spawn of Satan can be heartbreaking. As long as you respect each other and can keep your shared space a comfortable and happy space for everyone living there, you’ll be good.

5. If you don’t have to buy your books from the bookstore, don’t do it

Bookstore textbook prices are highway robbery. Any college student will tell you that. Even renting a book from the bookstore can run you an arm and a leg. Unless it is absolutely necessary (a book published by the university, a lab manual, etc.), get your books from places like Chegg or Amazon. It will save you a fortune.

6. Don’t expect much from the cafeteria

Were those meals you had during your visits and Orientation delicious? Yeah, don’t expect that on the regular. College cafeteria food is only slightly better than high school: edible, but definitely not the best thing you’ll veer put in your mouth. Every cafeteria has its bright points, meals that are so good that they have you checking the weekly menus to see when they’re serving it again. But be warned: those meals are few and far in between.

7. If there was ever a time to learn to save money, it is now

Maybe you’ve been working for a couple of years now. Maybe freshman year will also mark the year you get your first job. Maybe you’re still staying afloat from the remainder of your graduation money and the occasional handout from Mom and Dad. Regardless of how you’re getting your income or how long you’ve been getting it, freshman year will test your bank account. Those late night food runs can add up, and the “23 cents in the bank account” struggle is very real. Now is the time, if you haven’t already, to open a savings account. Start putting away money. Learn to make a budget and stick to it. Start making smart decisions with your money; you’ll thank yourself for it later.

8. You WILL get homesick

I don’t care who you are, how close you are to home, or how long you’ve gone in the past without seeing your family or sleeping in your bed. You will get homesick. I repeat: YOU WILL GET HOMESICK. Even if it’s as simple as missing your mom’s cooking, it will happen. Ignoring it doesn’t make it easier.

So when it happens… call up your family. Tell them you’re thinking about them and you miss them. If you’re close enough, go home for a weekend. Eat a homes cooked meal. Sleep in your bed. Do whatever you need to do to shake off that homesick feeling. It goes away eventually.

9. If you’re close to home, resist the urge to go home every weekend

If you’re within driving distance of home, don’t go home every single weekend. That defeats the purpose of living on campus. Campus life reaches its peak on the weekends; it’s when you get the feeling of truly being on your own and being able to make your own rules. And if you’re spending it back home doing what you were doing in high school, what are you really experiencing?

10. Get involved in something on campus

Anything. A club, an intramural sport, an organization, even going to an on campus event. When you get involved on campus, you start to feel more like you belong on campus and it makes the transition from high schooler to college student all the easier. However, this can be a double edged sword; don’t get involved with so much that you have trouble juggling them all. Start off with one or two, get used to juggling them along with school, work, and anything else you have going on, then see how you feel about adding more.

11. Sleep is going to become even more precious than it is now

If you think you’re sleep deprived now, just wait until you get to college. Be it from studying, partying, or just hanging out with friends, you will sleep less. Hitting your snooze button will become second nature. Naps in the middle of the afternoon will become commonplace. Your bed will become your best friend. And no one will judge you, because we’re all in the same sleepy boat.

12. You will procrastinate. Don’t lie to yourself and say that you won’t

Procrastination is synonymous with college. Everybody does it. It doesn’t matter how much you promise yourself that you’re going to get every assignment completed and turned in ahead of time, there will come a night you will find yourself frantically typing out a five-page paper that’s due at midnight and wondering how you got yourself into this predicament. Just go ahead and accept now that it’s going to happen.

13. You’re probably going to change your major at some point

Going into my freshman year, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Sophomore year, the major I declared was Exercise Science. At the start of my junior year, I switched to Communications. By spring semester of junior year, I was back in Exercise Science. The major that you first declare may or may not be the major that you end up graduating with, and that’s okay.

14. Your GPA will drop

This is a rough one, especially for those who went through high school as honor students at the top of their class. Maybe you procrastinated one too many times. Maybe your study habits (or lack thereof) from high school back fired on you in college. Maybe you get the misfortune of ending up with one of those professors who just doesn’t believe in passing students.

But the fact of the matter is that, after your first semester, your GPA is not going to look as nice as it did back in high school. It may be a dramatic drop. It may only be a couple of points, but it’s going to happen and will sting. You’re going to feel like you’re doing something wrong, but you’re not. You’re only adjusting and that’s okay. There’s nothing you can do but suck it up and aim to pull your GPA back up in the coming semesters.

15. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

You’re not an adult yet. It may feel like it, and at times it may feel like you should have everything together, both academically and personally. But you won’t and (I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record) that’s okay. Don’t be afraid to utilize the services on campus designed to help you succeed. Tutors, writing centers, even the counseling services. No one who works in these places is going to judge you. They won’t think you’re dumb. They won’t think you’re messed up. They’re there to help you and you should let them.

16. Enjoy every minute of it

You know the saying, “You never forget your first?” That can be applied to your first year of college. There will never be another year like this. You will never remember another year as vividly as freshman year. You will never have as much fun as freshman year. This is where some of your best stories will come from, so why not make the absolute most of it?

There we have it. Of course, this isn’t everything you should know, but we had to leave some things for you to figure out for yourself. That’s what college is about, ultimately: making mistakes and learning, and figuring things out in a way you don’t get to do anywhere else. So congratulations, class of 2016, and welcome to the college life. We’ll see you in the Fall.

*Big thanks to my friends Beverly, Tyleak, Brooke, Destini, and Josh for helping me put together this list. And for keeping me laughing at some of your tips