As November rolls around, submitting college applications becomes a huge part in the life of High School Seniors everywhere. I was in the same position just last year. As I watch the multitude of my younger friends post their anxieties and worries about college on social media, I feel like no one ever stops and tells them how to destress from the entire process. I was given a multitude of supportive messages from all over, and maybe compiling them into one space will be helpful for those who might just need to read a list of these things over and over again. And trust me, doing so is perfectly alright.

1. Apply wherever you want. It can't hurt.

The popular saying is "you won't know until you try."Of course, this applies to college. If you're interested in a college, your first step should be applying. Don't let the cost of college, the distance, whatever, stop you. Compile a "to-do" list of what you need to do for admission, write the essay, fill out the Common App, whatever. In the words of Shia Labeouf:

Now, college applications themselves are expensive. You spent $30 here, $120 here, $70 here, and the list goes on. Heck, my mom had shelled out $250 for me to apply to the Curtis Institute of Music last year. If this is the case, look to your high school and ask for any available application waiver. Also, look towards the college. Many colleges have waiver applications or reduced rate admissions based on your financial status. Believe me, if there's a will, there's a way.

2. Stay organized about what schools you really, really like.

Staying organized is something our generation has the tools for, but ultimately, doesn't really like to do. Trust me, with all of our apps, planners, programs, whatever, it's easy to get misplaced and lost. But keep some sort of logging system of all of your schools. Take down information like their name, their tuition, their distance from home, what program you're interested in, and anything else that might be important to you. Make sure you have somewhere in that system the application due date! The last thing you want to do is forget to send in your application! Keep this list by you, whether it's on your phone, on your computer, or in a personal planner that you carry around with you.

I kept my list of schools in a Microsoft Excel Document (for you Apple Fanatics, I think the equivalent is "Numbers"?). I basically had an entire spreadsheet of information pertaining to my schools that could easily be modified, whether I was adding new information or taking it away. Keeping a list of schools like this will save you from panicking and frivolously searching through the internet to find information you happen to forget. Or else, you can get your numbers and dates mixed up.

3. Expensive private schools aren't always going to make you successful.

For a lot of young people, money is an object. The college crisis in America is leaving kids with a ton of debt, while not finding jobs. (At this point you're probably saying "well what's the point of college then? Let's just not go." Listen, not the point). All I'm saying is, people think they need to go to super expensive schools to become good at anything. If you can afford an expensive school that you get into, great! Honestly, no one is telling you how to spend your money. If you feel like you'll be comfortable there, awesome! But for the rest of you, an expensive school won't make you a good doctor, a good lawyer, a good architect, a good whatever. Some schools may have better programs, that's true, but at the end of the day, you're what makes you a better anything. Regardless whether you're attending an Ivy League or a Community College, your hard work is what will make you good. So remember that when you feel like you're going to have to sell an arm, a kidney and half of liver to become a doctor, it's not always the case.

4. Not getting into your top choice does not mean you suck.

I have not had this experience myself, but I have seen so many of my friends that have been flat out rejected from their top choices, and that put them through a world of hurt. When a college feels so good, so right, and so close, it's hard to imagine them not wanting you back. However, it doesn't mean that you are worthless, or don't belong in your field of study, or any of the like. It just means you weren't meant to be there.

I believe that everyone's ideology system (whether religious, spiritual, whatever), has some form of "this was meant to be", or "things happen for a reason". It's a way of seeing the good through the bad. And while being rejected from your top choice may put you in an awful state of mind, it just means that there is some other place out there for you that is going to make you better. If college is your goal, then you will find a college for you. Who knows? Maybe your top choice really wasn't good, and while you may never know that, you can never take it to heart. Your life is open to opportunity, so take it.

5. College is not the end-all, be-all of your successes.

Most people finish all of their schooling before they turn thirty. Most finish somewhere in their mid-twenties. Once they get into the working field, their college doesn't always matter. It's what they do with the education they took from it that does. When you go searching for a school, don't think that everything you're going to do there is marking your ever life success. Is going to an Ivy something to be proud of? Yes. Going to college is something to be proud of altogether. But most importantly, you do not need to be at college for the sake of going to college. You have the need to be at college because you have a need to learn something and to become someone in the world. So if you think you're going to be a less-successful person because you went to some no-name school versus your friend who is going to Harvard or Princeton or some expensive school they can afford, then your mindset is wrong. Find a college that will make you better, in every way. Because that's what college is for.

And believe me, you don't need to be famously successful to be happy.