Although a lot of Odyssey articles are centered around college life (obviously), I am pretty hesitant to write about my college experiences or fountains of knowledge because, well, I don't really have any. I've been at college for a grand total of 2 and a half weeks and although I feel like I have tons to say, I'm going to keep most of it to myself for the time being. After all, no one wants to hear about the typical complaints and wonders of a super naive college freshman. Instead, I figure I'll use my age as an asset and write about something many of you are dealing with that I was also going through not too long ago: college applications.

First of all, this is not going to be a step by step instruction guide or a CommonApp tutorial. Instead, I want to offer some pieces of advice that I learned/wish I knew sooner when I was applying to college. Let's get started!

1. Start early

You saw this coming. The number one piece of advise ANY former high school senior will give you will always be to start early and stay on top of things. By having your essays, letters of rec, transcripts, etc. prepared ahead of time, I promise you will save yourself so much stress in the future (i.e. the night applications are due). Plus, many schools only give consideration for honors programs and scholarships to early action applicants. As someone who was unable to apply early and missed out on these opportunities, I strongly urge you to take advantage!

2. Be wary of Early Decision

Although I do encourage you to apply Early Action, Early Decision is another story. Now, of course, there are some people who are totally right for this option, but I unfortunately know many kids from my senior class who did not fully understand the concept of Early Decision and ended up in a very overwhelming financial position. For those of you who do not know, Early Decision is a binding agreement in which you can only apply ED to one school, and if you get in, you have to go there. The advantages are that you have a greater chance of getting into that school, so people generally suggest students use ED for their reach school. However, colleges are less likely to give money to ED applicants because they will be legally obligated to go anyway, so there is no point in enticing students to attend. That being said, ED is a good decision for those students who do not need to worry about finances, and if that is you, then go for it! As for the rest of us, I'm not saying DON'T do it, but just talk to your guidance counselor/parents first.

3. Take chances

I remember the fall of my senior year I was pretty sure I was gonna end up at the same state school that all three of my brothers attended. I was totally fine with this, and still would be if I had ended up going there, but I also decided to explore the college search a little more and apply to more schools. I can't remember how many other schools I applied to, maybe four or five, but I was almost certain I either wouldn't get in/wouldn't be able to afford wherever I could get in. Still, I listened to my amazing guidance counselor and my encouraging mother and applied to schools I thought I could only dream of attending. Yes, I did get rejections and disappointments, but I also ended up getting into the school of my dreams, AND getting an extremely helpful financial aid package. So here I am, sitting in my dorm at Villanova University, in awe of how lucky and grateful I am that I get to go to such an amazing institution that I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be able to attend.

4. Narrow down your search

Yes, you do want to have a good bit of options to choose from when you are actually making your decision, but applying to 20+ schools can get really pricey really fast. Plus, when it comes to decision day, you will be even more overwhelmed with all of the options and wrong-choice-anxiety.

5. Don't stress

Ok so this is obviously a pretty stupid piece of advice. Obviously you are going to stress at least a little or, if you're like me, a lot. However, I assure you that this feeling of immense worry and pressure will relieve once your applications are submitted. Of course, waiting for decisions is also stressful, but at least everything will soon be out of your hands and eventually, you'll end up exactly where you are meant to be.