Everyone knows College Applications can be extremely stressful, so here are 10 things I learned through my college application process.

1. No one knows what they’re doing.

It may feel like everyone else is on top of everything, meeting deadlines, submitting applications, looking at their transcripts without crying, etc. Trust me, everyone is just has stressed as you are, no one feels completely confident in the process, and everyone is confused about what it is they’re actually doing.

2. There are a lot of strange acronyms.

FAFSA? FERBA? Is it FERBA or FERPA? This isn’t satire, I genuinely don’t know. Don’t ask me what these mean or what purpose they serve. I’ll fill them out, but I don’t know what they’re doing for me.

3. Colleges wants to know EVERYTHING.

Why is my brother’s birthday an actual thing I needed to fill out? Why is that valuable information about my character? Maybe they’ll send him a card this Sunday. (Happy birthday, Ryan).

4. It’s not fun.

No one enjoys the college application process and whoever says they do are lying to themselves. It is not fun. It is scary and confusing and everyone is in shambles.

5. I may be exaggerating.

Okay, it’s not the worst thing in the world. But it is stressful! And it certainly is not fun!

6. SATs are overwhelming.

I don’t know about you, but for me, putting a time restraint on something makes it 10x harder. I understand you’re testing all of my knowledge, but FIVE HOURS? On a Saturday morning? Give me a break! Photo ID, TI 84, printed ticket with that ever so awkward, perfectly angled selfie; sheesh! It’s a standardized test, I’m not applying for the FBI. I’m Jessica! Why do I require two forms of photo evidence to prove to you that that is true? Who would steal someone’s identity to sneak into a standardized test? Whew, that felt good to let out.

7. Every person you can imagine asking you about the process, probably will.

There is no escaping the “So where are you thinking of applying” small talk. And no, the conversations don’t get easier with time.

8. Recommendation letters are weird.

“Hey, adult who saw me for maybe 80 minutes a day in this one particular environment, write an entire essay about why colleges should think I’m good enough! Oh, and here’s a list of all my awesome characteristics you should include, incase you forgot how amazing I am”.

9. Counselor letters are even weirder.

“I’m going to fill out this survey about my life and you’re going to arrange it all into essay form and say it’s information about me you already knew. Ready… go!”

10. We’ll all come out alive.

It doesn’t feel like it now, but we’re all going to be alright. We got this.