Junior year is rough. There’s just no sugar-coating it. So, in this blog post, we have a few tips, as well as some thoughts to help you get through the morass.

1. It gets better

2. You don’t have to go to an Ivy League school

3. Quality (of extra-curriculars, friends, parties) over quantity

4. You don’t need the title to do the work

5. And the work that you do is more important than the title (whatever it is you need to be able to talk about it)

6. Do things before you think you should

7. Identify the right teachers for your recommendations very early on

8. Don’t fall in love with any one school

9. Be happy for your friends when they have successes

10. Don’t get arrested (unless you’re at a protest)

11. Don’t get suspended

12. Just, don’t be stupid

13. Go to the school dance

14. Read more books

15. Be nice to your parents. And your siblings.

16. Consider that someone is photographing everything you’re doing and posting it on social media

17. Study really hard

18. Skip the community service trip to help underprivileged kids in another country

19. Get a job

20. Cultivate a niche—your extra-curriculars should fit into that niche

21. Become the president of whatever activities you’re involved with  

22. Regulate your social media presence (schools will look, and so will your future employers)  

23. Keep up with the news

24. Start your own company

25. Keep a journal

26. Learn how to scramble an egg 

27. Learn how to do laundry

28. Be nice to other kids. You don’t know what they’re going through.

29. Get published

30. You’re probably not going to get into an Ivy

31. Taking a college summer course does not help you get into that school

32. Be mindful of putting things on your resume that make you look privileged 

33. Community service is not (usually) required to get into college

34. Your essays shouldn’t be about a life-altering or tragic event

35. Don’t text and drive

36. Don’t compare yourself to others

37. Be creative in your application essays

38. Break form in your application essays

39. Do research for a professor one summer

40. If you’re not going to play sports in college, don’t invest all your time in them in high school

41. Get enough sleep. (No, we’re not joking)

42. Exercise!

43. Cut yourself some slack

44. Ask for help when you need it. You’re never alone. 

45. Try to spend more time in nature and interacting with humans than your phone  

46. Don’t compare yourself to others (it’s so important, we’re saying it twice)

47. Spend your summers wisely

48. Study for your standardized tests

49. Study some more

50. You are more than a test score