It’s that time—that dreaded time for all seniors. That time when the future seems closer than ever. It determines the next four or more years of our life. It affects where we will be living and what sports team we’ll be rooting for. Cue the suspenseful music because it’s college decision time y’all.

Some of you already have everything figured out. Maybe you’ve known for a while where you want to go to college. You could even be ahead of the game and know exactly what you want to major in. Lucky you. Unfortunately, not all of your fellow classmates are on the same boat.

For those of you who are struggling, I’m going to give you a basic guide to help you narrow down those school choices. I won’t pretend to be an expert. I don’t even have my own college picked out, but my hope is to make it as painless as possible for you.

1. Think about how far you’re willing to go away from home. You have probably taken notice to this already, but some fellow classmates can’t wait to leave this town. They want to start a new beginning elsewhere while others just want to stay at home while attending college at a local school. This decision is the first step in your process. You will have to determine what the best fit is for you and go from there.
2. Decide what size school you would like to attend. Typically, everyone has a preference. Whether you feel like you belong on a larger campus with larger classes or on a smaller campus where you will know everyone. It is up to you. The key is to visit both kinds of schools. You never know what you may fall in love with.
3. Take your possible major into consideration. If you know what field you’re planning on pursuing, examine schools that specialize in it. For example, if you’re interested in journalism, I can guarantee that you’ll be pointed towards Mizzou at least once. If you’re interested in medicine, check out the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. When finding a job after college, you would want your diploma to come from a school that specializes in your area of study.
4. Money doesn’t grow on trees. If the college you’re looking at has an unreasonably high tuition, I have one word for you: investigate, investigate, investigate. There are scholarships for everything. You owe it to your parents and yourself to look at every possible way to save money.

When it all comes down to it, I fully believe that you’ll know when a college is the right fit for you. I can’t guarantee that it’ll be “love at first sight,” but when you have your options in front of you, my guess is you’ll be leaning towards one more than the others.

Even if it is a difficult decision for you, my last tip would be to relax. No matter what college you choose, you’ll end up having a great experience.