I have always been known to be very independent, most times, too independent for my own good. My parents didn't have to do much with keeping tabs on me since I took care of it myself. I knew my own bedtime, what foods to eat, when to shower and brush my teeth, and even when I should take time to do my homework. When it came to my senior year though, I wish I was dependent on my parents because it would've made the application process for college a lot easier. However, I did it and I'm still doing it, I jumped into adulthood as an independent eighteen year old and I don't regret it. The school year is starting again though and that means there are other independent people, like me out there, who are determined to find a college for themselves. So, here are the steps I took to applying and getting into the college process.

1. While the weather is still pretty nice, set up college visits. It's important to visit the colleges that you may have a mind to go to. I visited four colleges with my grandpa since I didn't want my parents to fight over taking me and I came across Ohio Northern University and immediately fell in love.

2. Apply to all the colleges you visit, even apply to those that you didn't visit but have an idea for. I applied to only two colleges when I visited four. I only applied to two because of the application fees being so high but, hey, you can always ask family to sponsor you if funds are low. Thank goodness I was accepted into Ohio Northern University because I was wait listed by the other school.

3. Keep your grades high and re-take the ACT if you think you can get a higher score. I graduated high school with straight A's and I got a 25 on my ACT. Both of these combined awarded me a huge scholarship that would change my college story if I lost it. The ACT is where the money comes from so if you can score higher, do so.

4. Once January 1st hits, apply for the FAFSA. You'll hear this a million times more as the school year happens but it is so vital that you sit down and do this. If you're independent like me and don't want your parent to sit with you, ask them for their tax papers. The FAFSA gives you the line numbers to look at and as long as you read carefully and enter numbers carefully, you're golden. My mother and I tried to sit down together but I ended up being irritated and just asked her if I could do it myself, once I stopped being irritated, I saw where I went wrong.

5. You can't rest easy, the actual applying for college has been complete but there are still scholarships to find and apply for. Go on your school's website, go on other scholarship sites, even do random drawings for money, it all will help. I applied to scholarships for ages each week, to no avail though, I didn't get any of them.

6. Come April or May, you should be getting college acceptance letters or other letters from the colleges you applied for. This is also the time where you should be bugging your parent, or parents, about using their tax papers to update the FAFSA. This step is more lenient because you'll get financial aid packages based on the first tax files you put, but it's still important to stay updated. I don't think I fully updated my FAFSA until a month or two before school, I just didn't understand what I was doing wrong and I didn't bother to ask for help.

7. You can relax now for a while until the end of high school. The scholarship deadlines within your school probably have all expired and the drawings for the ones online aren't done until midway through the summer. Your grades should be pretty good, along with that ACT score so you can afford to take some personal time into graduating. I know I took plenty of time to myself, my parents didn't know the steps I had taken. They knew I was handling it and that was that.

8. So, at this point, it should be the summer before college, also known as the summer after graduation. This is your last summer with friends so enjoy it, however, look out for orientation dates, stay up to date with your school's e-mail that they gave you, and get a job to help save up for college. I don't have many friends so my summer before college was spent working full time and checking my e-mail at least a thousand times a day. By, the way, if you're interested in joining Odyssey, this summer was when I joined. I received an e-mail in my school e-mail and I'm so glad I saw it because I absolutely love Odyssey.

9. Once you know your classes, start looking for books right away. They can get very expensive and the more expensive the school, the higher the book cost. My books managed to be $200 - $300 because I went through Amazon and E-Bay, I'm sure there are other sites to look for as well.

10. Move-in day should be about a week or two away at this point and you should know what you want to pack and bring to your new home. I haven't exactly started the college packing process yet but I have thoughts in my head.

I hope these steps help any of you independent people out there and event those that are more dependent on parental help. Be prepared for many bumps in the road, especially when it comes to your financial aid. Don't forget to do your Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling, be sure to ask your school on all the documents they need in order to finalize the financial aid. I had to figure all that out through trial and error, but it's solved now and I'm ready for my freshman year of school. Good luck to all those who use this list and if any of you happen to go to my school, I'll see you next year.