By this point, we’re getting a hang of this whole college process. Sure, it feels like you’re perpetually writing “Why *insert school name*?” essays that make you question why you’re applying in the first place, but the misery is part of the fun.

Anyways, as this process gets deeper, some unwritten rules need to be established for the sake of yourself, your classmates and your second cousin who knows nothing about you and defaults to the classic “so where are you thinking of going to college?” question to pass the time. So here’s presenting part one of two of “Five things I somewhat-dislike about you: college admissions process edition.”

1. Don’t wear shirts from every college you’re applying to: Constantly wearing shirts and sweatshirts from a dozen different schools just exudes confusion and indecisiveness.

Want to wear the shirt of your dream school? Go for it. But wearing the shirt of three different schools in a week (especially if those schools are rivals) says to people “I can’t make up my mind on what schools I like,” or maybe “I’m really smart because I visited these schools and I want everybody to know how smart I am,” although visiting a school and buying a shirt is hardly conducive to getting in. Or maybe you’re saying, “These are the only clothes I own. I didn’t buy any clothes before last year. I then came into a lot of money, and spent it all on college t-shirts. I now have no money again, so I will not be buying any more clothes,” which I guess is certainly a unique circumstance.

Here’s a cautionary tale for underclassmen when it comes to wearing school merchandise: take note of the schedule. One day in the spring, every senior wears a t-shirt from the college they’ll be attending next year. My sophomore year, I rolled out of bed, forgot it was that day, and threw on my gray Harvard t-shirt I got at a debate tournament. All day, dozens of incredulous seniors came up to me saying: “You got into Harvard? Also, who are you?” Every time, I had to sheepishly reply “Actually, I’m a sophomore” (to which one girl exclaimed “You’re a sophomore and you’re going to Harvard? Holy s***!”). Take note, and avoid wearing any college merchandise on that day.

2. Avoid over-sharing: Posting an exuberant status on Facebook when you’ve decided which college to attend is great; it lets your friends and peers congratulate you on your accomplishment. However, be wary of posting something every time you get into a college. Whereas posting (for example) “UCLA Class of 2019!! Go Bruins!!” shows school spirit and commemorates a truly special moment of your life, a “Got into UCLA!” status does the opposite and is unnecessarily self-celebratory. It also opens yourself up to judgment; everybody now knows that you applied there.

Second, posting simple acceptance statuses hurts those that weren’t admitted. If you’re going to post about getting into a school, there’s a fair chance at least a handful of people really hurt by a rejection from that same school that day will feel even worse after seeing that you got in and they didn’t.

So if you get into a school, good for you! You should feel free to go ahead and tell people. Tell your best friend, tell your family, tell your dog. But save the exclamation-mark-filled statuses for when you make up your mind. It’s common courtesy.

3. Don’t get too competitive: For every school you’re applying to, you probably know at least one person who’s also applying. Seeing them all as competition is not only unhealthy, it’s also unreasonable. No school will compare the two of you side-by-side. A lot of factors go into college decisions, and the only people comparing the two of you is yourself. Start rooting for them and not against them, and maybe you’ll have a good friend attend with you.

If you’ve made it this far, I thank you for reading the first half of my college admissions process advice. I encourage you to check back tomorrow to read my fourth and fifth pieces of advice.