The price tag. It influences where people choose to go to school, and many people don’t even apply to certain colleges based on annual tuition.

But should price limit where people apply?

I would argue it should not. Where you apply to college should be based solely on whether it is right for you and not based on what you can or can’t afford.

So here are three things college applicants should do to stop the stress about college costs:

1. Apply for scholarships

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the bane of many seniors’ applications. It can seem confusing and overwhelming.

While the FAFSA does provide necessary aid to millions of college applicants, there is sometimes a large gap between demonstrated need for families and what they can actually pay. However, every college application should still fill it out.

The FAFSA may only grant you a portion of the money you expected, but some free money is still better than no free money. Even more importantly, other scholarships (including all the scholarships in the scholarship packet given to seniors at the end of the year) require you to have applied for the FAFSA to even be considered.

There are also plenty of online scholarships you can look into simply by googling “scholarships,” or looking into scholarships through your parents’ workplaces.

So don’t decide to not apply to a school based solely on cost, because the total amount of money you may get (and can get if you apply for scholarships) may be much more than you were expecting, and may deflate the cost significantly.

2. Stop adding to the stigma surrounding community college

Many classes are exactly the same at community colleges, state, and private schools, so spending the first two years there is a less expensive and more feasible option.

Nobody should be judged for that.

The credits aren’t worth less than those at a bigger school.  Just look at how many students take two years at community college and then transfer to a different school. Those students graduate with a degree from the bigger school with less debt. College applicants should consider community college as a serious option.

3. Stop putting so much stock on the name of a college

Yes, going to Harvard sounds much more impressive than saying you went to community college. But doesn’t emerging from college debt-free sound much better than owing $240,000?

The name of a college shouldn’t impact anyone’s perception of how intelligent or hardworking a student is. Many top students choose to go to places like UNH, which might not be an Ivy League, but is a good and affordable school. That doesn’t make them less intelligent than anyone going to an Ivy or NESCAC school.

The most important aspect of choosing a college should not be the name.

While juggling college applications and school work, take a minute and help yourself out by helping reduce the cost. Think about grants and scholarships now to prevent overbearing debt and to be able to afford your dream school.