Get through college. Find a job. Build your credit. Find an apartment. Pay off your loans. Work hard so that you can get promoted. Start an emergency fund. Date people. Stay in touch with friends. Learn to cook. Respond within 24 hours. Open a 401(k). There are, quite literally, thousands of rules governing how to be a grown-up; what's weird is that there are no signposts marking when you've actually become one...

Leaving college is terrifying. Read how stars, changemakers, and other grads got through it.