DEAR ABBY: This is a time when high school seniors visit prospective colleges. Could you please convey the following suggestions to them?

1. Wear comfortable shoes. You will be doing an awful lot of walking.

2. Come prepared for the weather. Twelve hundred people attended a recruiting session today, and at least one-fourth of them did not come with umbrellas. A thunderstorm began at 4:00 p.m., and they wondered why we didn’t provide umbrellas!

3. Come with a list of questions and bring something to write on, plus a tote bag to carry any materials you receive.

4. Read the materials you were sent. If they say check-in begins at 8:00 a.m., then plan to be there at 8:00 a.m.

5. You will be receiving a lot of information, so you should plan on making a return trip to the two or three institutions you visited that you liked the most.

6. We will show you one or two residence hall rooms. We cannot show you all of the halls. In order to inspect them all, you will need to come on a Residence Hall Open House day.

Thank you, Abby. — DEBBIE IN ADMISSIONS

DEAR DEBBIE: On the contrary — thank YOU for a “tip sheet” every college-bound senior should see. Better to be prepared than be without.

DEAR ABBY: I’m a junior in high school, and I’m worried about my friend, “Elizabeth.” She has always been a Type-A overachiever, but for the past year and a half, she has been more stressed than usual.

School consumes Elizabeth, but not in a good way. She stays up until 3 a.m. cramming for tests even though she studies for several days before. She gets angry and depressed when she doesn’t get an A on an assignment. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, and her parents don’t seem to recognize it.

My friend doesn’t sleep much and eats very little. At first, I told myself that I was overreacting by worrying about her. However, last night she was hospitalized for exhaustion and anemia. She’s fine now, but the stress and unhealthy habits have caught up with her. I’m afraid she’ll go right back to her detrimental lifestyle.

I believe Elizabeth needs help and I’m thinking of talking to a guidance counselor. What should I do, Abby? — DISTRESSED IN KANSAS CITY

DEAR DISTRESSED: You are a good and caring friend. Talk to the guidance counselor. Your friend’s sleeplessness, stress, anemia and poor diet may come from more than pressuring herself to achieve good grades. She may need professional help — and the guidance counselor may be able to see that she gets it.

DEAR ABBY: I work in a pharmacy. Every day people try to hand me their cell phones to talk to their family members, doctors or insurance company.

I will NOT touch their filthy, germy phones. If I did, I’d be risking my own health! What is a polite response? — HOLD THE PHONE IN ARIZONA

DEAR HOLD THE PHONE: A polite response would be: “Does your phone have a speaker feature? If so, please turn it on. If not, then please have your family member, doctor or insurance company contact the pharmacy, and someone will be glad to help them.”

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

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