It’s time to take out the sunglasses, bathing suits and sunscreen, because summer vacation is just around the corner. Unfortunately, it also means it’s time for three months away from the people you spend all your time with during the school year. The effect time and distance apart can have on relationships has the potential to be detrimental, so it’s important to make an effort to stay in touch with your college friends during summer break. Check out some tips on how you can manage communication and cope with being apart from your close friends.

1. Text or call

This is probably the easiest and most realistic way of staying in touch with college friends, especially if you live far away from each other. Everyone always has their cellphone on them nowadays, so you can usually expect a response from someone if you shoot them a text or call them from time to time. If you’re really concerned about falling out of touch, maybe arrange for a weekly phone call to be sure your college friends will still remain your closest friends, even when they are not physically close to you.

“[I use] group chats, Snapchats, planning hangouts every once in a while and FaceTime calls when we miss one another because it maintains true friendships and shows that the relationship you build in school exists far beyond campus,” junior Atira Barber-Ellis said.

2. Video chat

Apps such as Skype or Google Duo are great for keeping in touch with friends. Video chatting is a little more intimate, because you can actually see your friend without physically going to see your friend!

“I mostly stay in touch with friends through text and occasionally FaceTime,” junior Kate Tagliareni said. “We are very big on sending memes to each other and playing iMessage games. I will occasionally go to see them but that really only happens once.”

It’s especially helpful for staying in touch with your college friends from other states or even countries, because you are less likely to meet up with them in person.

“With living across the country, it’s hard because I’m away from all my friends during the summer and that’s the time when I want to be with my friends and do fun things,” junior Adrianna Ruiz said. “I’ve been lucky enough to have great friends, so when I am home for break I keep in touch with my friends through texting, calling or FaceTime. I’ve also been lucky to have some friends come and visit me which is fun, because I get to show them around Oregon and get to show them what I do in the summer. It’s hard being away, because I miss a lot and get major FOMO, but I survive because I get to see all of my home friends who I don’t get to see the other nine months of the year.”

3. Send letters

Who says sending letters is uncool? Making the effort to mail someone a note will display your authenticity, and it’s a unique way to show your friend that you care about them and miss their company. Plus, before there were any smartphones, this used to be the main way people would communicate with one another across long distances.

4. Meet up in person

Even though technology connects us more than ever before, it does not compare to having genuine conversations with the people you love face-to-face. Admittedly, three months is a long time, so it may be worth it to visit your best friend at some point during that span. You can even plan to meet up somewhere in the middle, so neither one of you has to travel too far! Phones are extremely helpful for communication purposes, especially if you are separated by a long distance, but it doesn’t hurt to put the phone down and live in the present moment.

“[I] prefer calling my friends over the phone instead of texting, and meeting in person is better because messages can misinterpreted over text,” junior Allegra Deane said.

Time apart can be nice, but when it comes to your best friends it’s important you make an effort to stay in touch. Hopefully you can enjoy your summer without your closest college pals always by your side, but just remember that you will be seeing them again soon in a few months!