Prom season is right around the corner, but before you head to a department store or your local prom dress boutique, consider this: the average woman typically spends over 50% of their prom budget on just their dress (they spend another 15% on hair and makeup, 15% on accessories and the rest of their budget includes tickets, transportation and dinner costs). Why spend that much money on a dress you’ll only wear once?

Think about it—returning home after the biggest night of the school year to only hang your beloved dress in the back in your closet to collect dust. Renting your prom dress gives you access to hundreds of trendy designer styles for way, way less. Plus, it opens up your prom budget for other things (hello, fancy manicure). Want to learn more about renting your prom dress? We tapped our network of College Reps for a breakdown of how to rent for the biggest night of the school year.

Tip 1: Use Filters to Find Exactly What You’re Looking For

With the hundreds of different prom dresses to choose from, using filters can help you sort through all the options and narrows down your search. Filter by size, price, colors, formality, length, body type, and the even type of weather. Brianna Rae, a student at Ole Miss, used the filters to find her perfect prom dress. “I knew wanted to find something bold and glittery so I just searched through gowns and hearted all of my top picks and then sent screenshots to my friends to help me decide!”

Tip 2: The Photo Reviews Don’t Lie

Think of photo reviews as a personal fashion focus group. Before you rent any style, check out the RTR community members’ feedback on the material, fit, value of each style. You can even get styling inspo from scrolling through the reviews. “When I read the reviews I could tell the style I was looking at ran big for some people,” explained Caitlyn Swope, a sophomore at the University of Missouri. “I rented my regular size and a size down as my free backup and it ended up fitting like a dream!”

Tip 3: Set Your Delivery Date to 2 Days Before Your Prom

We recommend scheduling your rental start date 2 days before your prom to leave time to try on your dress and style your look. “My prom dress was delivered on time in a cute reusable RTR garment bag and I kept my rental for four days,” explains Abigail Dolbeer, a now senior at Indiana University. Make sure to download our app and enable push notifications to get the most up-to-date shipping details on your order!

Tip 4: Try Everything On ASAP

Once your dress arrives, don’t wait. Try it on immediately, so you can start styling your look as soon as possible. (Rented accessories? Check the mesh pocket of your garment bag.) If you don’t love your rental for any reason, don’t sweat. Just contact us by 3pm EST and we’ll overnight you a replacement. Our Customer Experience Team is available by phone, email or live chat to help you.

Tip 5: Check Your Email for Return Reminders

You’ve rented, you’ve prom’d, now it’s time to return. We eliminate the hassle by providing you with a prepaid shipping label. Simply pack up and drop off at any UPS store or dropbox. “It was so easy to return, Abigail explains. “I just took it to UPS the day after prom. I accidentally left my student ID in my dress pocket and RTR was nice enough to send it back to me before I even noticed it was missing!”

You too smart to buy a dress you’ll only wear once. Renting your prom dress saves you time, money and gives you access to hundreds of designer options. Follow these 5 tips to get the most out of your renting experience.

Source: “InStyle Instant Style,” Melcher Media, Inc., 2006, New York, NY.