Welcome back to The Rival Rundown! If you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown@collegecandy.com!

We’ve covered college rivalries centered around sports, location, tradition, gender (and many other factors), but what about academics? Besides endless keggers and lack of parental supervision social stimulation,  isn’t an education the reason we came to school in the first place? That’s the way students at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) look at things. The two schools boast impressive faculty rosters, tirelessly motivated students, dozens of highly decorated alumni, and a fond affinity for pranks.  Which school will most likely produce the discovery of a cure for cancer? Let’s assess the variables.

1. Provocative Pranks

Caltech – Though certainly not an athletics powerhouse, Caltech once made an appearance at the Rose Bowl. In what’s known as The Great Rose Bowl Hoax, in 1961 Caltech students designed a series of cards to be held up by spectators at the Rose Bowl (contested between Washington and Minnesota) to read “CALTECH.” And in the last decade, several Caltech students appeared at MIT’s  campus preview weekend to hand out t-shirts reading “MIT” on the front…that when unwrapped were found to read “Because not everyone can go to Caltech” on the back.
MIT -Excuse us – at MIT, they’re called “hacks,” not “pranks.” A popular one is finding another place to hide MIT’s unofficial acronymous slogan, IHTFP (“I Hate This Fucking Place”), which has been delicately placed everywhere from class rings to assemblies of giant letter cubes in campus lobbies. The most epic Caltech hack occurred when a bunch of MIT students disguised as movers removed a 1.7 ton cannon from the Pasadena campus and drove it all the way back to Cambridge.

Three credits to: Looks like Caltech is tops in this category, for originality and humor. Read More »

Until about 5 minutes ago, I thought Cinco De Mayo was a holiday to celebrate the invention of the pinata. Or tequila. Or those make-you-wanna-kill-yourself hangovers that only come from a full day of drinking tequila. What? That’s pretty much what the holiday means to most college students, right?

When someone hands you a pint of Jose at 8 am on May 5th, you don’t ask what you’re celebrating – you put on a sombrero, plug your nose and take a swig. Then you do it again and again and again, screaming “Viva La Mexico!” and “I’m living la vida drunk-a” until the sun goes down and another fantastic drinking holiday has come to an end. Read More »

Hello, 2009!

We didn’t start the year off in the best way (laying on the couch, chugging water and eating breakfast sandwiches while watching USC dominate on the field), but now we’re ready! And not hungover! And we couldn’t be more excited to get 2009 going. We have huge plans and goals and lists of things to do.

In the spirit of the new year, we decided to sit down and list our resolutions for 2009. We probably won’t keep ‘em, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

John – UConn: I think the only New Year’s resolution I know I can keep is to diligently turn 21. Pounds can leave, come back and leave again, and friends are the same way, but drinking age is forever.

Leah – Ryerson University: Stop dating, getting involved with, and/or having sex with douchebags. 2009 will be a douchebag free year!

Elise – UCLA: No Diet Coke!!!!

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: To keep running for fitness health, and wellbeing – not weight loss.

Carly – Grinnell: To get at least one step closer (whatever that might be) to becoming a pastry chef.

Elizabeth – UA Hunstville: To find the easiest, most slacker way possible to make tons of money.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Get out and flirt with boys more. What? I like to make resolutions I can keep. Read More »

The holidays aren’t supposed to be about presents. They are about family, friends, charity and appreciating everything that we have.

Yeah, yeah.

We get that, but we still l-o-v-e the gifts! We love giving em and getting em (and then going to the store and getting all the deals on the gifts those other people returned).

This year CollegeCandy got new iPod speakers (woohoo!), a giftcard to Ikea (yayyy), and a 30 rack of Miller Light (yeah, our brothers aren’t too creative). Oh, and someone got us a Spin Spa… are they trying to tell us something? I mean, we shower daily almost daily. And we use a vanilla soap! Do we smell? Is it that obvious? Couldn’t someone have just told us!?

Anyways, moving on. We want to know what you got this year. Better yet, tell us: what is the best gift you have ever gotten? What about the worst?

With all the hype and hysteria surrounding President-elect Obama’s most serious White House appointment, the nation has gone batsh*t crazy for all things puppy related. Which lucky pup will have the distinction of being the First Dog has yet to be seen, but on a semi-related note, another canine story is getting a revival.

Last year, Atlanta Falcons superstar Michael Vick made headlines when he pleaded guilty to a series of charges relating to his backyard dog fights. Many were outraged that the NFL quarterback had set a poor example for his young fans by intentionally hurting animals in his dogfighting ring. But the story has a bittersweet ending, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison, and a Utah shelter took in the abused pups. Now, if you want to support the poor dogs, you can do so by purchasing a bottle of Vicktory Dogs wine!  Each bottle costs $40, showcases one of Vick’s former dogs, and proceeds go to the Utah animal shelter, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Sounds like there’s a tasteful resolution to this dog tale.

It may only be early November, but the holidays are approaching fast.  Just like your major term paper due this semester, holiday shopping is something best approached far in advance. And though I can’t help you research West African history, I can give you a few suggestions on what to get your loved ones this December.

Read More »

What are you waiting for? Get to those polls!

I don’t know if you’ve realized it yet, but last night was Daylight Savings time. Yup, you were supposed to set the clocks back an hour.

Woohooo!  An extra hour!

It may seem like such an insignificant amount of time, but think of all the things you could do with an additional 60 minutes to your Halloween weekend!

You may have taken advantage of it last night: an extra hour of drinking/dancing with the hottie dressed as Joe the Plumber, an extra hour of some much needed sleep, or an extra hour of booty (which is only good if the guy can handle it….).

Or, if like me you didn’t realize this whole time change thing until this morning when you woke up an hour earlier than you wanted to, you can take advantage of it today: an extra hour at the library for the big exam (boring), an extra hour of really bad True Lifes on MTV (so good), or an extra hour of shopping at the mall (shwing!).

If nothing else, at least that hour you spent huddled over the toilet from too much Halloween hooch won’t kill the rest of your day.

So, grab your Halloween loot, set those clocks back and enjoy that extra hour of weekend freedom before Monday morning rolls around again.

Halloween is here tomorrow! Break out the giant bowls of candy, the pumpkins and the fishnets that somehow go with every costume! It is time to get your Halloween Partayyy on. Whether you go Liq-or-Treating, to a Monster Bash, or just stay home and hand out candy to the kiddies, you gotta be dressed for the occassion.

We have been working on our costume all week long and it rocks. We can’t wait to show it off tomorrow night!

If you don’t have a costume yet, shame on you! But it’s not to late. Maybe CollegeCandy can help you out with some inspiration…

So, CollegeCandy readers, tell us (and the folks without any Halloween creativity) what you will be dressing up as tomorrow night. Leave your costume ideas in the comments section. We can’t wait to see what you came up with this year!

[Photo courtesy of Flickr] 

This week was full of ups and downs… and we’re not just talking about the stock market. Ayooo! Don’t forget to tip the waitstaff!:

Down: College campuses are breeding grounds for disease.

Up: We found a beer that can cure cancer.

Down: Dudes hate our favorite boots.

Up: We found the best shopping site and we got a hot new bag.

Down: We aren’t sure if we’re sexually active.

Up: We learned how to muster the courage to hop on top.

Down: We sent drunk emails to the boys we love

Up: We found some great makeup to cover up the hangover in the morning.

Down: Middle schoolers have to take the PPSAT.

Up: We aren’t in middle school anymore.

Another up is that it’s Friday and we have a great playlist to dance to and the perfect outfit to wear out to the bar. Things are definitely on the up and up from here on out.

Happy Friday!