I am a brand name brat. I’ll admit it. When it came time to look for colleges junior year, I knew that I had exactly three criteria: small, private, in the northeast.

Not only did I think that these criteria would lead me to my dream education and job (let alone dream hubby), I thought that it was exactly what I wanted. I wanted a school that immediately got raised eyebrows and “wow she’s smart!” expressions when I said the name.

And on I went on my quest to get into my dream school. I wrote draft after draft of my entrance essays, perfected my SAT scores, secured the perfect recommendations, and continued all of my volunteer work throughout the whole process. I thought I had it down pat. I applied to 9 schools — 2 of which I was rejected from, 3 of which I was wait listed at, and 4 I just didn’t care about, even though I received acceptance letters to attend them. I had my heart set on attending one of my wait list schools. So I had alumni letters sent, calls made, and interviews set up. I didn’t know what to do. My boyfriend at the time had gotten in, and I knew his credentials only read “father is alumni who donates lots of money,” so I was a little more than bitter. That’s when I started to think that maybe it wasn’t  the right place for me. Read More »

Okay ladies, so here’s something you didn’t know.

People are looking at your social networking profiles.

Shocked, right? Not so much? Yeah, I thought so. But you might actually be shocked to find out that 80% of admissions officers are now using Facebook to learn more about their applicants, and that a student’s social media presence does in fact affect their decisions.

As a way to counteract this, some admissions officers suggest that applicants like or follow their college of choice on Facebook or Twitter and use the social network as a way to stand out amongst applicants. But would you really want your potential college to have access to everything you post on Facebook? And should they really expect to? When you post something on the internet publicly you have to expect that people will read it. But should you expect that your college admissions officer will be searching for it? Should you expect that every college admissions officer is going to Facebook stalk every applicant now?

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Dear Stressed High School Seniors,

There is a song called “sitting here in limbo” that goes, “sitting here in limbo, but I know it won’t be long… Sitting here in limbo, waiting for the dice to roll…”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? You feel as if that letter, that magical acceptance letter, will end your misery. Yet, I’m here to remind you that you are within the eye of a storm and as soon as that letter comes, your life will change (don’t panic, it’s not an immediate change).

Take this waiting time as a time to relax, bum around the house, and enjoy that last year of high school and that last year of your childhood. While I am of the opinion that high school is to be endured, not enjoyed, remember a lot of things are going to be different, so try your hardest to live in the moment.

I was once exactly where you are now. I remember how you feel.

You  spent hours upon hours completing forms, taking tours, and getting eye-strain from applying online. You’re stressed, your parents are stressed, and you’re pretty sure even your dog is stressed. You’re told that your college decision is the biggest decision you’ll ever make…and yet you’re not really in control of the situation. However, there is nothing to do but wait. Your application has been submitted and the jury is out. Read More »

Question?! Answer!! (…Maybe.) TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com

Dear Tuffy Luv,
I’m pretty sure you already answered a question like mine but I couldn’t find the answer, so here goes. I’m a high school senior applying to college and I’m having a bit of a problem with my safety school. It’s brilliant: great nightlife, safe area, amazing dorms and has a course that I love. One bad thing though: it’s my hometown. The dorms are down the road. The campus is a 10 minute drive from home. Not that I don’t love my hometown and my folks, but isn’t college my one chance to become independent and get a little space? When it comes down to it, I want to be able to stumble home drunk at 2 a.m and not have to worry about seeing people I know on every street corner.

Would staying in town for college be a waste of an experience? [Ed. Note: No! Just ask our commuter student!]

Should I apply to a worse school just because I don’t want to stay in my town? I mean, my folks think I should stay in dorms (and I will) but still. Any advice would be lovely

- Confused about College

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[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. Sometimes with mean words. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like whether we date men like our dads!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

It’s no secret that getting admission to a college (especially big names like the Ivy League) is kind of a crap shoot. Sure, you need the grades, the activities, the involvement; but we all also know that sometimes you can give your application a little nudge that has nothing to do with academics. Your parents worked two jobs each to help take care of you and your three siblings and it taught you the value of responsibility and family — admissions gold. Or you spent half of your childhood in another country and had to learn the wonder and struggles of adapting your proud cultural heritage to life in the Midwest — brilliant. These kinds of things have been a leg-up in the admissions process for years and now, it turns out, there’s a brand new one that schools are actively seeking out — LGBT.

That’s right, when just a couple of decades ago many people couldn’t RISK coming out in college, now schools are trying to recruit applicants from the LGBT community and while I have no qualms about that, I gotta wonder if it’s fair.

I have a long-standing record on this column of being pro gay rights, and that’s not a streak I plan on breaking, but this is one area where I have some serious mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s great that schools are being active with the gay community and embracing their students’ sexualities as a part of who they are. It’s wonderful that they’re going to an effort to show students that they can be open, active and comfortable in their school and embracing that the challenges faced by many LGBT students are character shaping  and meaningful. Good job, colleges! It’s also not really affirmative action, so it’s not as though schools are trying to fill a certain quota; it’s just that if a good applicant comes along with the added twist of being LGBT, then it might give him or her a little boost.

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Some of Patrick Swayze’s greatest moments.

Kate Gosselin doesn’t get paid enough.

Kanye’s really sorry. Seriously.

10 things Dirty Dancing taught us about love and sex.

Testing out Anna Sui for Target.

College wait-lists are longer than ever.

As the majority of the readers on this site will know, college admissions are a painful and infuriating process. Nowadays our society puts so much pressure on us to attend good schools that many of us begin to feel that, should we not get into college, we’ll be living in refrigerator boxes on the street. (Although it was brought to my attention that, if you’re lucky, you could end up being one of the slightly more fortunate homeless people of California that get one of these cool portable shelters. Doesn’t really make you feel better, but good to know.)

Statistically, my class (2009) is due for the worst admissions season yet.

The root of the problem lies in “boom and bust” population demographics. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the baby boomers generation began to have children and thus created another wave of growth. As this new generation began to enter high school and apply to college, the number of applications began to increase and the number of students admitted decrease.

Basically, if you were born during the latter half of 1990 or in 1991, you’re screwed. Read More »

It’s official, Facebook is no longer just a harmless social networking site.

It’s now the most dangerous web site for your future. Not only do many employers admit to looking at facebook profiles for potential hires, but it may have had an influence on where you were accepted to college.

Are you one of those people who can’t figure out why they didn’t get into their dream school, even though you wrote a kick a** essay, aced the ACTs/SATs, did about 1,235 extracurricular activities, started a volunteer organization, and help the homeless in your spare time?

Well, maybe you should check the inappropriate quotes on your profile or all of those pictures tagged of you underage drinking in your friend’s basement while her parents were out of town.

Yes, sadly enough, it’s true. Admissions officers at a particular Ivy league college now admit to checking facebook for potential applicants. Ugh, this makes me sick.

Brown University officials said in a NY Times article that “there is a limit to what we can appropriately judge people on…But, you have to remember (Facebook) is a public place.”

Also in the article, it said that “Sometimes admission officers receive friend requests on Facebook from applicants, noting that accepting the requests ‘would appear weird.’ Read More »

Earlier this year, USNews.com published their list of America’s Best Colleges 2007. Truth be told, I’m not sure how much I trust these rankings, ever since the earlier reports of them being completely skewed came out.

But, it is still interesting to check out the list and see if your school made it on. The top three national universities, not surprisingly, were Princeton, Harvard, and Yale. My dear little Syracuse made the list at #52! Sorry, I couldn’t resist a shout out.

The top two liberal arts colleges were Williams and Amherst.

Curious as to how the rankings were decided? I was too. Read More »

I might be soiling my classes, but at least I’m in college. Life on the outside is tough. I just watched my best friend’s little brother get rejected from four different schools—all on the same day. It was just one thin envelope after another—like watching a train wreck or something. According to MSN, this year colleges rejected a record number of applicants, so don’t feel too bad if you didn’t get into your reach school.

Even safety schools are getting more selective. Miami University in Oxford, Ohio saw a record number of applicants this year, only admitting 73% of them, down from 78% last year. First of all, why the hell is there a Miami University in Ohio to begin with, let alone one that rejects people? Has the world gone mad?This whole thing is getting out of hand. Not only obscure schools are getting more applicants, elite colleges also received a record numbers. Read More »