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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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 »

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 »