In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

Medical Marijuana: Still Illegal on Campus

In recent years, several U.S. states have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. However, colleges in these states still prohibit it on their campuses.

Why? Marijuana for any use remains illegal under federal law. Because all colleges receive federal funding (even private ones), they do not want to jeopardize this money by allowing their students to use marijuana.

Click here to read more from NPR.

How Facebook Has Changed the College Experience

A recent post from onlinecollegecourses.com describes the ways in which Facebook has changed the entire college experience, from admissions to academics to student life. Its major effects include the following:

• Admissions officers are getting to know applicants more personally.
• Facebook is often a part of courses.
• Students can arrive on campus already knowing scores of people.
• Students can stay in touch easily.

Click here to check out the full post.

(Thanks to MyCollegeCalendar for the great find.)

Important Conversations for the College-Bound Student

If you expect to begin college this fall, there are several important discussions you should have with your parents this summer.

Unsure where to start? A recent post from Montgomery Educational Consulting outlines some key topics to broach with the ’rents, including the following:

• Your communication plans. Will you talk by phone or email? How often?
• Finances. How will you get money? How much will you get?
• Your packing list. What do you want to bring with you? What do you need to bring with you?

Click here to read more about these and other important student-parent conversations.

How to Rock Your First Year of College

Recently admitted college applicants might be wondering what it’ll take to have a successful freshman year.

To this end, Zinch recently asked some college sophomores about their first-year experiences. They offered the following tips for freshmen-to-be:

• Go to class.
• Get out of your dorm room and participate in campus activities.
• Do your reading on a regular basis.
• Be considerate of your roommate.
• If you don’t get along with your roommate, change roommates sooner rather than later.

Click here to read more about each of these tips.

Study: Contact Sports Might Impair Students’ Learning Abilities

According to a new study published in the journal Neurology, some student-athletes might be particularly susceptible to the negative effects of repeated collisions.

The study compared college athletes in contact sports—specifically, football and ice hockey—to those in non-contact sports such as track and crew. Athletes received thinking, memory, and learning tests both before and after their sport’s season.

Differences appeared on the learning test. According to the Huffington Post, “22 percent of the contact-sport athletes did worse than expected” on the post-season learning test, “compared to just 4 percent of the non-contact athletes.”

The study’s authors believe that contact sports might be more harmful for some students than others.

Click here to read more about this study on the Huffington Post.

Funny Commencement Speeches

The Huffington Post recently collected videos of commencement speeches by famous comedians, including Stephen Colbert, Will Ferrell, Conan O'Brien, and Amy Poehler. Each includes plenty of laughs as well as sound advice. Click here to check them out.

A Student’s View: The Roommate Search

Jennifer Angelo is a high school senior and a contributor to The Princeton Review’s IN blog.

As high school students, most of us have our own bedroom. Some of us even have our own bathroom.

However, things will most likely change when we arrive at college—the majority of freshmen have roommates, whether they like it or not.

Because no one wants to live with a crazy person, roommates are a popular topic of discussion among incoming college students. We have a few different options when it comes to finding a roommate: room with someone we already know from high school, meet someone online, or let our school match us with a roommate.

In my opinion, rooming with someone you already know takes away from the freshman-year experience. Sharing your living space with someone new forces you to branch out and meet new people instead of staying in your comfort zone.

Meeting someone online, through college Facebook groups or websites like Roomsurf.com, is increasingly popular. Social networking sites make it easy to get to know a person without actually meeting them, and many people find a great roommate this way. However, the process can take a lot of work. It also seems a bit risky to room with someone you only think you know based only on online contact.

I chose to let my college assign me a roommate. I recently filled out a very short survey about my sleep habits and music preferences; the rest will be up to Lehigh's residence coordinators. I really hope I’ll get a great roommate. But, regardless of what happens, the experience will help me learn how to live with someone else and develop good communication skills.

When I find out who my roommate is in July, I will be able to contact her and begin a friendship. Until then, I am just going to hope that Lehigh places me well!

Freshman Orientation Programs

Many colleges have already contacted their new students with details on the freshman orientation programs they provide.

Such programs typically take place on or near the school’s campus, just prior to the fall semester. They give incoming freshmen an opportunity to get acclimated to their new surroundings and bond with other students.

If your future college offers orientation programs, it’s usually a good idea to take advantage of one. A recent post on the Montgomery Educational Consulting blog provides more information on such programs as well as a few things to keep in mind when signing up. Click here to check out the full post.

A Hunger Strike to Protest Rising Tuition

A dozen students in the California State University system are fasting to protest CSU’s increasing tuition and shrinking course offerings. The students have pledged to abstain from solid food for at least a week. Click here to read more on the New York Times.

Before You Move to College

The transition from high school to college can be overwhelming. If you’re an admitted applicant, your massive to-do list includes . . .

• pre-registering for fall semester classes,
• contacting your future roommate(s),
• making travel arrangements, and
• completing paperwork on everything from parking to health insurance to dining plans.

Of course, amid these myriad tasks, you want to enjoy your final summer before college. To give you confidence that you’re on top of things, I recommend that you print out MyCollegeCalendar.org's Post-High School/Pre-College Checklist. Post it somewhere highly visible (like the fridge): this should ease any worries that an important task has slipped through the cracks.