You've heard tales of trumped up textbook prices, Friday night de-stressing parties, and nutty professors, but at college, you never really know what to expect. From pranks and classroom crack-ups to strange campus events, you'll see that higher ed is highly unpredictable. Take a look....

Freshman Embarrassment Du Jour: The Smell of Revenge
"There had been an ongoing prank war in my freshman dorm for about three months. Every time it snowed, somebody's room got filled with snowballs. Once my friends knocked on my door at 4 a.m., I opened it, and I got pelted with snowballs. But, of course, my sweet revenge would come.

"One night, my friend Anthony had one of his 'lady friends' over--the perfect setting for a payback plot. While they were out romancing, my friend Krish and I picked his lock, and hid a remote-controlled fart machine behind an oil-painting hanging next to his bed. No more than 15 minutes later, Anthony came back with the girl. Krish and I hid in my room two doors down the hall.

"Every five minutes or so, we'd hit the remote, which triggered the speaker behind the painting. Eventually, we heard them yelling at one another. Each was very insistent upon the fact that they were not the one farting. About 20 minutes into the escapade, he remembered that I had the machine, so they started searching.

"Finally, Anthony came knocking at my door. I don't know who was more red-faced--Anthony, or me for getting caught. Rest assured, I got many prank calls in retaliation later in the week."
--Adam Hornstine, Harvard University

Grade Giveaway: "Two-in-One 101"
"First semester of my freshman year, I was in a Jewish philosophy class, and I didn't have the best attendance. For the midterm, we had to compare and contrast two Jewish philosophers, but I didn't have the know-how to do it on my own. After studying the partial notes I did have and contrasting them with those of a friend of mine, I wrote a lengthy paper about the differences between Maimonides and Rambam. I was very pleased with the outcome­-until I found out that Maimonides and Rambam are two names for the same person.

"Though I spent six pages discussing their differences, I still got an A-. At least once a semester since, around midterm time, I'll hear a freshman talking about his Jewish philosophy class, and if anyone heard about the kid who got an A- on a paper comparing and contrasting Maimonides and Rambam.

"Looks like I made my mark in that class after all."
--Steve Hofstetter, Columbia University


Cool Curriculum
Next fall, you'll be buckling down for your big freshman year. You'll want to arrive early, tuck all your belongings neatly away, meet your new roommate, and get that awkward, first day, "my-class-starts-at-8-in-the-morning-but-I-promise-to-be-really-quiet" talk out of the way. And then you'll pack up your freshman self and head straight out to be first in line to buy those books, right? Or, you could come to school and head right out to a big beach party. No, really; we're serious! And, it's school-sponsored, too.

Abilene Christian University (ACU), Abilene, TX, hosts a "Beach Bash" at the beginning of each year as a meltdown-prevention party. "We want this to be a time for students to get rid of the stress of beginning school, and just have a day of fun with their friends," says Scott Kilmer, a member of the Campus Entertainment Committee of ACU's Students' Association.

If you like ACU's "Stop the Stress!" attitude then you may want to search through The Princeton Review's online "quality of life" college rankings at http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankingCategory.asp?categoryID=6. Or, for an even better inside scoop on college, chat with real college students at their online hangouts. (Click into www.realcollegelife.com/chat for a look.)
--Karen Sherian

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