The first week of college is summer camp. The second is back to reality. When I arrived on campus a little over a week ago, I never imagined going from name-games to essays in a blink.

My college has a week of orientation, so it never really felt like school until I walked into Geology on Tuesday morning. Before that, I had been watching movies with other freshmen, exploring—well, really getting lost in—the campus, and trying every imaginable ice cream combination at the dining halls.

From the moment I walked into my class, I realized I can’t just watch movies and eat ice cream for the next four years. Buying textbooks before the class was its own problem—really, if a book is used, shouldn’t it be dirt cheap, not just a fraction less expensive than the new version?—but being in a room filled with strangers, most not naïve first years like me, was unnerving.

In high school, the first day was one of my favorites. Sure, I hated knowing I had a year of work ahead of me, but I loved seeing old friends, catching up on summer gossip. Here, I sat down and immediately started taking notes. What part of this lecture was important enough to write down? Who was the person sitting next to me? Was I allowed to raise my hand to ask a question? Read More »

After far too long without college football, I took a trip back up to my old school to watch the first game of the season. I figured my friend and I would grab some lunch at our favorite restaurant, watch the game from the non student section with her parents, and head home when the day was over.

Upon arriving on campus we immediately headed to lunch where we began our meal with a Bloody Mary and some Mojitos. It was at that moment that I realized our leisurely Saturday afternoon was going to be anything but.

The combination of the rum pumping through my veins and my excitement at being back on campus got me feeling all nostalgic. I missed campus, I missed my friends, and, most of all, I missed getting completely sh*tcanned before a football game.

So we followed our hearts and decided to do it up college style.

I chugged Franzia with some frat boys (”BABIES! You can’t chug for your life!”), downed Boones Farm with my friends – and that was before we even left the lawn. I had a 40 on my way to the game, which I shared with some random band playing on a porch that belonged to people I did not know. And I sang bad 80’s songs into the mic. Read More »

It’s weird how when you’re away from your campus for so long and you finally roll into familiar stomping grounds, you feel like you never left. It seems like a dumb and cliché thing to say, but there’s something about being dropped from one familiar place (home) to another familiar place (school) that erases what little shock value might want to rear its ugly head.

Maybe it’s because I wanted to come back to school more badly than ever before, but I’m not having a hard time tucking summer into closets and chests. I’m still a little shell-shocked, though. I think it might have something to do with knowing that this is my last year here. I made this place my home more than real home, and not being here just sounds…wrong.

My school isn’t very nice to its upperclassmen, so I moved in on Saturday – which is a bitch when you live on the third floor with NO elevator – and started classes this Monday. I think maybe it’s to try and limit our Welcome Week to Welcome Weekend.

Like I told you guys last time, I’m playing the catch-up game, so I’ve got twenty credits this semester… and 16 next semester? Not sure how that one’s gonna work, what with my school only giving 4-credit courses, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. That’s five classes. Still, it’s nowhere near as bad as it sounds. There’s an ass-crack of dawn class (really, it’s only 8:30, but if the sun is still in the east it’s too early for me) that only has six people in it, a general psychology class STOCKED with freshmen (more on that later), an acting class that I can already see is going to be my chill-class, a colonial American Literature class with a professor who loves to hear himself talk, and an advanced poetry class that I still haven’t taken and I’m a little worried about. Read More »

Welcome Week is coming to an end for most of you. You have spent the past 5 days unpacking boxes (while drinking), buying books (while hungover) and stopping by every bar/house party/gutter that just so happens to have a keg in it.

And you have the pictures to prove it.

While the themes of the parties may have been different (Tiki Tuesday? Beach party? Ghetto Fabulous?), the music was not. I don’t know what it is, but it seems like there is one playlist that somehow makes its
way into every bar or house on campus. And then plays on repeat. All night.

You love it while you’re double fisting Coronoa’s, but, for the love of God, if you hear that damn song one. more. time…

Our writers know how that goes. We asked them which songs they never ever (as long as they live) want to hear at a party again. Watch your back, Flo-rida – I think your time is over.

Alex – Lakehead University: I never ever EVER want to hear Hotel California by the Eagles at the bar again. I know it seems like a strange one, but come to Thunder Bay and you’ll suffer through it at least once a night.

Kari – Florida State: “Boots with the furrrr.” Not only does this song make my ears bleed, it feels the need to accost my eyeballs as well. For some reason every girl with a FUPA feels that this is “her song” and runs to the middle of the dance floor. No thank you.

Carly - Grinnell: “Follow Me” by Uncle Kracker. It is not good now, and it was never good. It should be eradicated. Read More »

If you are reading this it means that you are still alive. Congrats on surviving another (or your first!) Welcome Week! Don’t worry; those bruises will be long gone by Parent Weekend.

It’s been a great week and we at CC Headquarters have been quite busy while all of you lucky ladies are out enjoying your last week of freedom. After all, who else was going to guide the young, innocent incoming freshmen?

Without us, they never would have known how to deal with difficult roommates, how to tell if a prof was good, how to break the ice with strangers, how to cook when all they have is a mini fridge and hotpot, what to wear to the first day of class, how to handle all the weirdness of college, and the rest of the shiz that makes up college life.

And if we were out getting our drink on, who would have taught you all you need to know about condoms? Or why you maybe shouldn’t have drunk sex?

We are like guardian angels over here. Where are our wings, damnit?

It’s amazing we even had time to catch the Democratic National Convention, or find out who McCain chose as his VP.

And now it’s over, along with our sweet, sweet summer.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

You only have a few days left to submit your entries for CollegeCandy’s Welcome Week iHome Giveaway!

Want the deets? Read on, my friend.

If there is one thing we at CollegeCandy miss most about actually being in college it’s Welcome Week. (And our parents footing the bills.) 7 full days of debauchery, warm weather and nothing else to do makes for one pretty awesome time.

Want to stay up all night playing Kings and eating Doritos? Go ahead!
Want to pack up the car and take a trip to the beach for the day? Why not?
Want to fill a pool with Jell-O and wrestle around in it while your friends watch and cheer you on? You got nothin’ else goin on..

Sigh.

We want to do those things too, but unfortunately we have to go to “work” and “be adults.” But that doesn’t mean we can’t live vicariously through you lucky ladies (and give away a sweet prize at the same time!). So, we are having a contest.

Send us your best/funniest/most hilarious/ridiculous photos from Welcome Week. (Yeah, including that one of you climbing the school’s famed fountain in your dress.) We will pick our favorites, post ‘em to the site and have the readers vote on which one is the best. If you or your friends don’t wanna see your faces on the interwebs, feel free to block em out. We don’t care; we just wanna pretend like we are right there with you.

If your picture is chosen, you will win a free iHome.
Free.
Sent to you.
To use for those awesome pre-party dance parties. Or to muffle out the sounds of your roommate doing the naughty, naughty.

All entries should be sent to editor@collegecandy.com and must be received by Friday, September 5th at 1:00 PM. We will post our favorites the following Monday and voting will last until Friday, September 12th. Tell your friends. Tell their friends. Just don’t tell your family.

We will announce the winner on the site (picture and all) on Monday, September 15th, at which point we will send your tubular (we are trying to bring that word back) iHome to you.

So chug that beer, grab that camera and enjoy Welcome Week (for us!).

There’s a party tonight that you’ve been dying to go to, but your energy level is way low. You can’t even get up to find pants.

Maybe because you haven’t stopping partying for the past 3 days? It’s OK - it’s Welcome Week.

But it’s not OK, because even that Red Bull you chugged isn’t working. And you really wanna go out.

The solution? Music, duh.

Invite a few of your girl friends over to help ramp up your partying spirit: throw back a few cocktails, put on your party face, and listen to this awesome mix. If this doesn’t get you goin‘, get back into bed. You are dunzo for the week. Read More »

You’ve unpacked your bags, hung your posters on the wall (with that blue sticky goo stuff that doesn’t really work because you aren’t allowed to put holes in the wall) and locked your precious new laptop to the desk. Now what?

Now what? NOW WHAT?

Now it’s time for the best 7ish days of your life: Welcome Week! For the only time in your college career (besides senior year, maybe), you have no class, no reading and nothing but time to get to know your lovely new home.

It is time to meet people, take part in all those fun campus-sponsored activities, and get the lowdown on which party stores sell to the under 21 crowd. Oh, and buy books…but we recommend waiting until the last day to do that.

Welcome Week is a totally new experience to you, Ms. Incoming Freshman, so we decided to give you a few hints for survival. No, you don’t need a tent, helmut and 30 bottles of water, but you do need an open mind, a little bravado and a whole lot of Advil.

Our writers looked back into their hazy Welcome Week memories and gave us this advice:

Julia – UC Berkley: Don’t get too rowdy with the boys. My friend went a little, er, wild during welcome week and ended up missing all of her first fall semester due to an unfortunate case of mono.

Kelly UMass: Stay away from the Jungle Juice (or anything in a tub/large cauldron) and watch the roads. My first night out in college I saw some drunk dude get hit by a car. No lie.

K - NYU: Never hook up with the guy who asks, “Do you want liquor?” Read More »