It wasn't by choice.

I attended an elite boarding school in Massachusetts (via scholarship, thank you very much) for the sole purpose of attending Harvard. I loved Boston, and I had dreams of going to a place where my intelligence would be respected, not mocked.

When I started applying to schools in the fall, my GPA was high and I had a ton of extracurriculars. Things looked good, but my parents, who had just moved to Michigan for work, insisted I plan out some alternatives. Of course. Thankfully, they had moved to a place with a great in-state school; even when I applied to U of M, I didn't dread the idea of going. It just wasn't in my top five.

I actually got into the school early (December), and then had to wait three months to hear about my other choices. Finally, the day came ' and Harvard rejected me. My next plan, the University of Pennsylvania, hit a snag when they offered no financial aid. Ditto with Northwestern. Finally, I realized not only was I going to Michigan, but I had no choice ' and I may never have had one.

It turns out, going to boarding school, even on a good scholarship, can strain a middle-class family. When it came time to go to college, I basically had one good choice. Thankfully, I got in.

And you know what? I believe I had a better time and learned more about myself there than if I had gone to Harvard or Penn. There was more diversity, more fun, more school spirit at UM than I've seen at a lot of other schools.

Kristin Erb is what you would call an impact freshman.

Not only did she lead Lock Haven University to the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship this season, but she also was named Division II Athlete of the Year.

Not a bad first season.

The Reading, PA, native finished the regular season undefeated with a record of 24-0, including two no-hitters, 270 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.20. She posted a 12-1 record with a 0.30 ERA in the postseason and was named MVP of the NCAA Tournament, as well as at the Regional and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournaments.

And when the accounting major is not on the mound, she's either at first or third base (she finished the season with a .360 batting average, with 32 RBI's and 39 runs scored).

Randolph-Macon College's Megan Silva may only be 5 feet 6 inches tall, but she stands well above her peers in Division III women’s basketball.
The senior point guard led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) with 23 points, 6.1 assists and 3.5 steals per game this season and was named Player of the Year in the conference for the third time. She finished her college career with 2,371 career points, 700 assists and 446 steals, more than any female or male in ODAC history.

Silva led Randolph-Macon to three ODAC tournament championships, three NCAA Division III tournament appearances, four straight seasons with 20 or more wins and a 2004-2005 NCAA tournament second-place finish. She did all of that while holding a 3.69 GPA in economics, which earned her the ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.

Erb and Silva will both be presented with the Honda Award, given to the overall top athletes in Division II and Division III, at a luncheon in June in New York City.

COED Media Group brings their College Caravan to a college near you this fall. Plugged in and ready to be interactive? You bet.

My College Daily with it’s original interactive suite presents some new social interaction websites that allow for realtime interaction from the party across the country. Streamvideo feeds of the party, USlamLive.com realtime sparing, and MCD mobile all are at the events.

USlamLIve.com, a new interactive form of text chat where you get the chance to vent, rant or just “slam” others on line. Video feeds are available from people who are interacting if they have a web cam attached to their computer.

My College Daily, will allow users to video tape their profiles at the party and deliver them directly to the web. No morestatic pictures here comes video.

TruthSessions.com, Each party will allow participants to step into the confessional live on the MCD network and confess their dirty little secret or call someone out or just say hi.

All Live, All Real, All College.

As the creator of My College Daily, I got bored going to social networking sites. These sites nothing more than photos and blogs, really had nothing else for me.

“I want more, I need more!”

I noticed, that I search the web in one browser, seek music and band information in another, I then open a third and seek rediculous and funny photos and videos and to torture my machine I have my Myspace account open and am drifting through the world of unknown. “Stop the insanity”.

I thought what if I put it all in one place.

Hmmm, that one stop. Where I can go daily and get all of the stuff I love.

“That’s it! My College Daily”.

I went right to work, jotting down ideas, wire framing the work arounds to tragic user interface and scheming. With evil laughs from inside my head I decided it all made sense, and thus the journey began.

The formula was easy:

Entertainment + Social Networking + College Parties = What I search for on the web.

My creation is now yours. My College Daily, social network is now in Beta testing, is free for your evaluation, let me know what you think.

All Entertainment Channels and Original programming launch September 6, 2006.

CYA at MCD

10. NHL Ice-cleaner

No, we’re not talking about a Zamboni driver. That would be on the list of coolest sports jobs. This is the guy who has to scoop up the octopi and hats off the ice during NHL games. Try not to slip on those tentacles on national TV!

9. International Soccer Ref

These guys play crucial roles in the most popular sport on the planet. And if fans disagree with their calls, which happens quite often, they get death threats, cars driven onto the pitch and surely much worse.

8. NBA Water Boy

Here, Kobe … take some water. No? You sure? Please Kobe, take some. Please. Talk about a thankless job. Most guys pretend you don’t even exist. And even if they take the cup of water, they don’t look at you.

7. NFL Sideline Worker
How cool would it be to get to be on an NFL sideline during an actual game? Pretty nice, as long as you didn’t get run over by a 320-lb. lineman in pads. A concussion is a real possibility every time they go to the office.

6. Tennis Line Judge
Not only do you have to sit for hours on end with your back in a hunch position (chiropractor, anyone?), but you also never get any positive feedback. Fans and players are always yelling at you. Now, it even looks like computers might take away your job.

5. Sparring Partner
You spend all day knowing you are walking into the ring with a guy who’s expected to kick the crap out of you. And then he does. Plus, he’s the one who’s going to make millions while you get a broken nose.

4. Horse Groomer
There’s very little glory in working in horse racing these days, and you can bet the guy who cleans out the stalls and shovels the manure isn’t being interviewed on national television. Worse yet, just imagine if your office smelled like that.

3. Spit-bucket Holder
We’ve all seen this guy. After a star boxer gets bloodied, he spits his insides into a bucket at ringside. You hope every day that the boxer who can only see out of one eye has enough aim left to hit the bottom of the bucket and not your new sweat suit.

2. Baseball Dugout Janitor
Ever watch during a baseball game when they cut to the dugout? The chewing tobacco, snot rockets, empty paper cups, sunflower seeds and gum fly around like it’s a rainstorm in there. Whomever has the guts to clean up that thing needs a hug.

1. Urine Test Collector
How do you explain to your parents that, after years of doing research, you now follow athletes into a bathroom while they pee in front of you? Sure, someone has to do it. Let’s just hope that someone isn’t us.

' AOL Sports

So, I heard you just finished Stanford.
Yeah, I just graduated in August. I was an English Literature major. Eventually I want to get a PhD and fuse hip-hop with academics at a college level as a professor. So I thought (laughs) getting my degree was an important step.

On your new album you have a line in your Jay-Z parody ད Concepts' that complains about college girls.
Yeah, it's 'College is where girls go to get fat.' The thing is, at Stanford, the girls aren't so attractive. I think they were the types in high school who spent a lot of time in their rooms doing homework. I don't mean to be mean, but at Stanford I found if you want to hang out with girls you ' go to other schools. And don't you find honesty is the best answer in this situation?

Um, sure. Good luck playing Stanford. Do you usually play for college kids?
I've done a lot of colleges, get flown out for one show, that and the punk audience are the strongest for me. College kids get the jokes, though; they'll understand the existentialism references, while a random kid from Nebraska will get the 50 Cent reference.

You do a lot of music based around classic literature. 'Rapbeth' is a tribute to Edgar Allen Poe, while 'Ahab' retells the story of Moby Dick.

Yeah, that was from my school days. I took a whole class on Herman Melville. I really got into it, it's a great story.

How'd you get into hip-hop?
I was more of a punk guy in high school, but I realized hip-hop was a really minimalist artform ' it can just be me and my computer on stage, and it's just as entertaining.

You knock 'crunk' on your new CD and your other hip-hop musical references are pretty old-school. This is a pretty standard response by white rappers to modern hip-hop.
I think what happened is that after ྚ, the public decided that the degrading image of African-American people being gangster rappers was more appealing and marketable than the KRS-One, Public Enemy consciousness stuff. Hip-hop reinforced itself as an insipid genre, instead of something challenging and exciting. I think when rock guys and nerdy white guys try to appropriate hip-hop, we go back to that, it seems more like when hip-hop had vitality and potential. But I do like some new underground stuff, like Ras Kass and Canibus.

Do you freestyle?
I'm working on it more and more, I try to incorporate it into my set, but the thing is, if you can't do it well, you shouldn't (laughs).

Where did you get such a huge English fanbase?
Ironically, my home base, my 'scene' is Oxford, England. Sophomore year I went abroad, that's when I started stepping up and performing for people who weren't just my friends. It kinda just snowballed there. I think British people have a quirkier take on hip-hop, their sense of humor is more dry, and that helped me. It's funny, Stanford is very academic, you hang out, do homework and go to the football games, and then in Oxford, there's a wonderful music scene and cool people' it was the perfect time to be there.

Rap doesn't age well. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I want to get more political. My whole thing is to have a family-friendly edge, that gets people into it, but then when they look at the lyrics, they see that there's a whole subversive philosophy and makes people question things' the best way to do that is come off as child-friendly and silly, but if you have an edge to it, that adds a lot.

As the song says, did you have a 'Roommate from Hell?'
Yeah, senior year. His name was Chris, just like the song. He was nice, but we had different personalities. But no, unlike the song, he wasn't literally Satan, and he didn't have an actual pitchfork or sacrifice babies.

Your first single, 'Download This Song,' pretty much encourages your fans to get your music for free. How you gonna make a living doing that?
I'm for downloading, but ideally ' there's this whole technological shift to having music as a physical product to it being a service. Now I think my fans can compensate me in other ways, like buying a T-shirt. Well, in a morally perfect world, that's how'd it work.

10. Christian Laettner ' Duke
Best known for his game-winning last-second shot in Duke’s dramatic 104-103 victory over Kentucky in the East regional final of the 1992 NCAA Tournament. Won the national championship in 1991 and 1992, and is one of three players in NCAA tournament history to lead his team to four consecutive Final Fours.

9. Alex Groza ' Kentucky
The center of the “Fabulous Five” that won the 1948 and 1949 NCAA championships, Groza was three-time All-American and All-SEC, and two-time NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. He also was a member of the gold medal-winning 1948 US Olympic basketball team.

8. David Thompson ' NC State
A three-time All-American, he was given the nickname “Skywalker” because of his 48-inch vertical leap. Along with teammate Monte Towe, he is credited with inventing the alley-oop pass. He led North Carolina State to the 1974 NCAA championship.

7. Bob Kurland ' Oklahoma State
A seven-foot center in the 1940s, when that wasn't exactly commonplace, Kurland led then Oklahoma A & M University to consecutive NCAA titles in 1945 and 1946.

6. Pete Maravich ' LSU
Maravich is still the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history, averaging 44.2 points per game, without the benefit of a three-point line. He also scored more than 50 points in a game an NCAA record 28 times, and was named a three-time All-American. “Pistol Pete” set 11 NCAA and 34 Southeastern Conference records.

5. Oscar Robertson ' Cincinnati
Considered one of the greatest guards to ever play basketball, Robertson was voted College Player of the Year and led the nation in scoring during his sophomore, junior and senior years at Cincinnati. He never won a championship, but the year after he graduated the Bearcats won their first of two consecutive titles.

4. Jerry Lucas ' Ohio State
Lucas led Ohio State to three straight NCAA finals appearances and won it all in 1960. He was an All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year all three years he played for the Buckeyes, and is the only player to record 30 points and 30 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game.

3. Bill Russell ' San Francisco
Russell led the Dons to consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, including a string of 55 consecutive victories. He averaged 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game for his college career.

2. Bill Walton ' UCLA
Walton was the leader of a Bruins team that won an NCAA record 88 consecutive games as well as the 1972 and 1973 championships. In the ྅ title game, Walton made 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scored 44 points.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ' UCLA
Kareem's UCLA teams (he was known then as Lew Alcindor) went a combined 88-2 from 1966 to 1969, winning the national championship in three of those seasons (1967, 1968, 1969). He was twice named Player of the Year, was a three-time First Team All-American and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament three times.

- ' from The Mad Dog Hall Of Fame, The Ultimate Top-Ten Rankings of the Best In Sports by Christopher Russo

So you have MySpace and you have a Facebook… Hmmm both have advantages but both have their problems as well.

Now COED Media Group offers to the entirity of the college student body – My College Daily.

Ok, so what’s so special about it? Let’s start with it’s designed for the purpose of truely being a social network. Other sites were built as either media kits for band or staff directories for business, have limitations.

Here is what makes My College Daily truely special:

No Walls Visit any college student, anywhere, with no limits.

My Playlist Play, browse and share MP3s (legally!) while floating through the site.

File Vault Share and store files on your profile. Never deal with a portable drive again!

Friends Find the people you want to talk to, message 'em, put 'em in categories ' do what you want. They're YOUR friends!

Gallery Get your photos online and rate other people's pics. And if you vote, you're automatically eligible for special prizes!

Journal Let the world know what’s on your mind ' put text, photos and whatever else you want on your blog.

Messaging Pinch your friends, tag a stranger, or just leave someone a juicy note. However you want to talk to someone, you can do it through MCD.

Groups Share photos, list events and update journal entries for a select group of friends.

Security Don't want certain people snooping around? Blacklist 'em, or hide your files and photos. With MCD, you can let in whoever you want ' or keep them out.

Share! Have friends outside our network? No worries, you can share your photos (and other select info) with your MCD-less pals?

Exclusive Content: We have more fresh content than any other networking site. Plus, you’ll always have the latest latest from CO-ED magazine and COEDmagazine.com at your fingertips.

So, You down with me?

Join MCD today at http://www.mycollegedaily.com

Buying a new car you can actually afford? Doesn't mean you have to scrimp on style. Your new ride might start out all plain Jane, but you can pimp it out later as your cash flow improves. It helps to start with a good foundation, though, to avoid big costs later on.
Listen to what a knowledgeable car guy has to say.
'Reliable choices from the usual suspects 'Toyota and Honda, new or used ' might be more expensive than other options,' says Knowledgeable Car Guy (a.k.a. Joe Weisenfelder, senior producer for Cars.com). 'The upside is that they're fuel efficient and reliable. If students can cough up a little more money up front for a used one, they're less likely to suffer unexpected repair costs than they would with another brand. It's the surprises that cause trouble when money is tight.'
We picked out a few low-cost rides that will get you where you need to go and help you look good when you get there. Like the emergency room. Sorry about that chainsaw accident, dude!

Honda Fit (Price TBD)

Honda brings this subcompact five-hatchback stateside after proving its popularity in Europe and Asia. The Fit packs a torque-y four-cylinder engine, offers an available automatic transmission and even has paddle shifters on the sport model. Although the car looks small on the outside, it's actually fairly roomy, with plenty of storage space for hauling your goods (yes, it could fit a dead hooker ' why do you ask?). Trick it out from the long list of add-ons, including an iPod Music Link. Standard items include air conditioning, CD stereo and power gadgets. No announcement yet on pricing.

Scion xA (Base price $12,730)

Spunky and roomy, the xA boasts a long list of standard equipment, including a Pioneer stereo, and an optional system that plugs into your iPod or other MP3 player; think of the Scion as the ultimate accessory. Go-power comes from a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Standard features include anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), which detects the differences in front- and rear-wheel speeds and distributes the proper braking force to all four wheels.
Every Scion comes with three complimentary oil changes, performed by an authorized dealership. Fuel mileage would make a camel proud: EPA city/highway mileage estimates of 32/37 mpg with the five-speed manual transmission and 31/38 mpg with the available four-speed automatic transmission.

Hyundai Elantra (Base price $13,844)

Available as a four-door or hatchback, the Elantra (I hate these made-up names) boasts a 138-horsepower, 2.0-liter, four cylinder engine. Daaaamn! All levels come with the basic upgrades, such as air conditioning and power windows/locks/mirrors, and a six-speaker stereo. The premium package bundles a power sunroof with ABS and traction control. As a less expensive alternative to a Honda or Toyota, the Elantra comes with one of the best warranties around: 5 years/60,000 miles basic, 10 years/100,000 miles powertrain, and 5 years unlimited roadside assistance. It's so roomy the government calls it a mid-size, not a compact. We call it chubby, ourselves.

Ford Focus (Base price $13,860)

The Focus is a nimble driver, especially the ST sedan version, and it also comes in a hatchback and wagon versions. It's won numerous awards from consumer and auto magazines for its blend of frugality and quality (the same thing we look for in a mate!). The Street Appearance Package gives the Focus a 'tuner' look right out of the showroom with body-color trim, fog lamps and lower air deflector, body-color rear bumper trim with black diffuser insert, body-color spoiler and bright exhaust tip. Engine choices range from a 136-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder to a sporty 151-horsepower 2.3-liter. Depending on the engine and transmission choice, the Focus can put out less pollution than some hybrid vehicles.

Chevrolet Cobalt (Base $12,990)

There are plenty of choices when it comes to the Cobalt, from the LS entry level up to the hot SS supercharged coupe. Engine choices start with the 2.2-liter, 145-horsepower base model and run up to the 205 horsepower supercharged coupe. Standard niceties include air conditioning, electric rear defogger, CD player, and driver information center. XM Satellite Radio and OnStar are available as well, the latter programmed to call for help in case of an accident. Note: does not include aforementioned chainsaw incident. The interior is handier than a Swiss Army knife, with 60/40 folding rear seats, interior access to the trunk area and plenty of storage. The Cobalt is easy to live with, as the only scheduled maintenance is changing the oil and filter.

[SIDEBAR]
Geek Out
We present three gadgets guaranteed to make your car an even bigger part of your life

Belkin TuneBase FM ($80)

The stalk-like TuneBase FM iPod lets you power, charge, and listen to your iPod simultaneously in the car. Connecting through any cigarette-lighter port, it uses a built-in FM-transmitter to beam your playlists through your car's radio.

AP1 Anti Paparazzi Photo Camera Jammer ($TK)

If you're rolling with camera magnets like Paris or Lindsay, the Jammer helps maintain personal privacy. Based on jammers that block speed trap cameras from snapping a photo of your license plate, the Paparazzi senses a camera being used and fires off bright white light over the plate. When the photographer looks at the pictures, all they'll see is an unreadable blur of white light.

Freedom Grill FG-50 Tailgating Barbecue Grill

Get ready for the big game with this hitch-mounted propane grill that boasts enough cooking space for 15 burgers, as well as a fold-out side table to hold the fixin's. Sorry, thrill-seeking grillmasters, the manufacturer recommends the vehicle be parked before lighting up.

When you’re a junior in high school, the last thing you want to do is make an important decision, like choose 'the' college you’ll attend for the next four years of your life. The campus tours, interviews and applications seriously interfere with your social agenda.

If you’re lucky, picking a school is easy. That was true for me.

I remember stepping on to the Gettysburg College campus and knowing that was where I was meant to go. The campus was strangely just what I had pictured college to look like: Beautiful green grass, trees and flowers surrounded old brick buildings. Plus it’s a small school, which is a characteristic I was looking for.

Before setting anything in stone, I needed to become familiar with the party scene (what’s a school worth without some good fun?). So, I stayed with a family friend who was a student there. The night was a blur of natty light beer and fraternity houses, but there is one memory I have that sticks out most. As we stood outside Phi Sigma Kappa, one of the brothers dropped a TV out the third-floor window. Everyone shouted and clapped as it crashed on the cement. That outrageous act sold me.

I applied early decision.