College Blogging-- A Do, or Don't?

Imagine my surprise when I was applying for colleges-- MIT has its own blog for prospective students where prospectives are free to ask whatever their heart desires about the application or life at MIT.

I was a little surprised when I flipped through The New York Times and found out that the trend of a prospective blogging website is spreading quickly to colleges across the nation: Amherst, Vassar, Wellesley, and Yale, to name a few.

The concept of college blogging is so important to MIT that students get paid to answer questions on the blog's website. So the benefits? The colleges appear to be more approachable-- and prospective students get a view of college life before actually ever stepping foot on campus. The drawbacks? What if something unpleasant is posted by a student? Can the college censor what's posted?

Well, from a person who spent a significant amount of time browsing the college admissions blogs (I say this with the utmost shame), I can understand why schools would be concerned about the image that their students spread to potential students. To me, it seems unnecessary for a school to even get into the business of blogging-- why get mixed up in the mess associated with censorship? After all, there are other resources for students who are truly concerned about a college's admission process or even the food on campus (i.e. College Confidential).

Stay out of the mess, and focus on other more important things. The issue of censorship isn't the college's biggest priority.