Student bloggers aid college admissions

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Students who want to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can get an up-close look at campus life through student blogs, admissions officers say.

MIT pays its bloggers up to $40 a week for offering their thoughts on anything that might interest prospective students, The New York Times reported Friday.

Topics discussed run the gamut from navigating the application process to dealing with the institute's intense workload.

"There've been several times when I felt like I didn't really fit in at MIT," wrote Cristen Chinea, a senior. "I nearly fell asleep during a Star Wars marathon. I was bored out of my mind."

Dozens of colleges, including Amherst Bates, Carleton, Colby, Vassar, Wellesley and Yale, are embracing student blogs on their Web sites, the Times says.

"There is no better way for students to learn about a college than from other students," said Jess Lord, dean of admissions for Pennsylvania's Haverford College.