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Facebook application lets you apply to college

Apparently, you can do more with a Facebook application than throw sheep at your friends; this one claims to actually help you research and apply to universities.

Caroline McCarthy Former Staff writer, CNET News
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos.
Caroline McCarthy

Something just feels off about the new Facebook app from Embark.

Called College Planner, this widget lets prospective college students research schools and then apply to them without actually leaving their Facebook profiles. You can also see which people on your friends list are interested in the same schools.

Applying to college through Facebook. A little weird, isn't it?

Embark

I like to think that it wasn't all that long ago that I was applying to colleges.The world was "wired" enough so that most of my application forms were downloaded off the Internet, but I don't recall actually submitting any online.

Online applications, I suppose, have been thoroughly destigmatized (back in my day, there was still the concern that an electronic application wouldn't be taken as seriously as a paper one), but it's still a bit ironic to be applying to college through a site that's best known as an addictive procrastination hub.

What really stands out about "social college applications" is that many people I knew (not all, obviously) were fiercely private about where they were applying, especially if the school was a "reach." Then again, this was before high schoolers were eagerly exposing their souls on MySpace.com profiles, so perhaps privacy is no longer sacred.

No, actually, now I think I know what's unnerving about the Embark application. It's the fact that this is a Facebook application that actually could be useful. Zombies and FluffFriends, beware!

(Via AllFacebook.com.)