Juniors and seniors have a lot on their plates: intense homework and assignments, extra-curricular responsibilities, and of course, your college dreams.

As of August 28 in Missouri, the answer “is no.” The Missouri Senate Bill 54 will make it illegal for teachers and students to “friend” or accept friend requests on the network.

But what about college admissions? More and more often admissions people are looking up your online footprint, and the most powerful and frequent gems they find are photos. You’d be surprised how a photo on Facebook or MySpace or Flickr or that new network the kid genius across the street is programming can find its way through the annals of the Internet, and somehow wind up re-purposed and posted to a blog called something you don’t want associated with your name.

We know Facebook is a big part of your life, and people will post pictures of you, and you’ll post pictures of you, so just try to stick to Cappex’s Facebook etiquette Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook for college-bound students:

Don’t:

Indicate any illegal activity
So your friend who goes by BBQ because, in his own words, he ‘”loves BBQ,” had a hook up with some fake ID peeps on the other side of town and got you one. To celebrate, you had an actual BBQ and BBQ bought the beers, and Jenny, who has no filter, took a million bazillion photos of your 17 year old self drinking and posted it immediately to Facebook with the caption “Look at how much fun we can have now!!!”

This is wrong on so many levels. First off, be safe and smart. Second, if those photos wind up under the critical eye of an admissions officer, good luck. There are easy ways to stay out of situations like these: A. Update your Facebook privacy settings B. Don’t take BBQ’s advice. Seriously, we don’t want to bore you with advice that your parents and teachers have probably told you a million times over, but make smart choices. Avoid stupid things and you won’t get stupid pictures online.

Expose too much skin
Perhaps P90x has been doing glorious things for your abs, but capturing your newly toned muscles and posting it to Facebook might not make the kind of impression you want.  When you think of college admissions do the words “scantily clothed” come to mind? No. No they don’t. Think of it this way: Academia is about expanding the mind, not showing an inappropriate amount of flesh. Dress to impress. Or, at least keep your clothes on.

Parade your PDA
Love is a beautiful thing. From the inside. From the outside, it’s kinda annoying to watch. Keep your kisses off the Internet for the sake of humans as well as for your chances of getting into your dream school. It’s not simply that your public display of affection is annoying to watch, it’s also that a lot of PDA photos can show admissions people your lack of judgment on what you choose to display about yourself not just fleetingly in public, but permanently online.

Be overly negative
Nobody likes a sourpuss. Having pictures with negative comments about other people or ideas just shines more brightly on your intolerance. College life is about expanding your worldview, so too much negativity in your photos might dissuade admissions counselors from rooting for you.

Do’s:

Post accomplishments
Humbly displaying the pictures that your mom took of you accepting the award for Student of the Year is a great thing for an admissions person to stumble upon. It could really bring to life that little line in your application where you wrote “Student of the Year”.

Share your travels
Your backpacking trip through Europe demonstrates how you’re an explorer and student of the world. The fact that you’ve traveled illustrates to admissions officers that you are open to new experiences and ideas.

Display your passions
Just like travel photos, photos of your paintings, dancing, acting, athletics or musical ability adds to your application by showing you as a well-rounded, passionate student. Any activity takes time and practice–both of which are great qualities in a student.

Show your service
A picture of the before and after of that house you helped construct for a family in need or you canning for a good cause illustrates that you are willing to give your time to others in need.

So those are the Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook etiquette for college-bound students. But just keep in mind, you don’t need photos of yourself doing good things, winning awards, or walking across the Great Wall of China to get into college. This is just advice for those who are stuck on having pictures online that people, such as admissions counselors, could come across.  If you want to be 100% sure that a college is making a choice about you based on your application and your application alone, clean up your online footprint.

What’s your experience with Facebook and applying to colleges? Share your feedback and thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Right now you’re in the eye of the storm–so things look nice and dandy with blue skies and beach weather–but, the whirlwind of college essays, 20-page applications, teacher recommendations, ACT and SAT scores will hit you full on come September.

To keep you on track and help ease the unrelenting storm that is the college application season that brews in the fall, we’ve put together a simple to-do list for you:

JUNE
–Finish your school year off strong
–Register for the October SAT if haven’t taken it or want to try again
–Choose which colleges you want to visit during the summer
–Use the easy Campus Visit Planner to help organize trips
–Request information and application materials from colleges
–Schedule an interview for when you plan to visit campus

JULY
–Review applications so you know what you’ll need
–Visit college campuses, take tours and interviews
–Narrow down list of colleges you will apply to
–Start rough drafts for college essays
–Register for September ACT if haven’t take it or want to try again

AUGUST
–Contact friends, or friends of friends, at the colleges you’re interested in to ask questions
–Create a organization system to keep track of the colleges you’re applying to and the materials that correspond
–Keep working on college essays
–Have in mind a couple teachers you would like to ask for recommendations

If you keep up with these things, you won’t be as stressed when you head back to high school as a senior.

Do you have any steps we should add to the list? Comment and let us know!

The one thing you might not be prepared for is the question that most students wind up dreading:

“So, [insert name], where ya heading off to college next year?”

Why does this question get annoying? Well, for one, you might not know the answer. And for another, any question that is repeatedly asked by anyone and everyone you happen to come in contact with will make you feel like you accidentally stepped into a never-ending inquisition.

So here are 4 ways to repeatedly answer the most dreaded college question:

1. RUN
As soon as you notice the words forming in your podiatrist’s lips, hop off the chair, and run out the door–you can send a pigeon for your shoes later.

If you are not a good runner, or you haven’t trained your pigeon to carry heavy objects quite yet, the next 3 options might be for you.

2. I’m Still Searching
You might have zero clue where you’re going. In fact, depending on the time of year someone asks you the question-that-shall-not-be-named, you might only be in the beginning of your college search. If this is the case, be honest. Let the inquisitor know you’re really not sure. You can tell them about the schools you might apply to, or which schools Cappex has introduced you to. Keep your answer short and sweet.

3. Magic
Don’t underestimate your magician-like skills as a conversationalist. Utilizing the magician’s method, you can make it seem like the question never existed by artfully changing the subject. This takes skill, but, hey, David Copperfield didn’t just make the Statue of Liberty disappear one random morning–he honed his craft (and had a big crew).

4. Bore your listener
If you really want to teach the person who asked the dreaded question a lesson, give them all the gory details. They’ll realize how much is behind the question–the hours you spent studying for the ACT/SAT, the conversations where you asked your favorite teacher to write you a recommendation, more hours you spent studying for the SAT II’s, asking a teacher you didn’t like that much for a recommendation, figuring out what to write your college essays about, joining the 10 different clubs that all raise money to help children–the list goes on!

The more you elaborate, the less likely that person is to ever assault another high schooler with the question:

“So, where you going to college?”