I'm sure the majority of you out there use Facebook. Perhaps you don't use it as fiendishly as USC football coach Pete Carroll (I'm not kidding, he has a legitimate Facebook profile), but most of you sign on now and then, or will sign on in the future.

Back when students owned Facebook and it wasn't cluttered with applications, advertisements and 80-year-old thrill seekers, there was an official "courses" feature operated by Facebook. We could find our classes and add them to a schedule that would be displayed on our profile, we could see which classes friends were taking and we could easily form study groups by looking through our class rosters.

The best part about it was everyone used it – so the class rosters were actually complete and the feature was useful.

So what happened to it? Well, in short, Facebook got rid of it, saying developers could make something better in the form of an application. In my opinion, Facebook just got lazy and wanted to focus on making money rather than on students' experience. But hey, I can't really blame them.

Lucky for us, Cramster has developed its own application – Courses 2.0 – that does everything Facebook's old courses did plus a whole lot more. One exciting feature coming soon is the ability to form an online study group without leaving Facebook.

But as you know, the app can't be at its best unless a ton of students hop on board. That's where you come in.

We've created a group called Courses 2.0 – Facebook courses the way it should be in hopes that it can spread the word and make Courses 2.0 the universal courses application just like we used to have.

C'mon – you know having a universal courses app once again would be pretty awesome.

For most high school seniors, it's that time of year – the time when funny hats are thrown into the air to signal the end of sheltered bubbles and parental control, and the beginning of the path to expanded horizons.

But if you were like me, the standard graduation song that everyone hears takes a back seat to your soon-to-be fight song that makes you distinct.

Before you can step foot onto the college campus of your choice, however, you must spend three months in educational limbo. Sure, you'll be working, possibly taking a summer class or two and enjoying your weekends (be careful, kids), but through it all, college will always be on your mind.

Courses, professors, new cities, roommates, classmates, parties, freedom and unlimited cafeteria buffets – no one can blame you for drowning in possibilities.

So how can you strike a healthy balance? Here are five tips to help you get pumped and prepared but keep you away from classic pre-freshman mistakes.

1. Read up on some school history – Let me paint the scene: You're at the first home football game and the band strikes a chord that sends most people around you into song, but you have no idea what's going on. Naturally, you clap and bounce around a little, hoping your awkward smile doesn't catch on and that the song will be over before your giddy friend sticks a fake microphone in your face. Don't let this happen to you. Know the songs, know the recent sports history, know about the traditions – orientation will help, but most of the time you'll be bogged down with registrations and info sessions. Doing some history legwork during the summer will make you a natural fit.

2. Make Facebook your friend, not your lifeline – Back in the day when I was a college freshman (2005… c'mon guys), Facebook was just a baby. Still, there were people who made fools of themselves before they ever spoke with one of their classmates in person; and Facebook was the culprit. Friending a few future classmates, joining a few groups and sending a few messages or wall posts back in forth is a great idea – it will help you out socially in the early going. On the other hand, having 1,000 friends, owning all 10 recent wall posts on a cute boy or girl's wall and being a proud member of 132 groups – some of which are inside jokes among the senior class – is a terrible idea. After being told, "Oh, you're the dude I saw on Facebook!" for the 20th time, you'll understand why.

3. Scope out the area surrounding campus – I'm sure your college will have a multitude of events for the incoming freshmen during the first few weeks of school that will keep you on campus. But once the on-campus buzz dies down, you'll serve yourself well by finding the cool spots to eat or catch a movie off campus. Telling a group of your new buddies, "Hey, I heard about this great Italian place down the road," right before you were all about to hit the cafeteria for the 14th day in a row will make you a demigod in their eyes.

4. Put some money in your pockets – About those great off-campus locales… you probably can't go there unless you have a few bucks to spend. If you don't have a job locked down yet, even if it only pays minimum wage, find one! Gas prices aren't getting any lower and pizza by the slice can only be so cheap. Remember when movies were six bucks? Scouts honor, it wasn't that long ago.  

5. Set yourself up to succeed with Courses 2.0 and Cramster – All right, I'll admit this step might be a few months away, but I promise it's just as worthwhile. College courses are more difficult than high school courses – you knew that already – but there are also more educational tools at your disposal. Signing up for a free membership to Cramster.com is a natural step for math, science and engineering majors, but for those who don't know, Cramster will be testing our new subjects like economics and business in the near future. And going back to Facebook, Courses 2.0 is the perfect application to connect with new classmates. Let friends know which classes you are taking and check out who will be joining you in those classes – it's like the day your elementary school released teachers and class listings, but way more fun. And when the time comes to actually start studying, Courses 2.0 can help you find the right study partners.

Did I leave anything out? What are you doing to prepare for "the best four years of your life?"