Colleges Go Online to Calm the Admissions Jitters

And even with application folders filling 23 five-drawer filing cabinets along a wall of the office and spilling onto most other flat surfaces, Creasy has gotten to know more about individual students such as Christy Thai, a high school senior from Olney.

She was worried about her scores last year. Then she found a college admissions message board with people posting their statistics and felt even worse. "It was bad," she said, "because it made me believe I won't get accepted to any college."

As decisions near, the drama peaks online, with people writing, for example, "ONE MORE HOUR!!!!!" until admission and rejection results would be posted and "I can't take it!"

When Creasy reads those message boards, he knows the people who write often are a small minority even of those who are competing for the most selective schools. "But it does scare me sometimes," he said. "The intensity."

It's great that students have access to so much more information, said John Latting, director of undergraduate admissions at Hopkins. "The flip side is a sort of hysteria about college admissions." He worries about college rankings, which can make families think their options are limited to a short list of elite schools, and the misinformation floating around.

On a recent night, someone listed his SAT scores (in the 700s on each part) on a site and wrote: "Guys, do you think I have a chance to be admitted. I am really nervous. . ."

Someone told him he had a 50-50 chance.

"Some of the information out there is just shockingly, shockingly bad," said Lalonde, who monitors sites for U-Va. and often posts corrections and clarifications. "I get bombarded," she said, with nervous students and parents dragging her to other online discussions to answer new questions.

Creasy tries to fight the stereotypes of Hopkins -- that the school cares only about numbers and scores, not the applicants, and that the atmosphere on campus is hypercompetitive and cutthroat. He takes questions. How many?

"More," he said, "than you could ever imagine."

Thai sent some after finding that her early-decision application had been deferred to the regular admissions pool. She didn't know quite what to think -- was it all over for her? -- so she posted to the Hopkins message board and got answers and a list of suggestions from Creasy right away. "I felt like 'Oh, good, I have another chance!' " she said.

Now at Hopkins, a group of students gives Creasy ideas for admissions, helps him monitor the message boards and answers questions. Some blog.

Creasy runs contests, shares his Oscar picks, posts pictures of teddy bears wearing little Hopkins hoodies and chats online about his favorite TV shows, such as "24." "24 is on in just a few hours!" one applicant posted recently. "Haha sweet i was the closest!" another wrote after a contest.

Thai checks the site often. "It's really better. It kept my nerves down and stress down."

Not that all the applicants are laid-back now. Far from it.

"We definitely get students who communicate with us on an obsessive level," Creasy said. But overall, he thinks the changes the school has made help it connect better.

That means making Hopkins more appealing, he hopes -- and luring more applicants. And making it even tougher to get in.