Incoming freshmen use Facebook to meet up with fellow students

The college acceptance letters are in the mail, and thanks to social networking sites like Facebook, many students will arrive on campus with a whole new social group to greet them, reports the New York Times.

Monique Yin, who will attend NYU this fall, already has 650 new friends from all over the world, thanks to starting a new group on Facebook called "NYU 2011."

There are hundreds of incoming freshman groups on Facebook, started by students who want to connect with their new peers. They meet up to socialize before the semester starts to share information like which dorm to live in, how to find roommates, and who is their favorite band. They don't just hang out online.

Ashley Hollier, who will attend Tulane University in the fall, met some other Tulane students though a Facebook group, arranged to have a tour of the school and went out to dinner afterwards.

"It was six people who had never met each other — two from Massachusetts, two from Louisiana and two New York kids," Miss Hollier said. "Sitting at the table we felt like old friends."

Not everyone is comfortable with the Facebook social scene.

"Basically it just provides people with an opportunity to brag about their grades or talk about how they go out and party," said Adam Muchnick, a senior at Riverdale Country School who will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Of course, college administrators like to keep tabs on what students are concerned about. Some colleges such as Tulane have set up their own online group for admitted and prospective students.

"It's not Facebook, so we can manage the content," Robert Alexander, assistant vice president of enrollment management at Tulane.