Probably the changes were inevitable. Maybe we'll learn to love them. In time. The first one comes at the college fair when the reps are casual about academics. You'll find them full of information about the food, the social life, the campus spirit. Although they won't talk much about books and learning, they may mention the availability of free tutoring....don't worry.

Be sure to mention computer science, even if that's not your major interest. Schools need to compete in new ways now. Top competitors in this area are Bryn Mawr and Georgia Tech. They'll include a personal robot with the course materials. This innovation is backed by the Microsoft Institute for Personal Robots in Education. (How did we ever manage?)

OK you get into the school of your choice, fight for the classes you want, and go to pick up your textbooks. Forget cash: you won't have that much on you.

In June, in response to a General Accounting Office report that textbook prices have risen six percent a year since 1987, the House of Representatives Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance investigated the impact on students.

Three dynamics were identified. The first is parallel to the situation on the soaring costs of prescription drugs: the person who orders is not the one who pays. The second is bundling: the inclusion of CD-ROMS and workbooks with the text. The third is simply the pace of development: frequent revisions of texts are mandatory in almost every field. So set aside about $1000 a year. Yes.

**The New York Times** recently ran an article by William C. Taylor titled "Under New Management" and subtitled "Business Revolutionaries". If you didn't read on, you might not have thought it was mostly about higher education. It discussed relatively new companies: Blackboard, eCollege, and Jenzabar. All of them may be revolutionizing college life; that will impact your wallet, and maybe in positive ways.

Blackboard's president said he'd chosen the name so as to attract not just the online enthusiasts. I was intrigued, and spent time trying to find out more about its products. I was defeated by finding no plain-English description on the home page, and by finding that several product demos required software I don't have. See how it looks to you.

eCollege seems to concern itself with distance learning: online courses to achieve a degree or a career goal. They're selling, to colleges, the affordability and ease of online courses, and this is an easy sell. Maybe administrators discussing the addition of online course will go to an outside vendor like this one. Some well-recognized places like the University of Wyoming and Columbia University offer a lot, and so far manage to handle curriculum and distribution internally. For the end consumer, what nobody mentions is this: employers will take a while yet to respect learning online. If you already have one degree from a prestigious institution, adding a distance-learning degree to your portfolio will do you some good. If you don't, it won't. So don't hope it will bring a job.

Jenzabar says its Campus Intelligence Data Modules will

• Allow distribution of information to any individual on campus;
• Create a reliable central area for information retrieval;
• Enable institutions to leverage information as an asset.

The one area of their website where I saw true innovation is in college administration. The modules cover candidate analysis for the admissions people, student enrollment and retention figures, donor information and gift research for the development office, and financial analysis for the numbers people. If they really do simplify the way this data moves, they'll make major improvements in the way colleges run. Will that make your college experience easier and cheaper? Probably it will. Families of students are not going to think much about college administrative costs; yet, just as in health care, that's where a big chunk o' your money goes.

Back to our student: of course you're too smart to get into credit-card debt while you're still in college. Still, reminders don't hurt. Take a look at the decidedly friendly Playbook for Life that the Hartford Insurance Company puts out for student athletes. The TIPS sidebar on the left hands you just the basics to stay on top of things and have a great time at college: keep in touch.