I've never seen any hard data, but I bet that college campuses see more visitors in April than any other month of the year. High school seniors are on campus to sift through their choices and make a final decision, and juniors are visiting to decide where they'll apply next fall.

Students are looking at a variety of things when they visit facilities, programs and majors, social options, housing, food, athletics but I always encourage students to read the campus newspapers while visiting. Never underestimate the power of a campus newspaper.

I think prospective students can measure the pulse of a campus community through its newspaper. Editorials and columns will reveal the social and political orientation of the student body; art and music reviews will show the commitment to culture on campus; news, sports and features will keep the students and surrounding community informed about events both on and off campus, and those stories will shed light on what life on campus might be like.

Smart prospective students will be able to measure the intellectual curiosity and engagement of the students by the subject matter that the paper covers. A newspaper that devotes more space to sports than the arts probably reflects a campus with a high level of school spirit and less interest in the arts. A publication that includes a regular feature on religion probably has a large religious student population. One that has more articles about the quality of food in the dining hall than the upcoming local or national elections might reflect a politically apathetic community.

College newspapers vary in length and quality. Some are printed daily, others weekly. Recently, some college newspapers have relinquished their independence and are now owned by large mainstream news conglomerates, presumably to streamline costs and increase profits. On some campuses, students are fighting to maintain free press protection.

Traditionally, though, college newspapers have been fiercely independent and have enjoyed both journalistic and artistic freedom. Brown University's Brown Daily Herald, for example, features a graphic, uncensored weekly advice column called "Sexpertise."

Several weeks ago my college-bound nieces called to inform me that while reading the campus newspaper, they learned that some students at the highly regarded liberal arts college they had just visited did not bathe regularly. Not only did the campus newspaper find this interesting, so did my nieces.

The campus newspaper reported that the students felt the need to refute allegations and rumors that many in the student body had less-than-perfect hygiene, so about 200 students joined an online Facebook group to proclaim their proclivity for cleanliness.

As prospective students, my nieces appreciated the story's humor, but it also caused them to wonder if they would fit in with this group of nonbathers.

Unfortunately, this became the focus of their final visit to the college.

While looking at the library, sampling cafeteria fare and sitting in on a statistics class, their noses were doing double duty. Sure, they found a few grubby-looking students who were less than fresh-faced, but they're smart enough to know that these students can be found on any campus in the country.

However, their search kept them from noticing other great things about the campus, such as the new science center, the beautiful indoor swimming complex, the professors dining with their students, the stimulating array of speakers scheduled for upcoming lectures, and the sparkling new dorms with abundant showers.

Ultimately, they decided that the college just didn't feel right.

While I do not advocate the censorship of any newspaper college or otherwise and believe student journalists should be free to write or report on anything they think is relevant to their readers, my nieces' experience reminded me that a college newspaper's influence is twofold.

Just as its content can attract a diverse student body, it can also drive one away.

Joanne Levy-Prewitt is an independent college admissions adviser who works with students in the San Francisco area. E-mail her at jklprewitt@gmail.com.