There are three universities available for your students to attend: Academie Le Tour, the Ivy League style school; Sim State University, the big, generic state school; and La Fiesta Tech, the party school. Each town can have any or all schools available for their young adults. Once your Sim grows up and want to go to college, they move on to the new Young Adult phase of their lives. Or, if you don't want to follow a Sim from childhood through college and beyond, you can create new Sim students on the fly. They then have 8 semesters to make new friends, study hard, maybe earn a little cash at a side job, and everything else a young person does at college. After completing their "education", your Sims then move on to the real world of full-time jobs and home ownership. Since there's a fixed amount of time that your Sims can be at college, this expansion is less open-ended than previous ones. At some point he or she will be sent out to the greater Sim universe.

There are some great new features to report, such as a brand-new influence system. Once you build up influence, you can use it to get others to do stuff for you. Maybe you want the new girl to write your term paper? Or the cafeteria guy to make your bed? Now's your chance to be the big man (or woman) on campus. Your Sims unlock more influence by making friends. So, the more popular your Sim, the easier it will be to influence others.

Other new features include communal living in dorms, fraternity houses, and the like. Your Sim shows up at college and claims a room in the dorm, and shares common space with other dorm mates. Visitors ring the doorbell like normal, so they can't just wander in unless they know you already. You have the option of locking your door to keep out other Sims, which I recommend especially if you have a computer, or else you'll find that you'll never get a chance to check your email.

If your Sim wants to experience all college has to offer by joining a fraternity or sorority, all they have to do is ask. Calling the house will cause a team of brothers or sisters to show up at your doorstep, in togas no less. Your Sim has 6 minutes to develop some sort of relationship with each member of the team, at which point they can ask to pledge the house. My Sim was unable to pull it off, but a more social Sim should have no trouble at all. Or, if you're not Greek inclined, send your Sims to Academie Le Tour, where there are no fraternities to worry about.

The academic side of college hasn't been ignored. Your Sim can choose from 11 different majors, each of which prepares him or her for a specific career down the road. Don't like political science? Then change your major. It's as easy as logging into the campus computer system.

If your Sim excels at school and makes the grade, they will unlock 4 new careers - so there's definitely an incentive to do well. Other benefits of studying hard include additional Want slots. Of course, your Sim can flunk out pretty easily, too. By missing class and not turning in assignments, your Sim may soon find himself headed back home. The idea was to make your Sim's success or failure have lasting consequences as they moved on into real life.

I have read reports that bugs have started creeping in to the Sims 2 universe, much as they did with the Sims expansions, but I didn't encounter very many bugs. The only one I can really report is that one of my Sims went to class in her nightie. It seems strange to me that student Sims still only get dressed after bathing, especially considering how infrequently that event occurs. While I'm sure that those of us who can still remember college can recall a lot of time spent in sweats sitting around the common room, I don't remember a lot of skimpy nighties. But then, I went to an engineering school.

Musically, The Sims 2 University has brought in some great new sound. New alternative style songs make a great backdrop to dorm life. These songs were recorded by real bands, so I wonder if we'll hear the same songs on the radio someday.

As far as performance goes, University comes in a little lower on the scale. My machine is not a powerhouse but it does well enough with the original game and is well above the minimum requirements. However, the expansion loads very slowly and certain functions, like camera movement, are sluggish. I think this is to be expected considering how much more complex the dorms are. But perhaps the minimum requirements should be raised to better reflect the additional burden.

The Sims 2 University is a worthy addition to the Sims 2 universe. Things may seem a little sanitized (pillow fights?) but I don't mind the lack of some of the more unsavory aspects of college life. As I struggled to get my Sim to study, I have to say University does a good job of emulating the college experience. It's nearly impossible to get everything done, like studying, socializing, and basic hygiene. You end up being either a bookworm or a party girl, not both, unless you have some spare influence to spread around. But that's what college is really like, isn't it?