It's that time again... time to indulge in a spot of jealousy, betrayal and late-night bar-hopping. Also, the moment of truth has finally arrived. Everyone's back from a week of apres-ski hot tub fun in Sun Valley, and cream-coloured envelopes from the Ivy League are beginning to drop all over Fifth Avenue doorsteps. The question is: are the envelopes thick or thin? Has Nate's devotion to his misbehaving heiress dimmed his chances of getting into Brown? Is Blair too busy daydreaming in Eric's old pinstriped Oxfords to remember her real mission in life – Yale? Hopefully Serena can snap her newest-and-oldest best friend out of it. That is, if Serena hasn't already become too much of a vapid, celery-eating supermodel to even care. But we know that Serena is made of sterner stuff... don't we? Cover design by Jennifer Blanc.