Wherever there's misfortune, the Lampoon--the semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine--is there to guffaw at the misery.

So while high school seniors across the country bite their nails, pull out their hair and have nervous breakdowns over getting into college, the funnymen (and woman or two) have published The Harvard Lampoon's Guide to College Admissions, released Sept. 3.

Billed as "the comprehensive, authoritative and utterly useless source of where to go and how to get in," the parody has it all: how to get into choice prep schools, scores of SAT tips, college rankings and hints for dealing with roommates.

According to Lampoon President Stephen C. Hely '02, the response has been overwhelming.

" Colleen, America's sweetheart [from 'Survivor'], has read it and sent us a letter. John Tesh, Pat O'Brien from Access Hollywood, Roger Ebert," Hely gushes. "They're planning an 'E! Wild On' the Lampoon. Teller sent us a letter too but Teller actually sends us a lot of letters."

Saleswise, the book is performing spectacularly.

On Amazon.com, the guide has shot up in the sales ranking, from near the 1.5 million mark before release to 22,309 as of yesterday.

"It's beating the Celestine Prophesy and it's doing better than any book by a Harvard professor," Hely said. "We're killing Demonic Males" he continued, referring to anthropology professor Richard W. Wrangham's popular book on aggression and cooperation.