^^What is that image? I’ve always wondered.
Mine is about me, not son. UW (the Wisconsin one) class of 75. In the old days no avatars, CC not trying to be cutsie back then (tells an opinion and why I do not use a picture). Also- it was nice when a location was given.
@Waiting2exhale It’s a tree trunk or large branch washed up on the beach like driftwood. Must have been after a reasonable-sized storm.
I named myself after my neighbor’s dog. 
Mine’s pretty easy to guess. Two kids, graduating from HS in 2012 and 2014. (Full disclosure, I also have a stepchild who graduated in 2010, but I wasn’t nearly as involved in that college search).
Mine nick was created by my husband when our daughter was a senior. I was trying to help my kid find merit scholarships when I discovered this site. I was obsessed with this website as she was going through the process of applying to schools, and he would ask me what I was doing and I would say “reading college confidential.” But also not being much of a social media person I was reluctant to actually make an account. So he created one and named me NorthernMom61 because we are from the north (Maine) and because I was born in 61 (crap, just gave away my age!).
The avatar was just something that I found on the internet because the norther lights mean “northern” to me, and I always loved seeing them when they happened in northern New England.
Thanks in part to this site, my daughter was successful on the merit hunt.
I actually created my account for my daughter. She was going through the denial rebellion stage of college hunting and applications so I thought I would "help ". I found this great source of info so I created an account for her and told her all about it. Obviously that was a dumb idea because she just scoffed at me and never once came onto CC (as far as I know).
4 years later and I’ve assumed her identity and never realized I would be the one on CC daily. So I don’t have any meaning to the name and everyone now calls me coralbrook. I’m too techie challenged to make an avatar!
When I joined many moons ago I first used a name that made me fairly easily identifiable- not realizing I would be living on this forum! I changed it in a month or so (well, had to start a new account). One of my kids was very challenging to raise and had some tricky things to get through in the college application process- hence my screen name. I’m stuck with the name, even though he isn’t a child anymore and a little bit less wild!
I love the Avatars and most forums do use them. I don’t see it as “cutesie” at all. I change mine when the whim strikes. Current picture is WildChild the evening before the Ironman World triathlon Championships in Kona in 2013. It was a spectacular memory.
NorthernMom61, I always thought the avatar hinted at the upper midwest, another near-Canada state.
When I signed up for CC many many moons ago it was important to me to maintain total anonymity, not just for me but for my son as he (and we) went through the college search process. So I opted for the most generic name possible while revealing only my state of residency - New Jersey Resident - or NJres for short. Now I live in North Carolina and I don’t care if people know I waste time on this site. My avatar used to be my own self in full Amish garb. I changed it to a real actor in full Amish garb, from a TV show that I worked on in the background.
My politics are to the left and I love Italy. It popped into my head when I was picking a username for another site and I decided to keep it here.
@LBowie , you get me! 
Username: shortened “president” + Bucky Badger
Avatar: My wife and I. The photo was taken on a beach in Hull, MA.
When I joined, I was looking for answers about my musician D’s journey. Everyone else was “violadad” and “cellomom,” so I had to come up with something musical that wasn’t already taken. I didn’t realize that some people took my reference to a Stradivarius violin as snooty or bragging until later on … believe me, I haven’t come closer to a Strad than admiring one in a museum or being played at a concert! The picture is a googled image of the scroll of a violin.
My wife is a native Colombian, and “El Mimino” is the name you give to someone you’re fond of. I was lucky to learn that over 25 years ago. My avatar is our sheepdog wearing a YALE t-shirt. Our son is a Junior at Yale, and we could not be more proud.
^^And I thought you were Georgian! 
My name is stupid and I didn’t put nearly enough thought into it. Our last name starts with T and there are 5 of us so T times 5. Everyone thinks I am from Texas but I and born and raised in Southern California. My avatar is my sweet dog Henry.
When I joined CC, I worked at a university in IT and my job included writing SQL queries of college data. And I created the account because I had questions about the college application process. My avatar is the view of downtown NYC from where I am currently (and temporarily) living.
Great thread!
My username and avatar are both from the Simpsons, and I was shocked that they were not already in use. “Fretful Mother” is the pretend magazine that Marge reads about how to ensure her children’s success. I thought it was funny and picked it to be self-deprecating about how we sometimes are on CC.
Neko Case song + creepy rabbit from an abandoned Japanese playground.