Useful Books
There are a bunch of books that every prospective college student should own. Below, find some of the most useful.
US News Ultimate College Guide 2006
This guide is the single most respected ranking of colleges and universities. While you can access the rankings online for free, you have to buy the guide to get the comprehensive statistics used to rank each school.
Think of this guide as your handbook. It contains all of the most useful data on almost any school–unlike the other guides, which only focus on particular colleges or universities. You’ll probably come to find it indespensible. [Order from Amazon…]
This is an amazing guide. It ranks more than 300 schools under the categories of academics, social life and quality of life. It also provides other vital information. For example, for each of these schools you’ll be able to find the average SAT/ACT scores of admitted students, the strongest academic programs available, “40+ schools that deliver the best education at the most reasonable costs” and more. This can help you narrow down your list of potential colleges–or help you start one, if you haven’t yet. [Order from Amazon…]
The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges
This guide is similar to Fisk’s, but it has some additional information. Aside from the basics–like acceptance rates and most popular majors–The Insider’s Guide also offers actual comments from students who attend each school. This can give you an additional perspective that pure statistics might miss. While not as good as hunting down a current or past student and talking to him yourself, this is a good alternative. Highly suggested. [Order from Amazon…]
Although the title isn’t exactly straight-forward, neither is the college application process. This guide is essentially a book of deadlines, that’s also chalk-full of advice for what you should be doing each week. It has deadlines of college applications, financial aid, SAT/ACT, housing, and more. This book is good to have around as early as possible for high school students starting the college application process. [Order from Amazon…]
The Best 361 Colleges is a list of… well, you get it. This book by The Princeton Review has a comprehensive ranking of “the best 361 colleges” including categories such as “Professors Get High Marks,” “Dorms Like Palaces,” “Diverse Student Population” and “Best Party School.” This is a good way to see how good a specific school is in a particular area.
For example, one school might be ranked highly by other guides, but it might only excell in specific areas. If you’re a prospective engineering student, you may not care if a school has a great newspaper and awesome parties (not to say that engineer’s can’t have fun!). This guide helps you sort out what exactly makes a particular school shine. [Order from Amazon…]
This guide is very different from the rest. Instead of focusing on ranking a huge number of small colleges and large universities, Colleges That Change Lives profiles schools that aren’t necessariliy famous. The schools in this book also focus more on who a student is, rather than his high school GPA.
For example, a passionate artist who spent his weekends painting instead of studying for that Calculus test might find a college or university that appreciates their art.
If you’re not a straight-A student–or even if you are, and just want something different–check out this book! [Order from Amazon…]
Similar to The Insider’s Guide, this book focuses entirely on reviews of colleges and universities by students who attend them. This guide is entertaining and highly informative, and almost as good as visiting the school and talking with students directly. Highly recommended. [Order from Amazon…]
College Cost & Financial Aid Handbook 2006
The College Cost & Financial Aid Handbook is the ultimate source for information about financing your college education. The Handbook “provides easy-to-understand answers for all the questions students and parents have about financing a college degree. This time-saving and stress-relieving guide provides the facts and figures needed to calculate the true costs, after factoring in financial aid, at over 3,000 four- and two-year colleges.” A must-have when you’re thinking about paying for college. [Order from Amazon…]