The Insider's Guide to the Colleges, 2011: Students on Campus Tell You What You Really Want to Know, 37th Edition
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $22.99
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Description
For more than thirty-five years, The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges has been the favorite resource of high school students across the country because it is the only comprehensive college reference researched and written by students for students. In interviews with hundreds of peers on campuses from New York to Hawaii and Florida to Alaska, our writers have sought out the inside scoop at every school on everything from the nightlife and professors to the newest dorms and wildest student organizations.
In addition to the in-depth profiles of college life, this 37th edition has been revised and updated to include:
* Essential statistics for every school, from acceptance rates to the most popular majors
* A College Finder” to help students zero in on the perfect school
* Insider’s packing list detailing what every college student really needs to bring
* FYI sections with student opinions and outrageous off-the-cuff advice.
The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges cuts through the piles of brochures to get to the things that matter most to students, and by staying on top of trends and attitudes it delivers the straight talk students and parents need to choose the school that’s the best fit.
Reviews
Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-07-23
Summary: "3.5 stars... Not the first stop for college-shopping"
"The Insider's Guide to the Colleges, 2011" (1022 pages) is a curious book. It brings an assessment of about 300 colleges and universities, but it never explains how these places are actually selected from the 2000+ of colleges and universities out there. I am most familiar with colleges in DC (where my youngest is going, and where I went myself) and Ohio (where I live, and where my oldest attended college), and while I perused some of the other chapters (they are listed state by state), I read the DC and Ohio chapters very carefully. First the good: the assessment of the colleges in DC seem right on target. I asked my daughter about some of the statements made in here about her particular college, and she agreed with them (I attended the same place, 25+ years ago). As for the Ohio chapter, some curious things: Antioch College closed its doors for undergraduate students due to financial problems in June, 2008 (with very tentative plans to try and re-open in the Fall of 2011), yet there is STILL a review on it, as there was in last year's edition. How is this possible? If there is such a major mistake on the Ohio chapter, how could one rely that the other states' coverage are reliable and without mistake? The review on the Ohio college my son attended seems on point. But inexplicably, Xavier University (a fine Jesuit college here in Cincinnati) is left out of the book. Wow.
The book prides itself on providing "insider" information from students, and from that perspective it seems to do well. It also gives you some very brief and basic statistical info on what ACT and SAT scores need for the school, and how many are accepted and then actually enter. That said, this is not a book for HS students looking to start their college search (check out instead the recently released 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges, or the soon to released Princeton Review's 2011 Complete Guide to Colleges). If anything, this book might be helpful AFTER they have narrowed down their choices and then looking for some further insight. Another college search/guidance book I would recommend in a heart-beat would be the 2011 edition of "373 Best Colleges" (to be released in a few weeks).
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-07-18
Summary: "This book is true blue"
When my daughter was getting ready to select her university we used this book along with the Fiske Guide. We had friends read what it said about the college that they were attending they said that it told the real truth about their college. It tells what really happens. I have told numerous friends about this book which has been extremely helpful in making their choices. My son is now a junior in high school...and we are ready to get the updated version to help him.