Customer Reviews

The Best 371 Colleges, 2010 Edition (College Admissions Guides)

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The Princetown Review publishes a number of college search-related books, including the "Complete Book of Colleges" and this one. This book is essentially a distilled version of the "Complete Book", and frankly a lot more useful (but for people completely new to the college-searching process, definitely check that out too).

"The Best 371 Colleges (2010 Edition)" (832 pages) is similar to last year's edition. After holding the number of best colleges at 368 last year (remember this book started off in 1992 with the best 350), this time there are 5 new "best" colleges and 2 that didn't make the cut anymore, and so now we have 371 (if the inflation of "best" colleges continues, I surmise we'll get to 400 eventually). Those 5 new colleges are Angelo State University, Green Mountain College, Marywood University, Stonehill College, and the University of Charleston. There is a fun-to-browse 62 lists of best/worst, such as "Most Beautiful Campus", "Students Study the Most", "Party Schools", and "Most Politically Active Students" (my daughter is attending the No.2 ranked school on that list, it was ranked No.1 last year, so yes these rankings change from year to year).

The best feature of this guide remains the 2 page layout for each of the colleges, with in-depth information on campus life, academic selectivity (the number of applicants, how many were accepted, and of those how many actually decided to attend), up-to-date tuition and room/board costs (I checked the numbers of the college that my daughter is now attending, and they are accurate), etc. Another aspect that is very helpful is the "Survey says" sidebar, in which the essence of the university is distilled from the college students themselves, and "The Inside Word" segment on how tough it really is to gain admission when all is said and done.

The proof is in the pudding: of the many college guides out there, my daughter spent more time with this book (when she was looking at colleges a few years ago) than with any other. This book is not the first place to start the college search, but once your son or daughter has narrowed down his/her colleges of choice, and assuming those colleges are featured in the "best 371", this book clearly is the best resource, the last step before a campus visit, and can be used again following the campus visits. I've looked at a lot of college-search books and if I was forced to recommend only one book among all the college search guides, this book is clearly it.

This book has good info on SAT scores and GPA's and college costs. It gives insight into the admissions philosophies of the colleges. It gives very heavy emphasis to students' views of the feel and social/party aspects of the schools, and many schools end up sounding alike - I would say over half of them in this book feature comments like 'hard liquor is popular on campus', 'social life is dominated by frats', etc. That is certainly good info to have.

The major shortcoming of this book, as I see it, is that it says virtually nothing substantive about the college's actual academic programs and requirements. My son is looking at Ivy League schools, and there is no info in this book about the differences in core requirements between the different Ivy League schools. It wasn't until we were on the student tour at Princeton that we learned that Princeton has a required senior thesis that averages, according to our guide, 80 pages, and that, because of this, virtually no student double majors. This same guide informed us about Columbia's Core Curriculum, heavily based on the Classics, that every student must take. Brown, he told us, is the most flexible Ivy, and has no core requirements. Well, for my son, anyway, all that was vital information and it mattered a lot more to him than some subjective student comments such as 'Everyone likes the Tigers' or 'All the students here are really friendly.'

The info we were seeking is all available online, at each college's website, of course. But it sure would be nice if college guide book writers would actually do a bit more work and write some substantive information about the academic requirements of each school.

We used the last edition for our son and found it to be very well designed with information for both parents and kids. This edition has lived in our daughter's room as she combs through it. With all the access information right at the top of the page contacting the schools is made easy. Also the student's point of view area rings true. It is a good buy.

Princeton Review makes it both fun and full of information. This appeals to the 17 year olds searching for a direction and for the adults wanting to get the real deal. Don't be turned off by the "real deal" about the social life. This information comes from students and that is all I am going to say.

My daughter and I have found this and the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2010, 26E the two most useful books to help her narrow down her choices. We started off on the [..] website (also useful--and free) to find colleges that offered her major. We used some of the statistics on that site to further narrow it down. More than half of the colleges left were in this or Fiske (there is a lot of overlap--not many in one book but not the other, at least for the colleges on her list). This book gave much more "real life" information than the dry statistics on the college board website. My daughter chose to eliminate colleges where life revolved around football and/or the Greek system (which could be a plus for other students--the book doesn't make any moral judgments!) It includes the academic atmosphere: easy, hard, lots of red tape, large or small classes, cold and distant profs vs. enthusiastic profs who interact with students. It also gives a bit of feel for the types of students you are likely to find: political leanings, preppies, jocks, nerds, hippies, etc. Whatever a student's preferences in these areas, they will be able to get a better feel for which colleges may be worth a visit and which ones they almost certainly won't like. I would add though, that only students looking at more selective schools are likely to find many of interest here. Judging from the schools we browsed, it seems to start (selectivity-wise) around the big state universities and go up to the top Ivy League schools.

My daughter just applied to four colleges last week. This book is a good overview of colleges, with rankings based on student input as well as a variety of other factors, including cost ($$$ are so important right now).

The thing that sets it apart from other college guide books is that this book is actually fun to read. It's not just a collection of facts and figures. There's a lot of student feedback, which is important-- I remember having strong opinions about things at my college when I attended, including the dorms that I thought were the best, etc.

There's also information on alcohol consumption (interesting!) best and worst professors, etc. I think it is a good resource for parents, especially if you are trying to get your son/daughter into the best school you can afford.

I first saw this book at the library after reviewing many of the big names in College Guide books. The comments are helpful and gives you a real flavor for the work load and the student body. In addition, the format presented makes it eay to compare schools quickly. I decided to get my own copy because I have an 11th grader and a 10th grader. The book has helped them focus in on what they each want out of their college experience, and to start planning on which schools to visit. When there are so many options out there, it is nice to have a reference source that narrows the field.

I am a rising high school senior, and this book has been absolutely imperative for me in picking out colleges that interest me. First, there are the funny, irreverent, but nevertheless informative lists, such as "Clove-smoking, Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging vegetarians" and "dodgeball targets" and (everyone's favorite) "party schools". These, though, will just whet your appetite for the main course: two page analyses of Academics, Life (what students do outside of classes), and Student Body. I have flipped through both Insider's Guide and Fiske, and I have preferred this one by far. Fiske is a bit too glowing in his reviews; you don't get the whole picture. Insider's Guide does not have as many direct quotes from students, who after all, are the best source of information.

The 2010 edition of Robert Franek with Tom Meltzer, et.al.'s THE BEST 371 COLLEGES is based on 122,000 student ratings and covers the top 20 colleges in 62 categories. Everything from dorms to career centers, financial aid, academics and setting are rated in extensive descriptions to help any student decide. From planning for the test to using resources, this is a top reference for any student's study collection.

I ORDERED THIS HEAVY BOOK FROM THE USA and was expecting it in two months but it arrived in perfect shape and packing IN TWO WEEKS. HURRAH.