Customer Reviews

The Best 373 Colleges, 2011 Edition (College Admissions Guides)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 373 Colleges (2011 Edition)" (840 pages) is similar to last year's edition. After holding the number of best colleges at 371 last year (remember this book started off in 1992 with the best 350), this time there are 2 new "best" colleges: Austin College and the University of Missouri-Columbia. Not a single school from last year's list was dropped (if the inflation of "best" colleges continues, I surmise we'll get to 400 by 2020 or so). There are over 60 fun-to-browse top 20 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 #1 ranked school on that list, it was ranked #2 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 373", 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.

My pre-order came in today, and thank goodness! I've been doing summer college visits with my niece, and in looking through Best 373, we found some more potential options for her to tack on before school starts up again. The rankings are great, as are the college info pages - everything you need to know, and then a little more. Highly recommended for families/students planning their college visits, or starting to research college options. A college bible, if you will.

The 2011 edition of The Best 373 Colleges should be in every high school and many a general lending library. It's the most popular college guide in print, juxtaposing direct quotes from students and unique rankings of the top 20 colleges in 62 categories with detailed admissions information from applications to majors and tuition. Highly recommended!

I ordered this for my son who is a high school junior. The way the book is organized makes it very easy to access the information you need. The reviews give not only an academic feel for the institutions but also the flavor or culture of the place. This has been a very helpful resource for creating his long list of possible colleges. By having the book at home he has been able to browse at his leisure. For such an important decision, well worth the money.

This book provides a GREAT summary of each school reviewed, and is a perfect addition to all the books you need to narrow down this important process.
DONT try to think you can get away with just one reference book though - they ALL design them with limited info so that you need to buy multiple books. This book is a great addition to the mix. it has summaries of real student surveys - real insider opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of each school - I wanted to know if these were party schools, or which ones have drinking problems, or which ones emphasize greek membership - this book goes there with anonymous student feedback. GET THIS BOOK

This book came recommended by a relative who's very demanding. It provides useful information, including useful facts but also insights and views from alumni and others. It's tough enough to plan the rest of your life and fully understand what one occupation or field will be like, so it's good to have all the perspectives you can get, organized in a useful manner, and this fills the bill.

This book is designed with two pages per college. Typically, the left side is for the student (atmosphere, snapshot of typical student, most popular majors, lifestyle) and the right side is for the parent (criteria of admission, financial aid, etc). Students will actually read this book. I have used this book for each of my children as they approach the college search process. I have also recommended it to many other people. It is the BEST book. Another book to consider is Loren Pope's College's That Change People's Lives.

I bought this for my cousin who is a senior in high school. His mother tells me that this (among more than a few college guides) is the one he's kept going back to. This is the one that's dog-eared with post it notes, etc.

As a private college counselor, I recommend this guide be used with students considering competitive colleges. Information is well organized and accessible, including comments by current students as well as admissions officers.

Good book for basic information on colleges nationwide. We found some of the information was contradicted by the schools websites. However, overall a good reference book to get your child started on the college search process.