The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003 [Paperback]

Edward B. Fiske (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1570719578 | ISBN-13: 978-1570719578 | Publication Date: July 15, 2002 | Edition: 19th

For 20 years, this leading guide to more than 300 colleges and universities has been an indispensable source of information for college-bound students and their parents. Hip and straightforward, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003 reliably describes the academic climates and the social and extra-curricular scenes at the "best and most interesting" schools in the United States and Canada. Fiske’s unique insight into what’s not to be missed and what’s to be avoided at each university reveals the academic strengths, the role of athletics, and the social highlights at each school. Professor-student interaction, college setting and scholarships are also hot topics.

Compiled from surveys of thousands of students and administrators, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003 is thoroughly updated annually. The resulting resource is the best guide to colleges and universities available; USA Today has called it the "most readable and informative" of all college guides.

Included are:
--a self-quiz to help you decide what really matters to you in a college and what kind of college is right for you
--vital application information--where to get one, which schools have the longest and most difficult applications, long-lead deadlines, etc.
--exclusive lists of the strongest majors and departments at each college as well as famous--and infamous--classes
--candid descriptions of quality of life, campus setting, social atmosphere and level of academic intensity from actual students--"party school" or "monastery"? Also included is a special section highlighting the 43 public & private Best Buy schools--colleges that provide the best education for your money.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The best college guide you can buy." -- USA Today

About the Author

Edward B. Fiske served for 17 years as Education Editor of The New York Times, during which time he realized that college-bound students and their families needed better information on which to base their educational choices. He wrote The Fiske Guide to Colleges to help them. He is also the author, with Bruce G. Hammond, of The Fiske Guide to Getting Into the Right College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 784 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc; 19th edition (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570719578
• ISBN-13: 978-1570719578
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,347,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not excellent, April 3, 2003

By 

John H. Hwung (Fair Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003 (Paperback)

I give it 3 stars because it will take at least two weeks of repeated reading of this book to be able to compare the colleges mentioned in this book. With Princeton Review's "Best 345 colleges", it takes much less time.

As a consumer, I want to know what's good and bad about a college. I want a college guide that is like a Consumer's Report, that will test, compare and examine colleges critically. Though there are many college guides on the market, few examine colleges with a critical eye. The only good ones in my opinion are:
1) Choosing the right college - 5 stars
2) Colleges that change lives - 4 stars
3) Cool colleges - 5 stars
4) Best 345 colleges - 4.5 stars
5) The Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College - 4 stars

Since Fiske says something good about every college in this book, it takes a real detective work to find out what's bad about each college. I wish he points out the flaws in each college in a brief summary. For Harvard, the following would be a good summary:
1) Very serious grade inflation
2) Lots of classes taught by TAs
3) Professors are as unapproachable as stars in the sky
4) Large classes for freshman and sophomore years

This book is not as good as his other book, "The Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College," which contains a chapter called "The one hour college finder." This chapter has a brief paragraph on the best colleges. Each paragraph is right on the mark. For example, concerning Swartmore, it says "Pound for pound, the most intellectual school in the nation..." With regards to Carleton, "...the best liberal arts college in Midwest. Predominantly liberal..."

So, my advice is to get his other book. Not this one.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best guide book from an obsessive compulsive searcher, September 10, 2002

By 

C. Wolfe "C~Money" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003 (Paperback)

Since the age 14, I have looked at Peterson's and CollegeBoard and all the websites and guidebooks in between, and yet it was not until I opened this great book that i was satisfied. I did not want the stats anymore, I did not want the tuition costs, NO.. i wanted the experience of the school from the student's perspectives presented in a logical, unbiased manner without spending hundreds of dollars on plane tickets and car rentals for endless campus visits--- we have a winner! Point one- just look at all the people who have purchased the book and taken time to write a review (i who never writes reviews)-- also we are mostly high school students who would rather spend the money on a night at the movies than buy a book, but they chose the book and it is worth it. Fiske clearly describes various aspects of the schools through quotes tediousley collected from student surveys. The phrase- "straight from the horses mouth" couldn't be more appropriate here. My routine as i approach my senior year is: think about college, start stressing, stress some more, whip out the ol' Fiske guide to review my top choice schools, and then be able to breath again....
The book is good for both a lost student or anxious parent. It includes a range of colleges for all types of people, and if you are just lost and read the book cover to cover-- it is truly the best starting place. You can start to figure out what you want in a college and which colleges have it. I would reccommend strlongly reading the introduction explaining his ratings, and i hope you buy this book because wherever you are in the college process- It is the book for you.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good, but could be better, January 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003 (Paperback)

I bought both the Fiske Guide and The Princeton Review (Best 345 Colleges). Both are good, but the Princeton guide is laid out more logically, with rating stars for campus life, adademics, financial facts and selectivity AND with actual costs in dollars. The Princeton guide also told what percentage of the entering class applied early decision. The Fiske Guide has more details about classes and individual standout professors, but I found the financial ratings to be annoying, with only dollars signs and no actual numbers. Who needs to keep referring back to some chart in front to figure out the cost? I would still recommend the Fiske Guide though, as it is fairly comprehensive. In addition, it has an very good guide in the beginning which discusses which colleges to look at if you are enamored of a particular field - like architecture, dance, engineering, etc. To be fair to yourself in the search, buying the Fiske and the Princeton book would be a good bet!