Peterson's 4 Year Colleges 1999 (Peterson's Four Year Colleges) [Paperback]

Peterson's (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998 | ISBN-10: 1560799870 | ISBN-13: 978-1560799870 | Edition: 29 Pap/Com

This unparalleled source of information on colleges features in-depth profiles of more than 2,000 colleges and universities.

Product Details

• Paperback: 3258 pages
• Publisher: Petersons; 29 Pap/Com edition (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560799870
• ISBN-13: 978-1560799870
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 3.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,328,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very comprehensive. Get a more subjective book too., April 25, 1999

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This review is from: Peterson's 4 Year Colleges 1999 (Peterson's Four Year Colleges) (Paperback)

Getting your kid into a good college is a nerve-racking process for most parents. It certainly has been for us. We have found the customer reviews in Amazon very helpful. That prompts us to distill our ratings of the various guidebooks.

The best short reference on each college is the Princeton Review of The Best (311) Colleges. It gives ratings of academic quality, difficulty of admission, percentage admitted, etc. There is also a brief summary of college life and what each place might be looking for.

Peterson Guide is comprehensive, and has long write-ups for each school. There is a front section for each school, listed alphabetically within each state, and a back section with detailed profiles of selected institutions.

Fiske's guide is interesting, but he basically has something good to say for each school, so careful reading between the lines and for "damning with faint praise" is called for.

The Yale Insider's Guide is extremely subjective, with different students writing various reviews. We did not find it too reliable, except in conjunction with other books.

Likewise for Barrron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges. Recent alumni write of their (invariably positive) experiences. Take it with a grain of salt, or read carefully between the lines.

Choosing the Right College by ISN was extremely helpful. Some readers criticized it for being allegedly right wing. We did not find it so. Rather, knowing the point of view of the authors helped us evaluate their observations. Other books do not make their biases explicit. A feature of the book we found particularly helpful was the naming of excellent professors and departments in each college.

Antonoff's College Finder was interesting only in conjunction with other books.

Three books written from the perspective of college admissions officers were very interesting and helpful. They are The College Admissions Mystique, by Mayher, Getting In, by Bill Paul, and most of all A is for Admission by Michelle Hernandez. We strongly recommend that parents and the kids who are the applicants read at least one of these.

Another very helpful book was You're Gonna Love This College Guide, by Marty Nemko. It takes the student through the decision process of big vs. small, urban vs. country, elite vs. the level just below, geography, and so forth. That really got our daughter unstuck in her thinking process.

Loren Pope is another helpful author for those who think that not getting into Harvard is the end of the world.

Three books we did not find to be particularly helpful are Getting Into Any College, by Jim Good and Lisa Lee, The National Review College Guide, by Charles Sykes and Brad Miner (too out of date), and The Real Freshman Handbook, by Jennifer Hanson.

One book we found to be unexpectedly useful was Getting Into Medical School Today, by Scott Plantz, et. al. Even if your child is not interested in medical school, this book puts college in perspective for any post-college program.

We hope readers find our review helpful.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every college, every detail, April 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Peterson's 4 Year Colleges 1999 (Peterson's Four Year Colleges) (Paperback)

I love buying a book that says it is comprehensive only to find out that it doesn't have all that "comprehensive" promises. This book has it all. I don't think I want a subjective book about colleges. I get fluffy stuff like that in the mail everyday written by the colleges. I'm a Joe Friday "Just the facts, maam" kind of person I suppose. This book had ALL the facts. I liked the free CD too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Other college books claim comprehensiveness but they're not., January 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Peterson's 4 Year Colleges 1999 (Peterson's Four Year Colleges) (Paperback)

I guess I really like this book because it actually has all it claims to have -- everything! Also, it doesn't have schools that aren't accredited, you know, diploma mills. The CD was great for searching and has test prep software and links to their main web site.