The Best 345 Colleges, 2003 Edition (College Admissions Guides) (Paperback)

~ Robert Franek (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What makes The Best 345 Colleges the most talked-about college guide?

• We ask only college students (over 100,000 of them - more than ever before) what their colleges are like, and the revealing results are in this book.

• Our complete profiles cover the entire school, from classes to financial aid to social life.

• We provide all the basics: admissions criteria, deadlines, phone numbers, e-mail and campus addresses.

• Our unique rankings in over 60 categories rate colleges on academics, political learning, quality of life, cafeteria food, dormitories, social life, and much more, including a brand-new category that will tell you which schools provide the most academic bang for your buck.

From the Inside Flap

What makes The Best 345 Colleges the most talked-about college guide?

? We ask only college students (over 100,000 of them - more than ever before) what their colleges are like, and the revealing results are in this book.

? Our complete profiles cover the entire school, from classes to financial aid to social life.

? We provide all the basics: admissions criteria, deadlines, phone numbers, e-mail and campus addresses.

? Our unique rankings in over 60 categories rate colleges on academics, political learning, quality of life, cafeteria food, dormitories, social life, and much more, including a brand-new category that will tell you which schools provide the most academic bang for your buck.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 800 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review (August 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375762558
• ISBN-13: 978-0375762550
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,305,020 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful, But Not Entirely Accurate, October 20, 2002

By	A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What is your... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

As high school students look for a college to attend, they ought to review "The Best 345 Colleges." However, there are some inadequacies.

Stars are used to score a school's quality in various areas, like what the campus is like, admissions, financial aid. The star system is further detailed by a point system, from 1-100.

Because it was based on surveys, there are holes depending on the student interviewed. A more academic-focused student found at Wheaton College in Illinois will have a different look on what's important than a more party-inclined student at the University of Florida. It did not seem the researchers appreciated the subtleties defining the schools. It seems, for example, a school's Christian viewpoint skewed researcher's into a negative or less positive score, despite the otherwise top marks for SAT scores and so forth.

As a first look into the schools which you are interested in, this is useful, but the biases and mistakes in surveying hold back this from being a four-star book.

Instead, see the Peterson guide along the same lines.

Anthony Trendl

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What You Need To Know, March 2, 2003

By	"hogane5" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This book is very good for info, stats, etc on colleges. But what I never really thought about, and it's needed before making this huge decision, is what college education is really all about in the USA. This is huge. You have to know this. I searched, and was told that the best book to read for that is Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point: Character Leadership Education...". Itwas great. Then I went on with my search for a college in "The Best 345 Colleges" by Robert Franek, armed with greater understanding of what it's all about. I recommend everyone doing the same.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Proceed with a wary eye, April 30, 2003

By A Customer

The Princeton Review tries hard to provide the dry statistics, as well as some insights into the personalities of the schools. And this is valuable. But if this book is anything like their website, I'd be concerned about inaccuracies. Maybe it was the Princeton Review folks, or maybe it was schools' failures to provide accurate information, but there were very good schools that I had initially ruled out because The Princeton Review indicated they didn't offer the major I was looking for, I subsequently found out from other sources (including the schools themselves) that they did indeed offer that major. To me, this is a huge failing - decisions are being made on what one thinks is accurate info, when it is actually suspect. As a result, I wasted time, instead of saved time.