I am itching to get started with my sophomore son, much to his annoyance. I already have Fiske 2015. Should I get the 2017 Fiske? Are they definitely updated? Or should I get the Princeton Review one, which I haven’t ever used? Or is it enough to use what I have and rely on the helpful people here on CC?
Go to a library and look at the updated version.
If your sophomore son isn’t interested…maybe borrow a book, or use the the one you have. Then decide if you need to buy a new one when he IS interested.
If you are going to get a new Fiske, you may as well wait until the beginning of July when the 2018 version comes out. I have glanced at the Princeton Review guide in the bookstore. Looks like it has a lot of lists and info regarding specific majors, which could be useful if your son is looking into specific types of programs versus more common types.
IME the Yale Daily News Insider’s Guide appeals to kids at that age. Back in the day, I bought a copy and left it out on a table. S picked it up somewhat suspiciously and started to read it, becoming interested against his will, lol.
It’s a starting place.
@thumper1 , do I need to tell you it will be a cold day in Hades before he will voluntarily pick up a college guide book? Lol!
@Lindagaf , get the new ones from the library. Then, you will have no choice but to immerse yourself in them before they need to be returned.
I would grab the latest USNWR. While I don’t believe in the rankings, the back section is a very comprehensive and detailed directory of every college in the country listed by state. I use it very often.
@STEM2017 , do you mean the version you have to pay for?
@Lindagaf Yes, the rankings edition. I did pay ($9.95). We use it as a reference regularly. I’m sure we could get the info for free on line, but the magazine is always laying around and easy to grab and use.
I’d wait to buy one. If you want to read one…borrow from the library…or read the old one.
USNews…I wouldn’t bother with that either.
@thumper1 wrote:
Do you know of a better coffee table reference book with CDS data for 1600 schools, listed by state?
I would not bother getting a 2017 FISKE if I already had a 2015. The general feel of the schools will be the same.
Fiske is the way to go.
“it will be a cold day in Hades before he will voluntarily pick up a college guide book?”
Leave it in the bathroom. I’m not kidding.
The only major difference in the Fiske versions are the items at the end of an entry with info like tests required. I think you can very comfortably use Fiske to get the feeling for a school without updating. Just be sure to use the school websites to check out deadlines & application requirements.
Regarding kids & these books, D1 pored over Fiske. She said it was like shopping, and she loves to shop. D2 asked me to go through and flag schools I thought she should look at. Then we flipped thru & I gave a quick summary of why I’d flagged the ones I did. She eliminated some based on that. We visited the remainder, and she graduates from one of them this Sunday. 
It’s too early! Leave him alone for another year …
(Also, when the time comes, I recommend the Loren Pope books. “Colleges that Change Lives” is also a website and national fairs. His book “Looking Beyond the Ivy League” is ancient but excellent and I still found it helpful. You can read “The Gatekeepers” though I waited until we were done.
Thanks everybody.
He’s nothing like my daughter. There will be no Hail Mary app to Yale. But I want him to have a reasonable list by fall so we can do a few visits. He plays spring sports, so nothing will get done then. And he doesn’t like to rush, so I think leaving it unitl senior year is too late. Summer is a good time to leave the book in the bathroom:-)
@compmom LOVED the Gatekeepers, but my son won’t be applying to Wesleyan-calibre schools.
You know…you can do some visits to some schools without them being actual targets for applications for HIM.
Our first college trip for BOTH kids took them to,a variety of schools…big, small, urban, suburban, rural, private, public. We combined it with a visit to some very very good friends…and did not make it all about colleges…although we DID see 7.
I should add that our kid actually loved and applied to one of those colleges as well.
And I know you are going to say he saw this variety on trips looking for colleges with his sister. So did my kid…with an older brother…but THIS trip was about the second kid…and she knew that. OH…and she did pick a favorite from those trips with her brother…but guess what? By the time application time,came…she wasn’t interested in it.
I have Fiske guide from 2016 and I wasn’t super impressed with it.
You can also ask at your HS guidance office. Sometimes they have college guidebooks they will loan families. Ours did.
@thumper1 , you might be impressed or shocked to know that my son has only visited two colleges ever, and has never been on a tour. One was Yale, for a lacrosse tournament. The other was Bates, last August on move in day. We spared him college tour torture. 
ETA: Got me thinking he might enjoy college tour bingo though!