<p>I've got the Fiske Guide to Colleges. I've perused the ISI Finding the Right College. I've tripped over my CollegeBoard book. And I still have no idea of what kind of colleges I should look at.</p>
<p>Of course, I know which colleges are generally academically esteemed and such, and I know that I don't want to be in a rural area. But I look at all these stupid college books and reviews, and I've been on the tours, and I've gone on all the tours, but to me, I've gotten nowhere.</p>
<p>I'm interested in a college with good Physical Engineering, Astronomy, and Planetary and Space feilds, preferably in an urban or suburban area. I'm doing the PAVE summer program at Vanderbilt, which has interested me, as well as Johns Hopkins, Davidson, and maybe BC.</p>
<p>But the thing is that I don't really know where to start with information about the student body. I'm looking for not too preppy, but not too obsessive liberal tree-hugging type of people (say...Sarah Lawrence or Bryn Mawr).</p>
<p>umd
gt
washington
wisconsin</p>
<p>You should definitely check out the webssite for The U. They give you all sorts of information about the students and everything you need to know about colleges. They have DVD's that you can check out that aren't affiliated with any schools, so they are really honest.</p>
<p>Well, you're on the right track. My method, albeit crude/unsophisticated, was to read through the Fiske Guide and pick out colleges that interested me. If I had to do it over again, I think I would do it very differently. I suggest coming up with important factors, which it sounds like you've already done somewhat. Using the list as a sort of dichotomous key, you can narrow down your focus to a few appropriate colleges. </p>
<p>LAC or University?
Public or private?
Which region of the country?
Urban, suburban, or rural?
Is housing for 4 years a must?
...etc.</p>
<p>Once you have a good list of 30-40 colleges that meet the broad criteria, you start limiting even more. Things like student body (visiting is almost a must), study abroad, housing & food, research opportunities, extracurricular activities, and the other factors become important at this step. Hopefully that should limit your list down to 10-15 colleges.</p>