<p>Ours just arrived yesterday. Wow. What an eye-opener for this first-timer. </p>
<p>We already had the "facts and figures" part of our research from collegeboard, petersons, princetonreview, etc. So Fiske's narratives were the main missing piece of our puzzle. (Other than visits, that is.)</p>
<p>What's the CC opinion on the accuracy/validity of the narratives? Based on what I read, Son's laundry list of 36 schools (so far) could start shrinking right away. (That's just my opinion. His reaction is what will really count.)</p>
<p>For my daughter, I put Fiske's together with College Pro<em>ler for a more complete picture. Fiske is the perspective of a super rational, educator adult slant, and College Pro</em>ler is from a student perspective with no attempt at impartiality. I don't think either one gives a complete picture, and CP, in particular, would make you want to rule out schools that you might not otherwise (It's more like taking a stroll across a campus and asking questions of random kids). But it answers many of the questions kids have about partying and social life. So, in other words, Fiske gives a good academic/overall impression. CP gives a good social impression. You really need both sides to get a sense of what a college is about.</p>
<p>I second fatladysings on the notion of using more than one book. That's a smart way to go. </p>
<p>I do like Fiske a lot, and give it very high marks for overall accuracy and integrity, but it's always useful to look at other perspectives too. </p>
<p>As for college pr<em>wler in particular, they're pretty out of date, and not terribly accurate at any given time. I just looked at two pr</em>wler entries and I'm guessing their "student author" on those campuses is probably in his or her mid-twenties now. . . . </p>
<p>College (and travel) guides do a hard job, and many of them do it well. But you still have to take those "updated every year!" and related claims with helpings of salt. Yes, they are updated - but not every entry. Yes, they revisit - most of the time. Caveat lector.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I will definitely follow the advice to balance Fiske with CP. I've seen the CP website. Is there also a book?</p>
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I haven't seen Fiske's -- what are the narratives?? Is it worth getting it for that??
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<p>Well, I feel we got our money's worth. For example, I knew that most of the schools on son's list HAVE French majors. But, with Fiske I saw that not all of them are considered among the school's strongest programs. </p>
<p>Another example...Washington and Lee is known as W&L, which we all knew already. But, its other nickname is "White and Loaded." Hmmm. Is that the kind of image Son (or we) would be comfortable with?</p>
<p>Another...now we know at least one of son's schools is a "dry campus." Not that we expect/want him to do beer bongs every night. But, that kind of characteristic is rare and good to know in advance. </p>
<p>I have found the Fiske descriptions reliable and valid and the CP one's inconsistently accurate or thorough, so I wouldn't give CP equal or greater weight.....It can be useful to guide more thorough questioning once you get serious about a school, but it would be too bad to rule out a campus based on biased sampling or out of date data.</p>
<p>"I have found the Fiske descriptions reliable and valid and the CP one's inconsistently accurate or thorough, so I wouldn't give CP equal or greater weight"</p>
<p>the CP series is entertaining, but not sure of their validity. The three books that I enjoy: Fiske, PR, and the Yale Guide. In addition, Choosing the Right College is one of the few books that discusses curriculum indepth. Even if your child's goal is to Choose the Left College, CRC raises good curriculm issues/questions, IMO.</p>
<p>The new 2009 ed of the Yale Guide is also out. Had a major updating for the schools I checked. Many of these guides don't change much year to year.</p>
<p>The * is appearing because this site blocks the full name of several college websites, I don't knowwhy. When you type in the full name, it appears in the posting with ****</p>
<p>If you want something like College ******, i.e., something that focuses on the social aspect of campuses, I'd recommend *The Insider's Guide to the Colleges. It has a section for each school about the academics, but the vast majority are about life on campus. I've used that and Fiske together and have found myself getting a very complete picture of the colleges I've read about.</p>
<p>prowle# is partially accurate, partially smug and inaccurate formulated by ballot stuffing good and bad....and so forth. Its unscientific so take it with a grain of salt. As for W & L.....well.....that reference is largely true. W & L admissions are notoriously very quirky. Its a great school if you get in. But weird things happen there. Its not well known and it has really one claim to fame: DEEP CONNECTIONS on Capitol Hill. So if that is your kids' particular focus in life, its a big green light. If not, well....don't fret over it. Great school with great history and traditions. But its really an exclusive country club. A LOT of heavy drinking goes on there, by the way. Hard liquor at that. So be careful. (How do I know? Friends are graduates and friends kids are there now.)</p>
<p>Whether you use Fiske's, Petersen's or Barron's is really a matter of personal choice, but nothing replaces a personal visit. What looks good on paper can be changed by a visit...either good or bad. Or..an average school on paper can be an Epiphany of Enlightenment for some. </p>
<p>Some people want big state schools with big sports and some want small private and clubby. Some want urban and some want rural. Some want frats and sororities and some want a different scene.</p>
<p>We really liked Fiske. One feature that my son found helpful was the list of comparable colleges. He began to see the overlap in schools with similar characterisitics. This really did help him narrow down his list somewhat.</p>