<p>They’re called graphic novels now :)</p>
<p>We have 4 test prep books (2 ACT and 2 SAT). I have kept my purchasing down, but I have borrowed 23 books from the library since DS was a freshman.</p>
<p>No college-search materials in this house that I didn’t check out free from the library.</p>
<p>and </p>
<p>No exam-prep materials that cost more than $3 at the friends of the library used-book store.</p>
<p>Total investment $10.</p>
<p>Consolation- Thanks for the pithy retort to the “Sigh” comment. Had I let myself respond I might have fallen to IParent’s bait of snarkiness.</p>
<p>Zero, though I bought usnwr awhile back. But it’s only because offspring will stay in Canada and so totally different process and relatively few schools. For Canadian highschoolers, admissions based on just 4-5 senior year grades, and sometimes personal statement and/or EC list. No tests, essays, branding or strategizing one can do. </p>
<p>Have you all found them to offer more than what you’ve learned on CC? Any particular ones?</p>
<p>
Some of the college guides are good, because they give you a lot of info about a lot of colleges in one place. As I mentioned above, we like the Princeton Review Best 373 Colleges, also the Yale Daily News Insiders Guide (although that one may curl a parent’s hair sometimes).</p>
<p>I have found that much of the advice here on CC can be found in a few of the typically recommended books. Personally, now that I’ve spent a couple of years here, I have found there are a few posters whose advice I pay attenton to much more than others and have confidence that they are knowledgeable about what they say.</p>
<p>As for information about specific colleges, unless you’re looking at one of the more popular ones with the CC crowd, the information might only be from a few people who may or may not be that objective in what they say. But I also like the Princeton Review Best 376 (I think that’s what they’re up to now), Insiders Gude, and Fiske’s Guide. My son is a B student and I’ve also found books targeted at those kids helpful in finding good schools that he could be accepted at, in addition to the VERY helpful 3.X threads here on CC.</p>
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<p>Those are the two we had, also. The Insider’s Guide is fun to read, and may serve to motivate a kid to start thinking about college a bit in freshman or sophomore year of HS. I didn’t want my kid to live his HS life totally with an eye to getting in to a top college, but a little awareness of what’s out there and a little motivation to conduct oneself in a way that keeps the options open does not go amiss, either. :)</p>