<p>Getting the nitty gritty details about schools that their websites don't tell you? What's the best book? I've heard Fiske's Guide to Colleges tells you a lot about the environment/workload/etc.</p>
<p>bump..........</p>
<p>Yes (10 char)</p>
<p>Brand_182, we got a copy of the Fiske book but didn't find it to be that useful -- somewhat general and just didn't give enough good information. We found the Princeton Review Best 361 Colleges book to be more comprehensive. </p>
<p>I had my daughter go through the Princeton Review book and tab every school of any interest to her. We then went back and analyzed each school for all the factors she felt were REALLY important, from academic programs to size to stats on graduation rate, costs, etc. From this list, we drilled down deeply to all schools of interest and did a spreadsheet of all tangible factors. Each school was researched thoroughly, beginning with a detailed review of what was available on a school's website. We eliminated some duplicates, especially for match/safety schools, by doing simple comparisons, i.e., "does this one appeal to you more, or this one"... "how about this one, or this one", etc. The process was a long one that began in earnest in my daughter's junior year in H.S. There was not a school that she applied to that she did not VISIT (which is probably the best way to get to know any school), and there were schools she did visit that she did NOT apply to.</p>
<p>Fiske is excellent, it gives you a brief but intelligent analysis of the culture of a school as well as its particular appeals and drawbacks.</p>
<p>Thx NorCal I will definitely check out Princeton Review then as well...probably read a little of each one in the book store and then buy the one I like, but the method you and your daughter used sounds like a good one.</p>
<p>Yeah, i'm using that book along with "the insideres guide to the colleges"
So far, whenever I've toured a school, the actual way the school was definatley fit the profile I got from the books. </p>
<p>so YES. USE IT</p>
<p>How about Students' Guide to Colleges: The Definitive Guide to America's Top 100 SchoolsWritten by the Real Experts--the Students Who Attend Them? I'm lookin on Amazon and it sounds like it has 6 to 8 pages on each college, and that it mainly focuses on the top colleges which is where most of my list lies.</p>