<p>Topic .</p>
<p>I like the Princeton Review book because its pretty easy to sit down and read. Can't beat the internet these days though. The schools' websites are the best place to check out the school.</p>
<p>I think that most of the reputable ones are good at mining the publicly available data, so in terms of the quantitative data, it's usually a wash. When it comes to the qualitative descriptions, it's largely a matter of taste. I think that the Fiske Guide is the most literate, provides a nice balance between descriptions of academics and student life, and seems to revisit schools often enough that information is not hopelessly out of date (but that's based on the handful of schools that I know pretty well). My D likes the "Insiders Guide" because of the breezy style and emphasis on social aspects.</p>
<p>Fiske. By a mile.</p>
<p>The USNEWS on-line edition for their comprehensive Common Data Set info for each shool.</p>
<p>Fiske is a good all-around guide, though I do think it slights colleges that he doesn't think his readership will like. I did like the Insider's Guide, as well as another guide this site won't let me mention.</p>
<p>Check out your local bookstore's college section to see what's there. There are so, so many books on the subject, and many cater to specific groups (i.e. best socially aware school, best conservative schools, etc.) that you might be able to check out a lot of guides that are all telling the approximate truth.</p>
<p>And yes, don't underestimate the college's own promotional material! Even though it is obviously balanced, you'll be able to see if their idea of their school and your idea of what your college education should be like coincide.</p>
<p>Colleges That Change Lives has an ideological bent: you don't have to attend an Ivy League College to get a great education. But it has the most detailed descriptions of some "more selective" but not "most selective" schools that you'll find. It's been updated recently, but suffers from being based on an earlier editon that's now 20 years old.</p>
<p>Are Peterson's any good?</p>
<p>For a highly detailed if slightly slanted view the Choosing the Right College guide is very informative.</p>