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A Guide To The Guides

Look beyond the cover for the right college guide.

AMY LEVIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

A

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s if choosing
the right col-
lege isn't al-
ready hard
enough, po-
tential college
students also
have to contend with myriad
guides purporting to make the se-
lection process easier.
Deciding which guide fits your
needs, not to mention which col-
lege, depends upon many factors.
Do you want the facts and just
the facts, like admission stan-
dards and types of majors? Or a
summary of student life and opin-
ions from the students them-

selves? Or, perhaps, descriptions
of Jewish life on campus and/or
instructions on how to make the
most of a college visit?
You can find all of these op-
tions and more in the great sea
of college guides. To help narrow
down the options, here are sum-
maries of some of the more pop-
ular guides as well as some of the
more obscure.
Remember, these guides can
be rather pricey, so be sure to
check the library before buying
them at a bookstore.
America's Lowest Cost Col-
leges gives state by state listings
of community colleges and uni-

versities that cost no more than
$3,500 per year, as collected by
author Nicholas Roes. The guide
offers no descriptions, just bare-
bones information (school name,
address, tuition and degrees of-
fered). Still, it could be a great
starting place for bargain
hunters.
Barron's Complete Profiles
of American Colleges offers
quick-hit factual information
about 1,650 colleges and univer-
sities. Each school gets a rating
ranging from Non-Competitive
to Most Competitive. The guide
offers information about size, de-
grees offered, housing, activities,

sports, safety, admissions and what Barron's has determined
many other subjects.
are the 50 most prestigious col-
The guide provides an excel- leges and universities in the coun-
lent statistical and factual back- try.
ground — as well as a helpful
Each school is represented by
index indicating which schools of- a lengthy description written by
fer which majors — but gives no a recent graduate. Personal ex-
particular insight into life at each periences and insights are in-
of the schools.
terspersed with factual
Barron's, a publisher that pro- information in each 10-or-so-
duces a series of educational ref- page roundup that covers seven
erences, also offers a regionalized categories: The Program, Get-
edition of this book.
ting In/Financial Aid, Academ-
Barron's Top Fifty: An In- ic Environment, Social Life,
side Look at America's Best Extracurricular Activities. Grad-
Colleges offers the specificity uates and Summary Overview.
and insight lacking in its Profiles Truly comprehensive descrip-
book. The Top Fifty focuses on GUIDE page 38