College Guidance > College Search > Books and Links for the College Search

Books and Links for the College Search

Links

A vast number of websites provide college search engines and other information regarding the application process. Try these:

  • The College Board
    This link will take you directly to the college search portion of this comprehensive site. A particularly valuable feature allows users to "Find Similar" or "Find colleges with similar traits," to identify additional colleges with similar qualities and selectivity.
  • College Net
    The site allows the reordering of matched colleges based upon alternative characteristics (descending order SAT scores, percentage of males, etc.) which substantially enhances the usefulness of the match list.
  • The Princeton Review
    Counselor-O-Matic asks for student information concerning academics, preferences in demographics, majors and interests and also evaluates the probability of a student's acceptance based upon grade point average, test scores and extracurricular activities. A student can elect to be contacted by the schools matched.
  • College Data
    After completing the survey and receiving a list of college matches, a student may provide test and grade point average information to allow estimation of the chances of successful application at each college.
  • National Survey of Student Engagement
    More than 620,000 students at 850 different four year colleges and universities have participated in this highly regarded survey designed to measure student engagement in learning. The properties identified as common to schools with documented effective educational practices provide a respected and thoughtful rubric for the evaluation of prospective colleges.
  • TCCI The College and Career Family Connection
    This program available to Laurel students and families allows a customized search, access to admissions information and scattergrams reflecting the success of prior Laurel applicants.

 

Books: General Guides

  • The Fiske Guide To Colleges 2005 by Edward B. Fiske (Sourcebooks, Inc. 2005) College deadline and contact information, social life ratings, and a listing of each college's strongest departments make this readable guide valuable.
  • Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, 26th Edition (Barron's 2005) This comprehensive guide provides an index of college majors, admissions requirements, tuition and financial, student-faculty ratios, extra-curriculars and campus life for more than 1650 schools. A CD-Rom is included.
  • The Best 357 Colleges (The Princeton Review, 2005) Another guide which profiles academics, social life, the student body, admissions, and financial aid, this book also provides survey results from students. The listing of additional schools to consider by each profile is useful.
  • The Insider's Guide to the Colleges 2005 (The Yale Daily News) Produced by students, this guide provides essential statistics as well as candid, irreverent advice. More obviously opinionated than most sources.
Books: Specialty Guides

The College Guidance Office maintains a substantial library of books addressing special interests or issues. If you are interested in honors programs, culinary schools or horse schools, Catholic colleges, or the specialized guides for African-American or learning disabled students or anything else, please stop by the office to consult or borrow our resources.

Books: General Information on Colleges and the Application Process
  • The Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence by Howard and Matthew Greene (Cliff Street Books 2000) Based upon surveys and interviews with faculty, administrators and students, this book focuses on liberal arts colleges which are comparable in quality to the Ivies.
  • The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College by Jacques Steinberg (Viking Penguin 2002) A New York Times reporter shadowed an admissions officer for a year, watching and listening to the decision making process.
  • Colleges That Change Lives - 40 Schools You Should Know About Even if You're Not a Straight A Student, by Loren Pope (Penguin Books 2000) This book profiles 40 schools which have consistently produced successful graduates while admitting B and C students.
  • 100 Colleges Where Average Students Can Excel by Joanne Adler (MacMillan) Adler identifies quality schools known for innovative teaching, small class size and uncommon curricula, factors which can help average students succeed.
  • The Public Ivys: A Guide to American's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities by Richard Moll (Penguin Books) An evaluation of the best of more affordable alternative of public higher education.
  • Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America's Top Schools (ISI Books 2004) with an introduction by William J. Bennett. An analysis of 110 colleges.
  • Colleges that Encourage Character Development edited by The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation Press 1999) A resource identifying institutions which emphasize character development and the virtues of personal and civic responsibility.