Fiske Guide to Colleges 2007

by Edward B. Fiske, Robert Logue, Fiske Guide to Colleges Staff

For more than 20 years, this leading guide to more than 300 colleges and universities has been an indispensable source of information for college-bound students and their parents. Hip, honest and straightforward, the Fiske Guide to Colleges delivers an insider's look at the academic climates and the social and extracurricular scenes at the "best and most interesting" schools in the U.S., plus Canada and Great Britain.
Includes:
-- Fiske's exclusive academic, social and quality-of-life ratings
-- The 40+ schools that deliver the best education at the most reasonable costs
-- Lists of each school's strongest majors and programs
-- Candid tips from each school's current students
-- A self-quiz to help understand which college is right for a student
-- Vital information on how to apply
-- "Overlap" listings to help students expand their options
-- Selectivity statistics and SAT and ACT ranges

Genres: College, Reference, Nonfiction, Education

760 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 1997

Reviews

[Leigh]

Great resource for learning about name-brand colleges. There are of course many good schools not in this book. But it’s a good starting point and I have referenced and will reference it many times during my HS Junior’s ongoing college search.

[Adrienne]

Yes, I read this book cover to cover. It’s that useful.

[James]

"The best college guide you can buy."--USA Today Every college and university has a story, and no one tells those stories like former New York Timeseducation editor Edward B. Fiske. That's why, for nearly 40 years, the Fiske Guide to Collegeshas been the leading guide to 320+ four-year schools, including quotes from real students and information you won't find on college websites. Fully updated and expanded every year, Fiske is the most authoritative source of information for college-bound students and their parents. Helpful, honest, and straightforward, the Fiske Guide to Collegesdelivers an insider's look at what it's really like to be a student at the "best and most interesting" schools in the United States, plus Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland--so you can find the bestfits for you. In addition to detailed and candid stories on each school, you will find: A self-quiz to help you understand what you are really looking for in a college Lists of strong programs and popular majors at each college "Overlap" listings to help you expand your options Indexes that break down schools by state, price, and average debt Exclusive academic, social,and quality-of-life ratings All the basics, including financial aid stats, and acceptance rates Plus a special section highlighting the 20 public and private Best Buy schools--colleges that provide the best educational value

[Natalia]

I loved this guide! I actually read the 2018 edition and it was just great! This guide gives a lot of personality to each college in a humorous way. I also like the format and how all the information is organized. The most useful book about colleges so far. I checked it out from the library and will definitely buy it when time comes for my kids to apply to colleges.

[Carol Castillo]

A really helpful way to get a thumbnail sketch of 100s of colleges and universities. A good place to start a college search.

[Jason Holly]

Single best college guidebook

[Nadhri]

This book is an excellent guide for weighing colleges and for students who are unsure of which college they’d like to apply to/attend. It gives a general yet encapsulating view of the colleges as a whole while also including important information about the colleges. I would highly recommend it for high school students of any year to help work out which college is a good fit for them.

[Susan Sweet]

I can't imagine a more helpful starting place for those interested in "selective colleges." For a giant reference book it's actually a pleasure to read - and skip around to the colleges and universities of interest. I found the descriptions and comparisons between otherwise similar-sounding schools to be quite illuminating and the Academics/Social/Quality of Life ratings to be a nice short-hand. If you went to college decades ago and are trying to help your kid navigate the now overwhelming process of finding a "best match college" this book is for you.

[Kim]

Helpful guide to give parents and kids an introduction to a wide - but not exhaustive - range of colleges and universities.

Strengths
1. The up front sections: including a survey to help kids identify what features may be important to them, information on cost and debt rankings, etc.
2. The profiles bring each school to life in a balanced way, including incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data.
3. The profiles are also engaging and accessible for the kids to look at.

I think the Fiske Guide will be a resource we return to a lot over the next few years. And it has been helpful to see how my child responds to things (both when his views are in common with or different than mine) so I can be more aware of our different perspectives and be a better sounding board as he works through his approach to this big decision.

[Johnny]

Has been sitting above the toilet in the "Boys" bathroom of my family's house since 2006, when a neighbor let us borrow it for my upcoming college search. Have read every entry a handful of times, with extra-attention paid to the Midwestern LACs, WashU and Deep Springs (not because of any interest in going there, but because 'What??'). Because of this book, I am now an expert on a few students interpretations of their respective colleges. Circa 2005, at least.

These 5-stars are purely sentimental, and only reflect the readability of the text as a bathroom book.

[Readersaurus]

Very useful. The kid read it and discovered schools she might have have heard of that correspond with her interests and wishes for the next four years. I read it and learned some more about those places. Especially useful are the quotes from students at each school and the information on school culture and whether classes are taught by professors or TAs. Includes lists of SAT-optional colleges, colleges strong in particular majors, number of applicants & acceptance rates, and a guide to general costliness. An excellent tool for helping you decide where to visit.

[Christina]

I am sure that it is hard to believe, but I think I have read -- and sometimes reread -- nearly every word in this guide while helping two of my kids prepare a strategy for college admissions. The Fiske Guide is full of helpful, accurate information written in an engaging and sometimes amusing tone that makes every college sound like a good match for someone.

[Danielle Shroyer]

FWIW, I’ve looked at a lot of college guides and I really like the format of Fiske the best. They offer basic information clearly, have handy icons to display quality of life, academic rigor, etc., and their write ups cover the high points of what you want to know. I’ve read the whole thing...and plan to use it as a reference often in the year to come.

[Steve Brock]

This book was a Best of the Best for the month of September, 2019, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet / Stevo's Nobel Ideas. You can find me at http://forums.delphiforums.com/stevo1, on my Stevo's Novel Ideas Amazon Influencer page (https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747) or search for me on Google for many more reviews and recommendations.

[Scout College Consulting]

If you can only purchase one book on colleges, this should be your pick. It's the grandfather of choices. This publication gets better with each edition. All the basics (test scores, acceptance rates) and then the extras (social, quality of life). I discover something new each and every time I pick it up.

[Julieedwards]

Excellent reference to browse. Insightful commentary from students, good info in sidebars for at-a-glance comparisons, a great book to have on the coffee table to pick up and look through as the mood strikes.

[Zlikespasta]

I read the 2019 version. Good for getting a first inpression, interesting, and definitely got me thinking, but not the gospel. You need to do outside research, as the book is not very critical of schools and does not go very in-depth on their culture or issues.

[Wendy]

Hate hate hate the way this is organized but the write up about the schools are good.

[Jean Tretler]

Don't look at colleges without it!

[Randy Frankel]

This was the primary resource book we used to focus on my daughter's college search. It was easy to read arranged well and had valuable information. We bought other books and hardly used them.

[Kristi]

I use this for work as an Independent College Consultant. I purchase a new on every 2 years for updated information.