b. Objective Admissions Guides
These guides provide objective data about colleges in the U.S. (and sometimes Canada) including High School Preparation Needed, Annual College Costs, Majors Offered, etc. The best known of these “just the facts, ma’am” books are The College Board’s, The College Handbook and its Book of Majors.

c. College, Program and/or Major Rankings
These guides offer rankings of either individual colleges, or specific kinds of programs or majors at colleges. Among the ranking publication on the market are U.S. News & World Report’s American’s Best Colleges, The College Finder, The Gourman Report, and Rugg’s Recommendations.

d. Special Interest Guides
If you are an athlete, a student with learning or other disabilities, an international student, a member of a minority or religious group, or someone who wants to attend a special college summer program, there is a special admissions book written just for you. Important, specific information is available to students with special interests that range from unique admissions criteria, to names of staff people and coaches students can contact, to programs and activities available to student once they arrive on campus.

Some of the most helpful books in this category are College Access & Opportunity Guide, International Student Handbook, The College Sourcebook for Students with Learning and Developmental Difference’s.

For more suggestions, see Books That People Rave About in the Other Resources section of this website.

2. Knowledgeable Individuals
Another way of researching colleges is to speak with people knowledgeable about schools. Those to whom you might speak are:

• Current College Students
No one knows a college better than a current student.

• College Alumni
Alumni are also good research resources, especially those who have graduated from a college in the last 5-10 years.

• High School Faculty and Counselors
Your teachers and high school counselors are also valuable sources of information. Each has attended a college and taught or counseled hundreds - even thousands - of students who have gone on to college. These people usually have a good sense for which colleges are good matches for what kinds of students.

• Independent Counselors
Just as your high school counselor has worked with a multitude of students, so too have independent counselors. Year after year, they see who applies to which schools, who gets in, and who is happy in different colleges.