Rating: 
Summary: Offers great options for kids whose grades aren't great.
Review: A fomer education editor at The New York Times, Loren Pope focuses on small schools -- but don't let their size mislead you. These college gems have top-notch departments in subjects ranging from science to film making, government to geology. This book offers great possibilities for those students who for one reason or another haven't thrived in high school.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Kept Secret
Review: As a teacher, I recommend the book "Colleges That Change Lives". But, I'll be short and to the point, as our AP English teachers drum into our students' heads. I find the best kept secret in US colleges to be West Point. It's what I call Ivy League where everybody has a chance. Academics are top tier, and it's a FULL scholarship. To learn what the school is all about, they recommend reading the independently written book "West Point: Character Leadership Education", by Norman Thomas Remick, which is an education, itself, that you can immediately put to use in school. Contact your guidance councillor.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent college guide.
Review: Before reading this and Pope's other college guide, I was set on going to a large school like UC - Berkeley. Now I've decided to attend a much smaller liberal arts college, because I think the kind of environment at a small liberal arts college is best for me. I obviously found Pope's book very helpful in my search for the right school.
...however
Pope's constant insults to the Ivy league and state schools are ridiculous!!! There are some people out there that would prefer anonymity in college than close interaction with professors. This book undermines such people. If you would prefer to go to Michigan over a small liberal arts college, there is nothing wrong with that! Furthermore, the Ivy league, for the most part, offers an excellent education that can only be rivaled by a handful of the colleges mentioned in this book!!
Rating:
Summary: a good alternative to the more popular guides
Review: Every year, college-bound students and their neurotic parents flock to "U.S. News and World Report," The Princeton Review and Kaplan, and the College Board, seeking insider information on universities that they will most likely not be admitted to. Reality gives way to prestige and even fashion--"this year, Cornell is IN and Brown is OUT," "Cal Tech is SO over," etc. Thankfully, the forgotten colleges that would provide a much better fit for the ambitious rapscallions are given brief but praiseworthy profiles in Loren Pope's book. I do regret that the book is not geared toward the A student, but it's just as well that less-than-stellar high schoolers get a much-needed glimmer of hope in terms of higher educational prospects. There are more than forty such colleges out there, of course, but I would recommend Ms. Pope's book as an excellent starting point in your search for the "perfect" (or as close as you can get) institution. So before you or your children start firing off applications (and fees) to ranked favorites like Carnegie Mellon, Pitt, Tufts, Notre Dame, Boston U, Wake Forest, and other private schools (or public stars like Michigan, UNC, and California), try this book out first.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book for prospective students, but not perfect
Review: Full disclosure: I attended one of the big famous public institutions the author disparages while my girlfriend attended one of the smaller liberal arts college profiled in the book.
I have some mixed feelings after reading "Colleges..." This book provides a welcomed and much-needed balance against the cacophony from US News and World Report with its emphasis on rankings and selectivity. It gives good profiles of overlooked schools that could very well give certain students a better education than any Ivy ever could. Prospective college students should keep an open mind and consider all schools to find one that will provide an environment to bring out their best--whether it is an Ivy or a "no-name" school. One of the best lines from the book: Judging a college by its selectivity or the quality its student body is like judging a hospital by the quality of the patients it admits.
All that said, this book is not without its drawbacks. In his zeal to spread his message of going against the crowd, Pope overemphasizes the negative aspects of a large university and the positive aspects of the smaller colleges profiled. It might be nice to have a one-on-one interaction with your professor, but is it really necessary when you're just learning basic physics or econ? It might be nice to live in an idyllic, small liberal arts college environment for four years, but how prepared will you be after graduation when you are thrown into the cutthroat real world?
This is a great book for prospective college students. However, I will have to employ the author's own message in addressing his preference for smaller liberal arts schools: Keep an open mind, consider all the possibilities, and find the school that will best fit your own individual needs.
Rating:
Summary: Evergreen State College Approved
Review: I actually went to the traveling show for this book where I later bought, and had signed by Mr. Pope himself. His personal recomondation out of the 40 was Evergreen State, the college that ironically was only 14 miles away from my home in Shelton Washington. I'm currently going there and couldn't be happier. His book has great descriptions of the 40 colleges, but additional research and visits are necessary. These colloges aren't cookie cutter, and will require a little bit more investigation then Ivy league, or traditional state schools. The colleges are top notch, though Evergreen is the only public, and for a while the only western school on the list. It is now joined by Portland's Reed, and Walla Walla's Whitman. Word of warning, though the colleges are the best of the best, the majority are very expensive, and may not be as willing to give out money as Mr. Pope wrote. The colleges in this book are for those looking to improove, or those that already love to learn. I recomend that you read "Colleges" before any US news or Princeton Review guide, as they will claim these colleges as phonies or krum-bum, and you will be truly missing out.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not essential
Review: I debated between 2 stars and 3 stars, and eventually settled on three with some reservations:1. This book works great as a supplement to several others, NOT as a stand-alone book. The profiles are good, though a little repetitive. Can it be true that EVERY student Mr. Pope talked to loved his or her college as much as it seems? The other material in this book is not in-depth enough to justify using it as a primary source. Note: The back cover promises a discussion on how to get financial aid, but such a discussion doesn't exist (at least I couldn't find it). Maybe this discussion was buried in some of the profiles that I didn't read -- there was only one short paragraph on financial aid in the general information part of the book. Basically, "don't worry, it's a great investment and these schools will give you as much aid as they possibly can." Thanks, but for some people a good public university may be a better fit and a better investment. 2. Mr. Pope is very upfront with his small-school bias, but I have a hard time believing that small liberal arts schools are best for everybody. He would have you believe this, and it just isn't true. Frankly, if his comment in the book that he "almost never" recommends school with over 5000 students to his clients is true, then I think he is doing a disservice to his clients. With those caveats in mind, the book does provide solid reasons for why Mr. Pope is so gung-ho on these schools. It's a good book to have to counter-balance the "Get Into An Ivy League School or Die Trying" guides that flood the market. It's a quick read, so do yourself a favor and buy it (or better yet borrow a copy from a Guidance Office) in order to find some schools you or your children haven't thought of, but use it along with something like "Harvard Schmarvard" by Jay Matthews for a more balanced view.
Rating:
Summary: Never Knew How Bad My College Was Until I Read This Book
Review: I had never realized what a good college experience was supposed to be until I read this book. The close contact with professors who really care about all the students was a concept you don't get at the University of Texas. Both my children have read the book and are making plans to visit several of the schools covered. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Practical book that all high school juniors should read
Review: I have recommended this book to many people. Lots of college buyers are buying the sizzle, not the steak. Colleges can change your life or you can let college coexist with you. Colleges can open up new horizons and really expand you or you can just be a number. Some places treat the person and the author suggests some of those that develop individuals. You can make a large research university or state university treat you as a person but it will be a constant uphill struggle. Other schools are loaded with professors that really want to develop students, not use them as an excuse to the legislature or the alumni as to how it is educating undergraduates. Most larger schools tolerate undergraduates.
Rating:
Summary: Practical book that all high school juniors should read
Review: I have recommended this book to many people. Lots of college buyers are buying the sizzle, not the steak. Colleges can change your life or you can let college coexist with you. Colleges can open up new horizons and really expand you or you can just be a number. Some places treat the person and the author suggests some of those that develop individuals. You can make a large research university or state university treat you as a person but it will be a constant uphill struggle. Other schools are loaded with professors that really want to develop students, not use them as an excuse to the legislature or the alumni as to how it is educating undergraduates. Most larger schools tolerate undergraduates.
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