Choosing the Right College 2005: The Whole Truth About America's Top Schools (Choosing the Right College, 2005)

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Summary: Reliable Resource For Students and Parents
Review: "Choosing the Right College 2005', like ISI's previous guides, is an invaluable resource for college bound students and their parents. In addition to factual data--tuition, enrollment, SAT range--the guide provides an in-depth look at what kind of educational/social experience students will receive at the top 125 schools. What I found helpful about this guide is that it is not afraid to reveal the bad along with the good traits of each school--something you're not going to read on their web sites!

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Summary: An excellent college guide AND a pleasure to read!
Review: Choosing the Right College 2005 is the ideal guide for the bright, well-rounded, liberal arts minded high school student, looking for a stimulating challenge in the next step of their academic career.

This guide gives intelligent students a fighting chance at getting the most out their experience in higher education by helping them choose a college or university which best suits their personality, politics and academic style.

The college reviews posted in this book are detailed in their description of the academic climate, the social scene and the general feel of the campus. It's like a virtual tour of the campus, led by a savvy, smart senior who knows the ropes and is giving you the scoop on what going to school at a particular college is REALLY like. It's a fun read, too.

I recommend it highly, especially to students who enjoy in depth learning and true intellectual dialogue.


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Summary: Not as described by reviewers
Review: From the editorial reviews posted, I expected a lot of information about HOW to choose the right college (as the title suggests). Unfortunately, only about 25 pages were devoted to this subject. The rest of the 970 pages are commentaries on specific colleges. Which would be fine, I guess, except that not one of the 5 colleges I'm interested in was included. No Virginia Tech? University of Richmond? Virginia Commonwealth University? All fine schools, but not reviewed.

Also, there is no index, so if you are trying to find reviews of all in-state colleges for example, you will have to have memorized those schools to be able to find them in this book. If they are even included.

In general, you won't need this book if you are not wealthy, as most of the schools listed are heavily weighted to the most expensive!

Rating:
Summary: Apprehend An Authentic Education
Review: If you want to get a truly solid liberal arts education, ISI's Choosing the Right College 2005 will help you find the best schools, the best courses, and even the best professors--and help you to avoid the worst. Written in entertaining prose with probing detail that goes beyond the typical campus tour or college web site, the guide willl show you how to apprehend an authentic education for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Essential Reading
Review: In today's climate of "tolerance for everyone except for those who aren't liberals," this guide provides an overview of what is really going on in higher education in America. It is essential reading for any parent, prospective student and for the colleges and universities themselves. Hopefully, the pages will be like clanging bells, sounding the alarm, alerting everyone of the danger we all face when the free exchange of ideas and beliefs is openly discouraged in favor of political correctness.

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Summary: a necessary tool for choosing
Review: The sad fact is that every prospective college student and parent needs this book nowadays. You may want to consult other college-choice books too. It can't hurt. But this one you have to have. If you're new to all this and think that college is the same as it was thirty years ago, you need to read other books about the state of education today to get up to speed. Then buy this book. As Christina Hoff Sommers says in her well-known book, parents sending their children to one of the prestigeous colleges and thinking their children are getting the best education available are in for a rude surprise.

Rating:
Summary: The real life guide to colleges
Review: The writers do a wonderful job of analyzing where a good liberal arts education can be found in America; the result of doing diligent research about curriculum, quality of teaching and academic and student life. Some people may flinch at the accounts where politically correct colleges gone awry are substituting rigorous study for indoctrination but the truth of the matter is that students are losing out immeasurably when they fall prey to those who would destroy freedom of thought. A great guide which should be read by every thoughtful high school student.



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Summary: Covers the top 125 Schools
Review: There are college guides that have something to say about all the colleges in the country. This one is different. In its almost a thousand pages it talks about only a hundred twenty five schools. As the sub-title says, this book talks about America's Top Schools. Here you'll find several pages on Cal Tech and six of the University of California schools. But you won't find San Jose State. You'll find Brigham Young, but not the University of Utah.

Again unlike many college guides, this book does not just say complimentary things about the schools. LSU's theater is described as - dirty, depressing, dilapidated and demoralizing.

If you're looking at the big name schools, the information provided here will be of great value in helping you to decide if this particular school is for you.

Rating:
Summary: ISI Has The Right Stuff
Review: This is the book for students and their families who desire a traditional college education. I used an earlier edition to help my daughter chose a college because it was the best guide I could find. It still is. The students who were consulted by the editors have a real point of view, and this gives the campus profiles character and interest even -- and perhaps especially -- if your own point of view differs.