Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and unique source of qualitative information
Review: This book does not give you the data that most other college guides give you. But, it fleshes out the implication of your choices much better than most guides. Let's face it, the college experience can't be translated into just numbers, student ratings, and occasional student sound bites alone. Looking at the numbers alone, one could easily select the best college on paper, and end up being miserable because the qualitative fit of was completely wrong. This guide will help you big time reducing the chance of you making such a "qualitative fit" error.
I have studied over ten college guides. This one is rather unique. It is focused strictly on the women's experience from a qualitative standpoint. It conveys its information through narrative essays written firsthand by the women attending specific colleges. These essays are typically focused on a single issue relevant to students and even more so to women. These essays are presented in pairs describing in detail various dimensions of the college selection process. For instance, there are two essays covering the small liberal arts college vs. large state university decision. This is a pretty crucial decision to make. To help you out make that decision, one woman writes an excellent essay of what it is like attending Whitman (excellent liberal arts college in the Northwest). Another woman writes an equally excellent essay about the very large state university, U of Kentucky. At no point, do these young authors make any comparison between the two. They just describe thoroughly their first hand experiences, and all analyze in a balanced way the pros and cons of their respective college selection decision. The editor, Cristina Page, chooses well a series of decision axis; including not only small liberal arts college vs. large state university, but also: Urban vs. Rural;
Far from vs. Close to home;
Coed dorms vs. single gender dorms;
Liberal vs. Conservative; and
Greeks vs. Independents. In each case, a pair of essays dedicated to each opposite point fully describes what is the implication of selecting such a college on your college experience. Cristina Page makes this wise recommendation that you certainly do not need to read the whole book. But, you can read selectively among the choices you have in mind. Thus, if you are interested in attending a large state university, live in a coed dorm, and be on a campus that has a liberal leaning, you can choose the essays that describe each of your choice aspects in details. Read this way, this guide is really a pretty great college selection guide. A valuable small section of the book focuses on some of the key questions to ask. These include very interesting questions regarding the politics, vision, experience, and capability of the current President of the school. It includes similar questions regarding the Faculty. The editor also mentions key questions about safety issues, crime record, and health facilities. These questions are often original, and not so often mentioned in other college guides. Nevertheless, they are very important, and will help you out in making a better college selection decision.
Rating:
Summary: This totally rocked
Review: This book gave me a clear picture of different college environments. It doesn't really endorse any particular school, so you get an unbiased, gut-wrenchingly honest and uninhibited view. It dispelled a lot of stereotypes and helped me realize what I was looking for in a school. Truly, if you buy this book, you must be smart.
Rating:
Summary: The best!
Review: This is a wonderful resource for girls and their families in applying to college. It's made up of thoughtful and articulate essays by young women in college themselves, and is the best book I've found for focusing the frenzied mind on the sorts of questions that will determine whether a college is a good fit. Urban or rural, large or small, coed or womens, traditionally black college or not, attitudes toward lesbians -- a broad and inclusive set of parameters for thinking about college choice. The essays are surprisingly comprehensive and objective, not at all one-sided. This is a great book, worth searching for even if not in print!
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the search!
Review: You will probably not find this guidein your local bookstore. You will probably not find this guidein your local bookstore. Do not giveup. Order it!!! It is a treasure. Thebook directed my thinking, and clarifiedmy confusion. I did something I wouldnot have done without the guide. I analyzed my goals. I now know the campus environment where these goalsmay be pursued. Get this book.
| 
