Rating: 
Summary: Covers way too many topics to do a good job.
Review: This books attempts to be:
1) A college selection and admission guide;
2) A self help manual on how to thrive during your college years;
3) A financial planning guide focused on how to finance college;
4) A guide to college majors; and
5) A career counseling guide
This is four books too many. The author was clearly not able to handle this All-in-One formula. He should have focused on the first theme: a regular college selection and admission guide. This is a complex enough material for most authors and readers.
As a result of the author's strategy of Jack-of-all-trades but Masters of none, he really failed at covering any of the five topics mentioned in adequate depth. The book for the most part is devoid of any insights beyond common sense and common knowledge. In addition, the book is stuffed with typos, errors, and incorrect judgments.
For instance, on page 39 and 40 the author shares a basic list of his favorite schools. But, most of them are misclassified. He classifies the University of Chicago as a small liberal arts college. Meanwhile, it is a national university with masters and doctorate programs that liberal arts colleges do not have. On page 39, he classifies Grinnell as a good liberal arts college for B students. On the next page, he classifies the exact same school as a good school for unconventional students with a GPA of A. Well, is Grinnell a school for A or B students? The author does not know.
An example of poor judgment is his unqualified promotion of using the Common Application for convenience. If you want to get into a selective school, don't use the Common Application; it will clearly lower your chance of getting accepted. The school will perceive you as too lazy to even make the effort to use the school's customized application format.
Later, he promotes Canadian schools as a superior college education at a below market cost. This is a mirage. First, Canadian schools are for the most part huge (20,000 to 40,000 plus students). Their standard class size is often 100+. Their student/teacher multiple is way higher than anything you see in the U.S. Also, their out-of-country tuition has skyrocketed lately, and is often much higher than out-of-state tuition for public schools. In summary, Canadian schools don't compare well in both cost and quality vs. good public school systems like the UCs and University of Michigan.
He gives completely wrong advice on Early Action. He discourages it because he thinks the admission standard is tougher than for regular admission. He is wrong. Applying Early Action gives you the equivalent of a 70-point boost on the old SAT scale. For confirmation, check the excellent book "The Early Admission Game."
He overstates the case for community colleges. He states they have better professors and smaller classes than four-year institutions. Based on feedback from friends who did go to community colleges this is never the case. Community colleges are a wonderful opportunity for students who have no other opportunities for financial or academic reasons. But, they are no great shake for too many other people.
The Appendix B, a list of 434 colleges is useless. It is like a phone book list that is not even in alphabetical order. Additionally, based on all the mistakes he made on his short list on page 39 and 40, I would not even trust he got the name and phone numbers right of the respective schools he mentions. This list is associated with no qualitative information or insight whatsoever. You have no idea if he really likes or recommends them. There is also no information to truly differentiate them except for location and estimated costs.
His sections on career counseling and school majors are so poor they are almost laughable.
The author's main message, lost in a sea of errors, is that the college fit and what you will study and do in college are far more important than the college brand name. This is a true and laudable message. Unfortunately, many authors have already said it in a much more informative and convincing way than he did. These include the following ones who wrote excellent books that I do recommend:
Jay Matthews "Harvard Schmarvard"
Howard and Matthew Greene, "The Public Ivies," "Inside the Top Colleges," and "The Hidden Ivies."
Loren Pope, "Looking Beyond the Ivy League."
Rating: 
Summary: Lukewarm reception
Review: You can start reading this relatively easy and short guidebook while in High School, and you'll want to keep it handy all the way up through Freshman year of college! Excellent for parents and students alike.Amazingly covers all bases with a good deal of common sense, with excellent format. Chapter summaries allow for quickly scanning the meatiest data, and there are checklists and logical outlines for sane planning. It's almost certainly not the ONLY book you'll need, but it's really the best concise guide to start off on the college hunt/financial aid search/SAT battle/admissions process. Perfect for student without access to a college guidance counsellor, who may not know where to start... this would be an excellent gift to the family with a child who has just started high school, but it can still be very useful in the late stages of the admissions process.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts you off on the Right Foot
Review: You can start reading this relatively easy and short guidebook while in High School, and you'll want to keep it handy all the way up through Freshman year of college! Excellent for parents and students alike. Amazingly covers all bases with a good deal of common sense, with excellent format. Chapter summaries allow for quickly scanning the meatiest data, and there are checklists and logical outlines for sane planning. It's almost certainly not the ONLY book you'll need, but it's really the best concise guide to start off on the college hunt/financial aid search/SAT battle/admissions process. Perfect for student without access to a college guidance counsellor, who may not know where to start... this would be an excellent gift to the family with a child who has just started high school, but it can still be very useful in the late stages of the admissions process.
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