Listed below are a number of resources designed to help you and your child through the often bewildering process of getting into college.
Annual Guides
"America's Best Colleges," U.S. News & World Report (www.usnews.com). Loathed by many colleges, the magazine's annual rankings are conducted with statistical precision.
"How to Get Into College," Kaplan/Newsweek, and "The Best College for You," the Princeton Review/Time. Useful articles on the admissions process, although the profiles of individual colleges in both guides can be uneven.
Web Sites
The College Board; www.collegeboard.org. The 100-year-old organization's site is designed mainly for professionals, but its collegeboard.com site is expected to offer sound, low-cost SAT test preparation and advising services.
Fish-Net: The College Guide; www.jayi.com. Speaks the language of high school seniors. The Admissions Guru answers students' questions about getting into college.
Collegexpress.com includes College Search, Admissions Office, Financial Aid Office, Student Center, Sports Complex and information for parents. It is run by Carnegie Communications, Inc., a small company that promotes admissions to more than 400 private colleges. (Carnegie also publishes Private Colleges & Universities, a magazine dedicated to providing information on admission to private institutions.)
Supercollege.com (edited by Harvard graduates Jim Good and Lisa Lee) offers advice on writing a good entrance essay, taking exams and applying for scholarships, and offers other information on the college experience -- start to finish.
Ivybound.com is part of IvyBound College Consulting, created by a Yale undergraduate whose goal is to help students get into the best universities and liberal arts colleges. (No charge for online use, but fees for further services.)
FinAid! The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid; www.finaid.org. Regarded by many admissions and financial-aid professionals as a helpful site for advice on paying for college.
Books
A Is for Admission: The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Getting Into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges, by Michele A. Hernandez and Michael A. Hernandez (Warner Books; $14.99). Michele Hernandez, a former admissions officer at Dartmouth College, explains the arcane "academic index" the Ivies use to score applicants, as well as the preferences accorded recruited athletes, legacies and minority students.
Almost Grown, by Patricia Pasick (W.W. Norton; $14.95). Advice for parents of children heading into their college years. Pasick contends that these years need not be stormy.
More Books
The Unofficial Guide to College Admissions, by Shannon Turlington (IDG Books; $16.95). A mega guide, with everything from selecting the right school to the application process. Includes a section on graduate schools.
A Parent's Guide to College Entrance Exams, by Jay A. and Andrea K. Blumenthal (Learning Express; $14.95). A thorough rundown of what can be expected on college-entrance exams, including a section called "Understanding Your Student's Capabilities" and a reminder of the power of "Positive Talk."
Get Into Any College: Secrets of Harvard Students, by Jim Good and Lisa Lee (101 Publishing; $16.95). This fast read, written by Harvard graduates, contains such advice as "How to Master Verbal and Reading Tests." (The short answer? "Read like crazy.") One chapter is devoted to helping parents guide without being heavy-handed.
Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years, by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger (HarperCollins; $13). Concise information about the many changes that occur in children's lives -- and therefore their parents -- during the college years.
To order any of these books, call Books Now at (800) 962-6651.
Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools You Should Know About Even if You're Not a Straight-A Student, by Loren Pope (Penguin USA; $12.95). This admissions book touts little-known institutions, including Earlham College and the College of Wooster, that offer a solid education and may be the right fit for your son or daughter.
The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2000, by Edward B. Fiske and Robert Logue, contributor (Times Books; $21). Fiske, a onetime New York Times education editor, profiles more than 300 colleges.
Getting In: Inside the College Admissions Process, by Bill Paul (Perseus; $9). A volunteer in the Princeton admissions office tracks the paths of five applicants, while providing tips about the process.
College Admissions: A Crash Course for Panicked Parents, by Sally Rubenstone and Sidonia Dalby (Macmillan; $12.95). A practical Q&A covering everything from college preparation and the application process to dealing with decision letters.
