College Books & Reviews:
Recommended Reading

While you can get lots of information right here on the web, there are many books that provide useful information and advice, and also offer the advantage of being portable! Here are some of College Confidential's top picks for college books!

America's Elite Colleges: The Smart Buyer's Guide to the Ivy League and other Top Schools by Dave Berry and David Hawsey

OK, we admit it - we confess to a bit of prejudice when it comes to this book. Why? Well, it was written by two of the senior contributing editors at of College Confidential, Dave Berry and David Hawsey. The book is chock-full of up to the minute advice for getting into Ivy League schools as well as other elite universities. As applications continue to rise and acceptance rates sink ever lower at elite schools, applicants need all the help the can get.

This book is full of practical advice specifically targeted at the eight Ivy League schools - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn - plus other ultra-selective schools like MIT, Stanford, and Duke. Be one of the FIRST to find out the latest secrets for gaining admission to the most selective schools in the country. In this ever more competitive environment, you need an edge - the authors draw on their years of hands-on college admissions experience to help you avoid mistakes that will send your application straight to the reject pile, and show you how to present your accomplishments for best results.
Read Dave Berry's Comments on America's Elite Colleges

Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions: Words of Wisdom for Surviving the College Admission Process. This is another favorite of ours for which we have to admit some prejudice. We liked it before Sally Rubenstone became a Senior Counselor and principal at College Confidential, though, and we're sure you will too. Panicked Parents is a guide to dealing with the stressful college admissions process that's both fun to read and full of practical advice. Read our Panicked Parents Review.

College Books - Latest Reviews - NEW!

Organizing from the Inside Out for Teenagers: The Foolproof System for Organizing Your Room, Your Time, and Your Life

B's and A's in 30 Days: Strategies for Better Grades in College

Professors' Guide to Getting Good GrAdes in College

Debt-Free College: 79 Secrets for Successful College Financing

BROKE! A College Student's Guide to Getting By on Less

101 TIPS on getting into MEDICAL SCHOOL

The Aspen Institute Guide to Socially Responsible MBA Programs: 2008-2009

College Books - The Search Process

Best 331 Colleges - 2002, by Robert Franek with Tom Meltzer and Eric Owens - This perennial bestseller features plenty of comments from actual students in addition to the usual mass of statistics and descriptive data for each school. Read our review.

College Rankings Exposed by Paul Boyer. This book isn't an expose and it's not a complete guide to finding a college, but it does offer an alternative way to think about choosing a college and offers a specific set of criteria and questions to ask when evaluating a school. Read our College Rankings Exposed review.

Visiting College Campuses (5th Edition) by Janet Spencer, Sandra Maleson, et al. Combines both general information on how to make the most of college visits as well as specific information on hundreds of the most frequently visited campuses. Check our review.

Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools You Should Know About Even If You're Not a Straight-A Student (Revised Edition), by Loren Pope. At a time when all too much tension is focused on a few top schools, our review tells why parents and students might want to uncover some hidden gems.

Smart Parents Guide to College: The 10 Most Important Factors for Students and Parents When Choosing a College, by Ernest L. Boyer and Paul Boyer. Need help in sorting out schools and comparing final choices? Our review tells how the Boyers give concrete advice on how to evaluate schools and find the best match for the student's needs.

Please Understand Me: Character & Temperament Types, by David Keirsey
and Marilyn Bates. Read our review to find out why this is a great place to start for those college-seekers who aren't particularly sure of a direction, much less specific colleges.

Peterson's Colleges With Programs for Students With Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorders (6th Revised edition) by Stephen S. Strichart, Charles T. Mangrum II, et al. LD and ADD students are being diagnosed more frequently, and many colleges are addressing the needs of these students from both an admissions and education standpoint. Read more in our review.

Hillel Guide to Jewish Life on Campus (14th Edition), edited by Ruth Fredman Cernea and Jeff Rubin. Almost nine out of ten young people of the Jewish faith will attend college - this book helps families learn about the environment Jewish students will encounter at over 500 colleges, our review points out.

College Admissions Books

Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions: Words of Wisdom for Surviving the College Admission Process. Straight talk from admissions experts on on how to make smart choices - and not go crazy in the process. From SATs to picking a college, you'll find savvy tips to help parents and students alike. Read our Panicked Parents Review.

The Truth About Getting In: A Top College Advisor Tells You Everything You Need to Know, by Katherine Cohen. Dave Berry calls it "among the best books of its kind out there today" - read the complete review.

On Writing the College Application Essay, by Harry Bauld - This is our favorite essay book - read Dave Berry's review! Learn why "pet death" is an application essay killer, and much more. This hilarious book is worth reading even if you DON'T have to write a college essay.

Going to College…Without the Stress, by Tedd D. Kelly - An oddly named but calm and helpful narrator, The Dunce, helps students through the college admissions maze. Read our review.

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White - If Bauld is the definitive word on essay content, Strunk and White are the masters of style. They will help you avoid punctuation gaffes and usage misdeeds, all while developing your own style. Check our review.

A Is for Admission : The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges, by Michele A. Hernandez - This is the book that rocked Ivy League admissions offices when it was first published! Our review tells more about how Hernandez sheds light on the secretive world of Ivy League admissions...

Getting In: Inside the College Admissions Process, by Bill Paul - Good things come in small packages, according to our review. A must read for Ivy League wannabes.

10 Real SATs (2nd Edition), by The College Board - One of the best ways to prepare for standardized tests is to practice with the real thing, exactly what this book provides. Read our review.

100 Successful College Application Essays, by Christopher Georges and
Gigi Georges - These essays all "worked" for Ivy League applicants, but our review adds a note of caution to would-be essayists.

How to Be Accepted by the College of Your Choice, by Benjamin Fine - This is a just-for-fun review of a 1960 book on college admissions. We update it by comparing the tuitions then (Harvard for $2,370? Berkeley for $680?) and now.

College Life

College in Three Years: Stop Wasting Time and Money, by John C. Attig. Can you save time and money by gaining a degree in less time? Read our review.

Once Upon A Campus: Tantalizing Truths About College from People Who've Already Messed Up By Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili. Read excerpts of the wisdom you'll find in this recent addition to our college library.

Financial Aid & College Costs

Paying for College Without Going Broke 2002, by Kalman Chany with Geoff Martz - Here's the book you need to deal with FAFSA frustration. Includes advice on lots of topics, such as single parent families and sticky post-divorce situations. Read our review.

Going Broke By Degree: Why College Costs Too Much, by Richard Vedder. This isn't a guide to avoiding financial ruin while paying for college, but rather an in-depth look at why college costs are so high now and why they continue to grow faster than virtually any other consumer spending category (see review).

Peterson's Sports Scholarships and College Athletic Programs (4th Edition),
Edited by Ron Walker. Every parent fantasizes about their student getting a free ride as a sports star. Our review explains why this is a must-read for families of students with athletic potential, even in "minor" sports.