Profiles of American Colleges -- 2008

Book excerpt: Up-to-date facts and figures on enrollments, tuition and fees, academic programs, campus environment, available financial aid, and much more make the 28th edition of Profiles of American Colleges America’s most authoritative data source for college-bound high school students, their parents, and high school guidance counselors. More than 1,650 accredited four-year colleges are profiled. An interactive CD-ROM enclosed with the directory guides students to specific schools when they enter details describing their personal academic plans and aptitudes. In addition to the above-cited information, each college profile gives details on: • Admission requirements • Library and computer facilities • Admissions procedures for freshmen • Campus safety and security • Thumbnail descriptions of faculty • Requirements for a degree • Athletic facilities • Extracurricular activities • E-mail addresses • College fax numbers and web sites • Admissions Contacts • and much more Schools are rated according to Barron’s well-known competitiveness scale, from “Noncompetitive” to “Most Competitive.” Unlike some other publications, Barron’s refrains from the unreliable practice of ranking colleges on a first-through-last basis. The book’s tinted pages section presents a quick-reference Index of College Majors that lists all available major study programs at each school. Also profiled are many excellent colleges in Canada and several other countries, as well as brief profiles of religious colleges, and American colleges based in foreign countries.