The Ultimate Guide to America's Best Colleges 2018

By Gen Tanabe and Kelly Tanabe

The only guidebook of its kind to combine extensive narrative college profiles with detailed data and statistics on each institution, this tome reports on more than 300 colleges and universities, addressing their academics, majors, student life, athletics, student body, distinguished alumni, admissions/financial aid, and postgraduation success. Tips on each college’s admission process and student quotes from a national survey accompany each description to provide an honest and thorough appraisal of each college’s strengths and weaknesses.

To guide students by the numbers, this book includes extensive statistics for each school, with figures on the student composition, class sizes, most popular majors, admissions rates, required standardized tests, deadlines, college costs, and financial aid. A must-have, go-to resource for any college-bound student, their parents, or guidance and career counselors, readers will also find a ranking of the 100 best college values.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SuperCollege
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781617601446

Gen Tanabe

<b>Gen Tanabe</b> won more than $100,000 in scholarships to graduate from Harvard debt-free. He is the award-winning co-author of 14 books including The Ultimate Scholarship Book, How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay and 1001 Ways to Pay for College and has been an expert source for publications including The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today.

Book preview

SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

THE MOST HONEST GUIDE TO HELPING YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT COLLEGE

If you’re looking for honest insights instead of college marketing speak… If you need more than superficial sound bites or raw numbers and stats… If you want to learn more about schools you know and discover new ones… If you want to know how to get into and pay for the colleges you find…

This is the college guide for you.

Our college guide gives you detailed profiles of 300 top colleges—plus essential statistics and admissions information—that will help you select and get into the school that is right for you. We believe it is critical to provide full-length, detailed essays on each college that give the most complete profile of what it’s really like at the school. Our essays include information from actual students and graduates as well as experts in the field such as college and career counselors. And since statistics also matter, we’ve selected the most important data points so you can quickly compare colleges.

What’s Inside

•  In-depth coverage of the colleges’ academics, student life, campus vibe, athletics, admissions, scholarships, and financial aid

•  Insider views and insights into what makes each college unique, plus honest appraisals of each college’s strengths and weaknesses

•  Vital information on the admissions and financial aid process for each college

•  Strategies to help you determine your best college match

•  The top 18 tips and tricks to get into your dream college

•  The strongest majors for each college

•  Descriptions of special academic opportunities, study-abroad programs, and career services

•  Admissions tips, deadlines, requirements, and the importance of each criteria in each college’s admissions decision

•  Specific details on financial aid and merit-based scholarship programs and the five steps to getting the most financial aid

•  Indexed rankings of colleges by majors and cost

•  Exclusive rankings of the 100 Best College Values

In short, we feel that this is the only guide you’ll need to discover, evaluate, and ultimately choose the best college for you.

CHAPTER TWO

HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE

We have spent the past 16 years researching and writing books (14 so far) on college admissions and financial aid. We’ve travelled across the country and spoken at more than 1,000 high schools to tell students how to get into college. During this time, we realized there was something missing in college guides. When students or parents asked us how to learn more about a college, we could never recommend just one source. There were books that contained a lot of statistical information on schools but were weak with descriptive profiles. There were books that assembled quotes from students but these always seemed too superficial and never really revealed what a school was really like. Then there was a motley collection of websites that posted a ton of user reviews, but it was almost too much and you never knew what hidden agenda the reviewer might have had. What students really needed was a guide that provided both stats and data and critical essays that took into account actual student experiences and reviews but served as an editorial filter. That’s when the idea for The Ultimate Guide to America’s Best Colleges was born.

We began to gather data and information during our national speaking tours since this allowed us to visit colleges as well as speak to the local high school counselors. After getting input from these counselors, college representatives, students, and parents and conducting additional research, we developed the list of 300 colleges. We based our decision on factors such as academic reputation, special academic programs, richness of student life, and financial aid provided to students. We sought diverse geographic locations and a mix of public and private institutions.

We realize that we are inviting some controversy by selecting and naming these 300 colleges as America’s Best Colleges. But choosing a college has always been a personal and subjective practice. There is no objective standard for what makes a great school. There never has been. So we accept (even embrace) our subjectivity and fully recognize that we are making editorial choices. But with few exceptions, we think you’ll agree with our choices.

Once we had our list, the hard work began. In addition to our own research, we conducted an exhaustive national survey of students. We felt it was absolutely necessary to include input from students to give the real story on each college. The students weren’t afraid to let us know what they liked—and didn’t like—about their schools. One of the most difficult tasks was distilling all of this information—data, insights on the schools, and feedback from students and experts—into a unified narrative that exposed as much as possible the true nature and atmosphere of each unique college.

CHAPTER THREE

ABOUT THE PROFILES & DATA

The heart of this book is the college profiles. Each profile is divided into topical sections designed to help you evaluate the pros and cons of the school and get a feel for what it is like to be on campus. Sidebars feature the crucial data and stats for each college making it quick to compare and contrast the schools. What follows is a description of how each profile is organized and what you can expect to learn.

Overview

Each profile starts with highlights of the key differentiating factors about the college. It’s what makes the college special or unique. It is meant to be a high-level overview of the college’s major attributes, one of which is its location and a description of the campus itself. It’s amazing how important the campus’ physical environment is in the ultimate happiness that students feel.

Academics

One of the most important factors in selecting a college is its academic offerings. We’ve spent some time trying to capture the major strengths of the school’s educational choices. These often include:

General education requirements. Your first year in college will be largely influenced by these requirements. In fact, some students report that the hardest academic year was their first, due to the required courses they needed to take. The colleges vary in their requirements with some only having a handful and others having more than a dozen required classes.

Majors offered and strong majors. In selecting a college, it’s important to know what your options for study will be. While most students don’t know which specific major they will choose (and often change within their college career), you should have a general idea of what areas you like or don’t like. Science or humanities. Art or writing, for example. The colleges vary from having more than 300 majors to just one. If you know what you want to major in, it’s crucial to know which colleges are strong in that subject.

Academic opportunities. Colleges offer more than classroom instruction. There are special programs that range from research opportunities to honors programs. Some have museums with nationally renowned collections. Others offer programs in spying and national security; while still others provide seed money to start a business and become an entrepreneur.

Study abroad. Colleges may offer a handful of in-house programs or even require that every student participate in a funded program abroad. These programs range from a couple of weeks to an entire year and may be led by faculty, in partnership with other colleges, or by affiliate programs. If you want to study in a foreign country—especially if you have a country of choice—then you need to pay attention to your college’s offerings.

Career/internships/alumni relations. While a college education accomplishes many things, a key benefit should be how well it prepares you for a future career or graduate school. Some colleges provide one major career fair a year while others provide more than a dozen, including specialized ones such as for government, science, or art-related fields. The schools also vary in their availability of internships. Those located in major cities often offer opportunities to work at multiple Fortune 500 companies while those in state capitals may offer political internships. Alumni relations may be pivotal for a college, providing undergraduates with mentors and a source of career and graduate school advice, or they may be less significant. Some schools are even known as feeder schools for specific career fields and/or graduate programs.

Student Life

The truth is that you will spend a lot more time in college outside the classroom than in it. So all the other aspects from housing to socializing are extremely important to your overall success and happiness.

Student organizations. Colleges typically have between 50 and 350 student organizations ranging from service to the arts to cultural to political interests. But there are also groups that stand out, such as secret societies and knitting clubs that give you a clue to the vibe of the campus.

Events. Some colleges have small events every week while others host blowout celebrations once or twice a year. Knowing which special events are important to a campus community will help you understand if the environment is a fit for you.

Greek organizations. Greek organizations vary in their prevalence on campus. Some colleges are the self-proclaimed epitomes of the movie Animal House while others have organizations centered on public service. Some don’t have Greek organizations at all.

Athletics. At some colleges, sports are the main source of school spirit and the central activity around which weekends revolve. At others, it is mostly enjoyed by the athletes themselves. Colleges with notable club or intramural programs or outdoor recreational opportunities are noted.

Off-campus activities. The surrounding areas of colleges can be hotspots with numerous offerings for students or can be pretty much the doldrums.

Housing. Housing options are described with details that include amenities, dorm conditions, and possible overcrowding as well as any special housing options.

Student Body

The ethnic makeup and geographic background of the student body is outlined to indicate how diverse the student body is. In addition, student input describes the political, religious, and other attitudes that are common.

You May Not Know

These are fun, lesser known facts about the college. While these are entertaining, they often indicate the unique personality of the college.

Distinguished Alumni

Knowing some of the graduates of the college points to certain academic strengths that the college may have.

Admissions and Financial Aid

In this section we have tips for admissions. For example, does not having an interview harm your chances, or what are the admissions officers looking for in candidates? There is helpful information about the financial aid programs available as well. There are specific merit-scholarship programs described for each college that should help you determine how you will pay for your education.

The College Data

How do you like your data? We serve the most important and useful data points and stats that will help you understand the college and compare it to other choices. The following is a breakdown of the numbers that we give for each school.

Students

•  Total enrollment: The total number of full-time and part-time graduate and undergraduate students.

•  Undergrads: The total number of full-time and part-time undergraduate students.

•  Freshmen: The number of freshmen students.

•  Part-time students: The percentage of students who attend part-time.

•  From out-of-state: The percentage of students whose permanent residences are outside the state where the college is located.

•  From public schools: The percentage of students who graduated from public high schools.

•  Male/Female: The percentage of males and females.

•  Live on campus: The percentage of students who live on campus or in college-affiliated housing.

•  In fraternities/In sororities: The percentage of students who participate in fraternities/sororities.

•  Off-campus employment rating: A rating of the opportunities for working off campus.

•  Ethnic breakdowns: Percentages of students by ethnic group as self-reported.

Academics

•  Calendar: Academic calendar used such as semester or quarter. The term 4-1-4 means that there is a four-month period, a one-month period, and then a four-month period.

•  Student/faculty ratio: The ratio of the number of students to the number of faculty members.

•  Class sizes: The percentage of classes by size.

•  Returning freshmen: The percentage of freshmen who return for their sophomore years.

•  Six-year graduation rate: The percentage of students who graduate from the college within six years.

•  Graduates who immediately enter careers related to the majors: The percentage of students who enter the workforce who are employed in jobs related to their majors within 12 months of graduating.

•  Graduates who immediately go to graduate school: The percentage of students who attend graduate school within 12 months of graduating.

Most Popular Majors

•  The three majors with the most number of students as identified by the college.

Admissions

•  Applicants: The number of students who applied to the college during the most recent application period.

•  Accepted: The number of students accepted by the college.

•  Acceptance rate: The percentage of students accepted.

•  Placed on wait list: The number of students placed on the wait list.

•  Enrolled from wait list: The number of students from the wait list that eventually enrolled at the college.

•  Average GPA: The average GPA of students accepted to the college using a 4.0 scale.

•  ACT range: The middle 50 percent of ACT scores of students accepted.

•  SAT Math range: The middle 50 percent of scores on the Math section of the SAT of students accepted.

•  SAT Reading range: The middle 50 percent of scores on the Reading and Writing section of the SAT of students accepted.

•  Top 10% of class: The percentage of students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes.

•  Top 25% of class: The percentage of students who graduated in the top 25 percent of their high school classes.

•  Top 50% of class: The percentage of students who graduated in the top 50 percent of their high school classes.

Note that for the average GPA, test score ranges, and percentages in high school graduating classes, these are meant to provide insight into the selectivity of the colleges. If your grades, test scores, or class ranking are below the numbers stated, this does not mean that you shouldn’t apply to the college. Remember that 25 percent of students accepted have scores below the test score ranges and that most colleges consider factors other than these three criteria.

Admissions Criteria

•  Academic criteria: These show the level of importance of the academic criteria that the colleges use in their admissions decisions:

= Academic criterion is considered.

= Important academic criterion.

= Very important academic criterion.

•  Non-academic criteria considered: The other criteria that the colleges use in their admissions decisions.

Deadlines

•  Early Action: Deadline for early action admissions.

•  Early Decision: Deadline for early decision admissions.

•  Regular Action: Deadline for regular admissions. Rolling admissions means that the college accepts students on a first-come, first-served basis. The priority deadline is typically the deadline to submit your admissions application if you want to be considered for merit-based scholarships, priority housing, or priority admission. The final deadline is the last date the application may be submitted.

Note that all deadlines are typically determined by postmarks for paper applications and date submitted for online applications.

•  Notification of admission by: The last date in which the college notifies applicants of its decision.

•  Common Application: Whether the Common Application, a single application used to apply to many colleges, is accepted. For more details, please visit www.commonapp.org.

Financial Aid

•  In-state tuition: Tuition price for students who are residents of the state in which the college is located.

•  Out-of-state tuition: Tuition price for students who are not residents of the state.

•  Room: Price of on-campus housing as reported by the college.

•  Board: Price of campus meal program.

•  Books: Average price of textbooks.

Note that all prices are annual unless otherwise noted.

•  Freshmen receiving need-based aid: Percentage of first-year students who are awarded need-based financial aid such as student loans, work-study, and grants.

•  Undergrads rec. need-based aid: Percentage of all undergraduate students who are awarded need-based financial aid.

•  Avg. % of need met by financial aid: Average percentage of a family’s demonstrated financial need that is met by financial aid offered by the college.

•  Avg. aid package (freshmen): Average amount of financial aid awarded to first-year students.

•  Avg. aid package (undergrads): Average amount of financial aid awarded to undergraduate students.

•  Freshmen receiving merit-based aid: Percentage of first-year students who receive merit-based aid such as scholarships.

•  Undergrads rec. merit-based aid: Percentage of undergraduate students who receive merit-based aid.

•  Avg. debt upon graduation: Average amount of debt per student upon graduation.

SECTION TWO

HOW TO GUIDES

CHAPTER FOUR

HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT COLLEGE

We’ve heard almost every reason imaginable for why a student would pick a college. For example, we know one student who decided to apply to a college because during the campus tour he noticed that there was a Krispy Kreme donut shop right in the center of campus. We even know of another student who wanted to get so far away from home that she took out a compass and a map and drew a 400 mile circle around her house. She vowed never to apply to a college within that circle. Depending on your personal priorities, these may or may not be good reasons to pick a college. But since we all have our own personal preferences, it’s important to remember that the same factors that make one school a student’s dream college may make it a nightmare choice for you. Following are some of the top tips for picking the right college.

Researching the Colleges

College brochures. Besides this book, one of the first places to look for more information about a college is in those beautiful full-color brochures that come in the mail. These brochures are filled with lots of useful information, but you must remember that they are biased and will tout only the positive aspects of the school. Always view the college’s brochure with a healthy dose of caution.

College fairs. Don’t just settle for pictures and printed words. Go to college fairs and speak with the college representatives. For a schedule of national fairs, visit the website of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (www.nacacnet.org). When you go, don’t be shy about asking the representatives all of your questions about the college—that’s why they are there. Rather than trying to meet with every college, focus on a handful with which to spend quality time. Ask for the representatives’ business cards, and follow up with email reiterating your interest and sharing more information about yourself.

Campus visits. The single best way to learn about colleges is to visit, but don’t just settle for the official tour. Take time to do your own investigation by walking the campus, sitting in a class, eating in the cafeteria, and talking with some students who are not tour guides. If you can, arrange ahead of time to meet with an admissions officer and contact the department of your major. The best time to visit is when school is in session. It’s hard to get a feel for a college when it’s empty! Also, if you don’t have the budget to travel to all the schools or the more distant ones, visit those closest to you—even if you aren’t interested in applying. The more campuses you visit, including those that are not on your list, the better idea you’ll have for what you really want in your dream college.

College rep visits. When college reps visit your high school, attend the meetings. It’s worth giving up your lunch time for an opportunity to get more in-depth information about the college and to form a more personal connection with the reps. Be sure to ask questions, and speak with the reps one-on-one afterward. Again, ask for business cards, and follow up. The relationships that you build with the reps are taken into account by some colleges when they make their admissions decisions.

College students. Speak to recent graduates of your high school and ask them what they think of their school. If the school is close to you, visit the campus, take a tour, and ask to be put in touch with a current student who can answer your questions. If you call the office of admissions they might be able to put you in touch with a student ambassador—a current student who can answer your questions by phone or email.

Counselors and teachers. There’s help close to home too. Your teachers and school counselors have helped thousands of students get into college and can share what they’ve learned over the years. If you haven’t already, make an appointment to meet with your counselor.

Websites. Visit colleges’ websites to learn about their admissions and financial aid policies, academic offerings, student life, and campus surroundings. To get a preview of student life, take a look at the websites that tell about the campus newspaper, student organizations, and even the individual homepages of students. These student sections are where you’ll find the true portrait of the college beyond the marketing hype.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Besides researching the colleges, it’s important to make an evaluation of yourself, too. The best way to do this is to ask questions about what you want from your education.

What Are Your Academic Goals?

Do you want to be trained for a specific line of work or do you want a more general liberal arts education? A pre-professional education prepares you for a specific job and includes areas such as engineering and premed. Some schools like MIT have very strong programs for those interested in the sciences but might not be right for someone interested in literature. A liberal arts education, on the other hand, aims to equip you with general knowledge and reasoning skills suitable for many jobs.

What might you major in? Most universities are stronger in some areas and weaker in others. While it may be too early for you to know whether you want to major in English or history, check out how strong the programs and professors are in the various fields you are considering. Investigate the courses offered and required, how many students are majoring in your area(s) of interest, the professors’ areas of research, whether you need to apply to enter the major, and whether a thesis is required. In addition to speaking with a professor or administrator in the department, ask to speak with a student currently in the major.

How many years does it take to graduate? Most schools graduate their students in four years, but some fields of study may take longer. Even the same majors—but in different schools—have varying requirements for the number and difficulty level of courses. Laboratory work, research, senior theses, tutorials, or seminars may be requirements for your field. All of this can affect how long it takes to finish.

Do you prefer a small college or large university setting? Most students find smaller classes that allow more active participation to be more rewarding than large, impersonal lectures. But larger institutions also have advantages, such as more resources and often (but not always) more acclaimed faculty.

What do you plan to do with your degree after graduating? Whether you want to go directly to graduate school or work for a non-profit organization after graduation affects what you look for in a college. Investigate what recent students have done post-graduation, and learn about what those who work in your future career studied in college.

Do You Want to Attend Party Central?

Do you want to have three Greek letters emblazoned on your chest everywhere you go? Does the school have a Greek system? Some students are inclined to join a fraternity or sorority, while others feel that their existence on campus is overbearing for those who choose not to go Greek.

Does the school offer extracurricular activities that you would enjoy? If you join the Hasty Pudding Club at Harvard, you’ll have the chance to cross-dress and sing on stage at its famous annual performance. It’s important that your future college offers activities you’d enjoy.

What Type of Digs Do You Want?

Do most students live on campus or commute? Whether students spend most of their lives on campus or off makes a big difference in the social atmosphere of the college.

Can you live with strangers? Can you bathe near strangers? If you lived in the dorm, would you have roommates? How modern or ancient are the dorms? Does each room have its own bathroom or do you use a shared facility? These are questions you’ll want to explore.

What Kind of Campus Environment Do You Want?

What size student body fits you? Some students like the intimate feeling of a small school where they know the names of all their classmates, while others prefer the diversity of a large student body.

Is the campus in the inner city, countryside, or somewhere in between? Is it a college town where the college is the social center of the city? Is it in the middle of nowhere, where you have to drive 40 miles just to see a movie? If locality matters to you, then you’ll want those facts to consider.

What is the weather like? If you’ve never endured a minus-20 degree winter or a 90 percent humidity summer, you might want to think twice about how the weather will affect your life (e.g., being able to sunbathe between classes vs. literally not seeing the sun for months at a time).

How far is the college from home? Do you want to remain geographically close to your family and friends, or do you want to venture into the world of collegedom solo? What are the chances of your parents dropping in for a surprise visit? Is this a good thing? (It can be if they are willing to do your laundry!)

Is the school known for attracting students of a particular political view? Most schools have a surprisingly even balance of conservative and liberal students. However a few have a noticeable imbalance. While you should keep this in mind, don’t let it be an overriding factor since you will always find others who share (and oppose) your views.

Now What?

You will not be able to find answers to all these questions, but asking them should help you narrow down your list of prospective colleges. Also, some of these questions may not be important to you and recognizing that is also helpful in your college search.

Your goal when choosing colleges is to find schools that offer what is important to you. The only way to do this is to first ask yourself questions like those posed above and then do some detective work to find schools that match your needs. Refer to the appendices for a College Search Worksheet that will help you summarize your research on the colleges.

Decide if you want to apply Early Action or Early Decision

There are three types of early application. With all three you apply early and receive a decision early.

•  Early Action: You are not bound to attend the college.

•  Restrictive Early Action: While you are not bound to attend the college, you are often not allowed to apply to another college Early Action or Early Decision. When you are restricted from applying to another college early, this is known as Single Choice Early Action.

•  Early Decision: You are bound to attend the college.

There are three major advantages to applying for Early Action or Early Decision: 1) you demonstrate to the college that it is your top choice; 2) you will find out sooner if you are accepted and thus may not have to apply elsewhere; and most importantly, 3) many colleges have higher acceptance rates for Early Action or Decision applicants than for regular admissions applicants. Keep in mind, however, that the applicant pool for Early Action or Decision is usually very competitive.

The disadvantages are that: 1) for Early Decision, you are committed to attending that school if you are accepted and must withdraw your applications to all other schools (for Early Action, you don’t have to make this commitment); and 2) you will not be able to compare financial aid packages since you have to make your decision early. If you apply during the regular action cycle, you can compare financial aid from different colleges. Since this may differ significantly, it could influence your final decision in selecting which college to attend.

Don’t Worry About Money (Yet)

Until now, we have not discussed perhaps the biggest factor in determining where you will go to college—money. Yes, it is true that college costs a bundle, with private colleges being especially guilty of exorbitant prices. It is not uncommon for parents to take out a second mortgage on their homes or for students to have loans for years after they graduate. And unfortunately, costs are only rising.

However, at this point, do not let costs dictate your goals. Even if money is tight, don’t make it your primary concern just yet. (If you have trouble paying for the application fee, ask your counselor about a fee waiver.) The reason that money should not be an issue now is that while tuition is expensive, there is also a ton of financial aid available. Just last year over $238 billion in financial aid was given to students to help them pay for college. The real question is not how much a college costs, but how much you’ll have to pay out of pocket after taking into account scholarships and financial aid.

Once you get accepted, you can work with the college to put together a financial aid package that will make the school affordable for you. This is why you need to wait until you are accepted by the college and they determine what kind of financial aid package they can offer before making cost a limiting factor. Be sure to check out Chapter Six, Five Steps to Getting the Most Financial Aid You Deserve, to see what kind of support is available and how you can maximize your aid package.

Your college education is one of the most important investments in your future, and you need to know all of the information that pertains to it before making the right decision.

CHAPTER FIVE

18 TIPS AND TRICKS TO GETTING INTO COLLEGE

Each year more than three million students apply to college. Given this large number, you might be tempted to throw up your hands and resign yourself to the fact that there is nothing that you can do to make your application stand out from this awesome pile. While it is true that a record number of students will apply to college, it is a huge mistake to assume that there isn’t anything you can do to gain an advantage when it comes to getting into college. With a little bit of preparation and some extra effort, you can create an application that highlights your strengths, makes a strong impression on the college admissions officers, and results in a mailbox filled with sought-after acceptance letters.

1. Think before you write. Before you open an application, take the time to do a little self-reflection. What strengths do you want to convey to the college? What are your goals for the future? How will this college help you meet these goals? This kind of self-reflection will help guide you in choosing what information you provide to the college, how you do so, and how much you emphasize each of your accomplishments. A lot of students simply dive into filling out the application and skip this important step. What typically happens to these students is they waste a lot of time writing about things that aren’t important to them or that don’t fully explain who they are to the colleges.

2. Academics are king. Your parents may not be right about whom you should date or what time your curfew should be, but they are right about one thing: you need to hit the books. When evaluating your application, an important question that college admissions officers ask is this: Can you handle the academic coursework? You can be the most brilliant musician, talented artist, or philanthropic volunteer, but if you can’t handle college-level academics, you won’t be admitted. Challenge yourself with as many Advanced Placement, honors, or International Baccalaureate classes as you can.

3. Follow your passions. Because colleges want the type of students that are involved in athletics, the arts, and other activities on campus, they consider what you do outside the classroom as extremely important. Some students think that there is a secret formula for activities that they should participate in that will be impressive to colleges. The real secret is that you should do what you enjoy. You will dedicate yourself to (and excel in) those activities that you like. Don’t participate in athletics if you are inept with balls and bats. Don’t volunteer at a homeless shelter if you really don’t want to. Find something that you do care about, and dedicate yourself to it. Admissions officers can detect when you do something just to impress them. They really want to see that you do what you are passionate about.

4. Make a cheat sheet. With anywhere from six to 12 applications to complete, you may feel overwhelmed by the work ahead of you. It will help if you make a cheat sheet or resume of your accomplishments, awards or honors, work experience, volunteer work, and summer activities. This is information for which nearly all colleges ask. If you have a handy list you can refer to, it will save time and will help you make sure not to miss anything or leave something out.

5. Get feedback from others on the admissions essay. Students often think that they just need to pound out a few hundred words for the essay and hit submit to send it off to the college. The truth is that you need time to develop your essay. And even more importantly, you need feedback. Useful feedback can come from teachers, friends and, yes, even your parents. Hearing how other people respond to your essays is the only way you will know if what you are trying to say is actually being communicated to the reader. It will also give you invaluable information about which parts of the essay are working and which need to be improved. It also doesn’t hurt to have someone point out any careless spelling or grammatical errors.

6. Don’t be afraid to be revealing. In other words, as you are writing the essay, convey something about who you are to the college. What makes you unique? What special strengths do you have to offer the college? In the essay, countless students recount the information that is easily found in their applications or write about shallow topics that don’t reveal who they are or how they feel. It’s not just recommended to get personal in the essay, it’s required.

7. Razzle, dazzle, and captivate your audience. When you begin writing, keep in mind that you need to write a truly memorable essay. To do this, you need to draw the admissions officers into your essay with a quick, catchy, and creative introduction. You want to pique their curiosity by posing questions they will want the answers to and dilemmas they too have faced. Most important, you want the admissions officers to be able to relate to your essay (not necessarily to the actual events but to the feelings involved).

8. How you write is just as important as what you write. You should constantly ask yourself if you would be interested in your essay if you were the reader. Imagine yourself as an admissions officer. Read the first few paragraphs and ask yourself what makes you want to finish it? Do not just rely on your own judgment. Seek the opinions of others. If your essay does not captivate the reader, you will need to rework it.

9. Use original language. Try to describe people, places, and events in a unique—but not awkward—style. Appeal to the different senses. What can the reader see from your essay? Hear? Smell? By adding rich detail, you can often turn an ordinary topic into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The more you can bring the reader into your essay by using description, the better. Try to think of language as a toy, and play with it. Just make sure that if you use unfamiliar words, you use them in the right way. It is better to use ordinary language correctly than to use roller coaster-exciting language incorrectly.

10. Ask teachers early for recommendations to avoid the rush. Teachers typically have anywhere from 20 to more than 50 requests to write recommendations each year. You can get a jump on your classmates and perhaps receive greater attention from your teachers if you ask early. Remember that early means several weeks or even a couple of months before the recommendations are due.

11. Help teachers write the recommendations. While you may have a mental catalogue of every award that you have won, you can’t expect your teachers will have the same extensive knowledge. Help jog their memories and receive better evaluations by providing a cover letter and resume. The cover letter should explain which recommendations you need, the deadlines, and any relevant information that the teacher may use to write the recommendation. For example, if you did well on a specific class project, you can mention this in the cover letter. The resume should include a brief description of some of your most important accomplishments.

12. Practice, practice, practice for interviews. If you were performing a piano concert, you would never go on stage without practicing. In a similar way, you should not go to a college interview without first rehearsing. Practice answering the most common questions: Why do you want to attend our college? What do you plan to study and why? What do you plan to do after graduating? What meaningful academic experience have you had? What do you do outside class? By practicing interviewing, you will be less nervous and better equipped when it comes time for the real thing.

13. Go beyond the brochures. In essays and interviews, colleges commonly ask students why they want to attend the school to get a sense of how well they would fit in. Most students just repeat information directly from the school’s brochures or websites. This is a big mistake. To show that you have a better understanding of what the school has to offer and how it fits what you are looking for, go a step further. If you can, do some additional research by speaking with students, calling the department you wish to enter, or visiting the campus. Mention something you have learned that is not described on the college’s website or in the brochures. Then, explain how it relates to your goals.

14. Time test-taking. Most colleges require that you take the SAT or ACT Test and three SAT Subject Tests. It is also highly recommended that you take some Advanced Placement (AP) tests as well.

The general rule for when you should take the ACT or SAT is once or twice during the spring of your junior year. If you are not satisfied with your scores, test again in the fall of your senior year.

For the SAT Subject Tests, ideally you should take the subject tests soon after you have completed courses covering the subject. The exception is when you are planning to take another course in the same subject area. If you are, you may want to take the test once, take the next course, and take the test again.

If you plan to take any of the exams again in the fall of your senior year, you should spend the summer studying. Try to take the exams as early in the fall as you can because later in the fall you will be busy completing your actual applications and will not want to have to worry about taking more tests.

Here is a quick summary of when to take the tests:

PSAT: Definitely your junior year and maybe even earlier.

SAT Test: Spring of junior year and fall of senior year.

ACT Test: Spring of junior year and fall of senior year.

SAT Subject Tests: As soon as possible after you have taken the related courses, unless you will take a more advanced related course.

APs: As soon as possible after you have taken the related courses.

Remember that if you plan to apply Early Action or Early Decision, you will need to take your exams as early as possible.

15. Make personal connections. The old saying, It’s not what you know but who you know, rings true for college admissions. However, don’t think that you have to be from a well known politician’s family, have a cousin who’s a philanthropist, or parents that are alumni donors to make the kinds of connections that you need. Try to start a personal relationship with someone at the college. You can do this when you meet a representative who visits the school, when you visit the college, or by contacting the admissions office. You should request additional information and ask questions. Many colleges keep records of these kinds of contacts. If they are deciding between a student who has not made any personal contact and one who has attended an information night, they will choose the student that has shown greater interest.

16. Assume everyone is important. In other words, many students don’t think much of meeting a college representative at a college fair or at an informational meeting at school. The truth is that oftentimes these college representatives are the ones who will review your application. It helps to make a good impression on them. You can do this by asking lots of questions and by spending time to speak about why you want to attend the school and telling what your interests are. It’s better to assume that everyone you meet or speak with during the admissions process can be influential.

17. Look at the whole enchilada. As you wrap up the applications, look at all of the pieces and make sure that you have conveyed the most important things about yourself. You should imagine that you are an admissions officer and what impression you would leave.

18. Proofread. Proofreading may not seem like an admissions trick, but considering how many students don’t do it, it really is. Take the time to make sure that all the pieces of the application are included and complete, and that they are as flawless as possible. Silly errors show a lack of attention to detail, which is the last impression you would like to leave.

You might be surprised to learn that despite the fact that colleges receive thousands or even tens of thousands of applications, admissions officers at these schools read every single piece of paper in your application. We’ve spoken to hundreds of admissions officers at colleges across the country, and we are always impressed at the dedication that these professionals show, giving applicants a complete and fair chance to show them why they should be admitted. College admissions officers truly want to admit you. It’s now your responsibility to give these admissions officers a reason to do so.

CHAPTER SIX

FIVE STEPS TO GETTING THE MOST FINANCIAL AID YOU DESERVE

We are going to break down the financial aid process into five easy steps. We will also give you a little inside information on how each step of the process works so that you can see what factors will affect your outcome. In many ways applying for financial aid is like doing your federal taxes. There are forms to fill out and rules (even loopholes) that can help or hurt your bottom line. Now, we know that no one enjoys filling out a 1040 tax return, but at least in this case there is a good possibility that you will be getting a nice chunk of change back from the government to help you pay for college, so it’s certainly worth your time to tackle it.

Step 1: Fill Out the FAFSA

As with anything from the government, you need to fill out a form. In this case, to be considered for federal financial aid, you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. Most states and many public universities also require this form to be eligible for their aid programs. If you are applying to a private college, you may also have to submit the CSS/PROFILE form, which is similar to the FAFSA. The main difference between the CSS/PROFILE and FAFSA is not in the data it collects but the formula that is used to determine how much financial aid you deserve. Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice in which form the colleges use since they will require either one or both. Some colleges have additional forms that you need to fill out as well.

Since all families should complete the FAFSA (similar to the CSS/PROFILE), let’s take a look at it in detail. The FAFSA is a multi-page form that asks for detailed financial information including items from your previous federal income tax return. It’s not a difficult form to complete. What is difficult is that you need to collect a lot of information about your income and assets. In fact, the information that you include in your FAFSA should match the numbers on your federal tax return. You will want to turn in the FAFSA to the Department of Education as soon as possible after October 1 of the year before you will be starting or continuing school. If you are a high school student applying to college, this means that after October 1 of your senior year, you must submit the FAFSA form. If you are already in college, you must submit the FAFSA each year to continue to receive financial aid.

It’s also important that you don’t miss the colleges’ deadlines—and each school sets its own. Most want you to submit the FAFSA no later than January or February.

It is vital that you submit the FAFSA as soon as possible. Financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. If you wait until March, it is possible that funds may already be depleted even if you do deserve the help.

There is a big push by the Department of Education, which administers the FAFSA, to get you to fill out the application online. This is not a bad idea since the online form is designed to help prevent errors and give you faster results. You can begin the process by going to the Department of Education’s website at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Be sure to download the pre-application worksheets. These will help you collect the information you will need to complete the FAFSA. If you prefer to fill out the FAFSA on paper, get a copy by calling 800-4-FED-AID.

At first glance, the FAFSA may intimidate you, as is the case with many government forms. However, if you spend some time working on it, you’ll find that the information is relatively straightforward. To help, here are some tips for completing the form:

File the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1. This is an important form. Don’t procrastinate. Notice how many times we repeat this!

Follow directions. The Department of Education reports that delays are caused most often because students or parents don’t follow directions when completing the FAFSA. Spend the time to read the directions and follow them completely. If you have questions, don’t guess, but contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID.

Be thorough. Answer questions completely. Take the time to find the answers to all the information requested.

Realize that the FAFSA takes time. Set aside half a day to gather the information and complete the form. Don’t think that you can complete it during the commercials between episodes of American Idol.

Save time with the Renewal FAFSA. If you’ve applied for federal financial aid before, you can usually use the Renewal FAFSA. This form saves you time because many of the blanks are pre-filled with data from the prior year. Ask your school counselor or an employee of the financial aid office for more information.

If you transfer schools, check with your new school to see what forms you should complete. Your financial aid package does not automatically transfer with you.

Don’t think you’re on your own. Use the help provided by your school and by the government. The Department of Education has an entire staff of people to assist you with completing the necessary forms and answering your questions about financial aid. Visit their website at www.fafsa.ed.gov and don’t hesitate to contact them by phone or email with your questions.

Step 2: Review Your Student Aid Report

After you submit the FAFSA, you will need to wait patiently as the Department of Education computers crunch the numbers to determine your Expected Family Contribution. If you submitted the CSS/PROFILE, the computers at the College Board are also furiously working using a slightly different formula. At this stage, the process is completely computational. The same calculations are applied to every student. For example, if you and your friend submitted FAFSAs with identical numbers, the results would be the same for both of you.

The magic number that the computers spit out is your Expected Family Contribution or EFC. This number represents what your family (you and your parents) are expected to contribute toward one year of your education. Whether or not your EFC is accurate is another topic that we will discuss later. But for now, let’s look at how your EFC is determined:

Parent income X up to 47% +

Parent assets X up to 5.65% +

Student income X 50% +

Student assets X 20% =

Expected Family Contribution

Now don’t have a heart attack. Not all your income or assets are subject to the 47 percent and 5.65 percent assessment rate. There are both income and asset protections that effectively shelter some of your money. Plus, depending on your income, the assessment rate may not be the full 47 percent or 5.65 percent. In fact, the lower your income and assets, the lower your assessment rate.

The best way to get an estimate of what your Expected Family Contribution will be is to use a free online EFC calculator. These calculators let you enter some numbers and quickly get an estimate of your Expected Family Contribution. The College Board’s website has a free calculator at http://www.collegeboard.org. You can also adjust the numbers to see how changes in your income and assets affect your EFC.

Two to three weeks after you submit the FAFSA, you will receive the Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education. The SAR includes a summary of the information that you submitted in the FAFSA and shows your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). Carefully review your SAR. If there are any mistakes, you need to correct them immediately.

Step 3: Make the College Aware of Special Circumstances, if Necessary

You are not the only one who receives the information in the SAR. Each college that you apply to will also receive this information along with your Expected Family Contribution. The financial aid officer takes this information and uses it to determine your financial need.

Determining financial need is fairly easy. All the financial aid officer does is subtract the Cost Of Attendance (COA) from your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

The Cost Of Attendance (COA) is the total price tag for attending your college or university for one year. These costs include the following: tuition and other fees, room and board, transportation between your home and the college, books and other supplies, and estimated personal expenses.

Let’s take a look at an example:

You have completed the FAFSA. You have also received your SAR that reports an EFC of $8,000. This means that you and your parents are expected to contribute $8,000 to pay for next year’s college expenses. If the college costs $7,000 per year, then you would not receive any financial aid since it’s assumed that you can afford it. However, if another college costs $20,000 then you would expect to receive an aid package of $12,000. In other words, at the first college you are not considered to have financial need but at the second college you have a financial need of $12,000.

Now it’s at this point in the process when the computers stop and the humans take over, so that any special circumstances may be considered. Financial aid officers at the colleges have the ability to raise or lower the EFC for a variety of reasons. Therefore, it is crucial that you are open about your family’s true financial situation to the financial aid officer.

Remember too that all financial aid is based on the prior-prior year’s taxes. A lot may have happened last year that is not reflected by tax returns from two years ago. If you want to share additional information, send a letter to the college financial aid office to explain any unusual circumstances that may affect your family’s finances. Most colleges include a space on their financial aid forms for you to describe any relevant information such as this. When you are thinking about writing this letter, consider these three points:

Don’t hide the financial dirty laundry. Many parents feel compelled to hide embarrassing circumstances when filling out financial forms. After all, you are revealing financial strengths and weaknesses to a total stranger. However, if there are special circumstances such as large medical bills, current or impending unemployment, recent or ongoing divorce, siblings attending private elementary or high schools, or any additional expenses that may not be reflected in the FAFSA or CSS/PROFILE, tell the financial aid officer. Don’t be embarrassed. It could cost you big time.

Give the college a reason to give more money. Financial aid officers are numbers people. However, they have wide latitude for interpreting numbers and can apply a variety of standards. They can make exceptions, which can help or hurt your case. To get the most support from these professionals, make a case with numbers. Don’t just say that you don’t have enough money–show it. Document with numbers why your tax forms don’t accurately reflect your true income or expenses.

Don’t ever try to trick the college. The human being in the financial aid process is also what keeps it safe from trickery. You could, for example, take all the money in your savings account and plunk it down to buy an around-the-world vacation. On paper you’d have no savings. Yet, when the financial aid officer looks at your income, he or she will think it is very odd that someone who earns a decent living and owns a nice house is so cash poor. Not only would the financial aid officer not give you more financial aid, but you would also have depleted your savings.

Step 4: Compare Award Letters

Every college does try to create a financial aid package that meets your needs using a combination of grants, loans, and work-study. However, not every school is able to do this. Some colleges with limited resources may only be able to offer a financial aid package that covers a portion of your entire financial need.

If you are a high school senior, you will receive financial aid award letters several weeks after receiving college acceptance letters. Each one details how much and what type of financial aid you are being offered. It’s not necessary to accept or reject the whole package. You are free to pick and choose. For example, definitely accept any grants or scholarships, but carefully consider loans or work-study.

You should also compare award letters. While one college may cost twice as much as another, you may find that it is also willing to give twice the financial aid. In that case, the actual costs of the two colleges may be the same.

What’s most important is what you’ll pay out of pocket and how much you’ll need to borrow. Compare this among the colleges rather than their sticker prices.

Step 5: If You Need It, Ask for a Re-evaluation

If you feel that the amount of financial aid you are offered by a college is simply not enough, ask for a re-evaluation. To be effective, provide the financial aid office with concrete reasons why their initial assessment was wrong. Start with an email or call to the financial aid office. Be sure to have all your documents ready, and remember that the squeaky wheel often gets the grease. If you don’t say anything about the package, the college will assume that you are happy with it.

If you do ask for a reassessment, don’t make the mistake of approaching it like you would buying a car where you haggle with a salesperson over the cost of floor mats and how much below the sticker price you will pay. Financial aid officers are really on your side and they do want to give you every penny that you deserve. However, to make it feasible for them to do so, you need to make a strong (and documented) case for why their initial evaluation was flawed.

Good reasons to ask for a reassessment include the following:

•  Unusual medical expenses

•  Tuition for a sibling including private secondary or elementary school

•  Unemployment of a spouse or parent

•  Ongoing divorce or separation

•  Care for an aging relative

There is one other situation that may warrant a reassessment. If one college offers you significantly more than your first choice college, it may be possible to use that to get a better package. For example, if you are accepted to College A and College B, but College B offers a more generous financial aid package, you could try to work with College A to raise or match College B’s package. First, write a letter to College A, stating that you would like very much to attend the college but that you may not be able to because of the financial aid package offered. Outline in quick bullet points the financial aid package offered by College B. Provide brief reasons why you need a package like that to be offered by College A. Reiterate that you would prefer to attend College A and would like to know if there is anything the financial aid office can do to increase the package. Follow up with a phone call. This does not always work, and some colleges have a strict policy of not matching award offers of other colleges. However, some colleges have the means to be more flexible and just might raise their initial offer.

It’s always important to be proactive when it comes to financial aid. If at any point during your time in college your financial circumstances change significantly, contact your school’s financial aid office. We recommend first writing an email that outlines your special circumstances in quick, easy-to-understand bullet points. The financial aid officer will then have all the information he or she needs to reassess your financial situation. Follow up with a telephone call to check on any additional information and on the status of your inquiry.

SECTION THREE

THE RANKINGS

COLLEGES WITH POPULAR PROGRAMS IN SPECIFIC MAJORS AND AREAS OF STUDY

Who wants to be the only student in a major? When choosing a college you want one that not only offers your major but also has a lot of other students in the major since popular majors usually mean a wide variety of professors and resources.

Agriculture / Aquaculture / Animal Sciences

Clemson University

Colorado State University

Cornell University

Iowa State University

Kansas State University

North Carolina State University -- Raleigh

Oregon State University

Purdue University -- West Lafayette

Texas A&M University -- College Station

Texas Tech University

University of California, Davis

University of Florida

University of Idaho

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Kentucky

University of Missouri -- Columbia