Overview
rculated Annual College Guide—a book akin to the bestselling U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” guidebook, but flipped on its head. Rather than a resource organized around the concerns of the most affluent and academically competitive ten percent of students, The Other College Guide is devoted to the needs and interests of the 90 percent. It poses different questions about the value of colleges based on factors including their ability to spur social mobility, offer research opportunities, and their commitment to service.
The guide includes the magazine’s signature ranking of the nation’s “best bang for the buck” colleges; short school profiles written with the perspectives of low- and middle-income families in mind; the best college experiences for black, Latino, and other students of color; and chapters on how to chart a career path in public service and the nonprofit sector. It highlights critical information for first-generation students, and their parents, on applying to and paying for college, practical and cautionary advice on online education options, and pitfalls to avoid in that crucial first year after high school.
The Other College Guide will provide the great majority of American students—and their families and guidance counselors—with the honest, clear, and practical information they need to transform the college process into one that makes sense and leads to the future they dream of.