The Other College Guide: A Roadmap to the Right School for You

by Jane Sweetland, Paul Glastris, Staff Washington Monthly

Overview

A college degree has never been more important—or more expensive. If you're not made of money, where can you get an amazing liberal arts education without your parents having to remortgage the house or cash in their retirement fund? Which degrees will allow you to fulfill your dreams and earn a decent paycheck? What do you really need to know if you're the first in your family to go to college? How do you find good schools that offer a well-rounded campus life for black or Latino students?


From the staff of Washington Monthly comes a new kind of college guide, inspired by and including the magazine's signature alternative college rankings. The Other College Guide features smartly designed, engaging chapters on finding the best-fit schools and the real deal about money, loans, and preparing for the world of work. This essential higher ed handbook also highlights information on what to look for (and watch out for) in online programs and for-profit colleges and concludes with fifty profiles of remarkable but frequently overlooked schools. All things being unequal, The Other College Guide will provide American students—and their families and school counselors—with the honest and practical information they need to make sense of the college process and carve a path to the future they imagine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620970065
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,145,580
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Paul Glastris was special assistant and senior speechwriter to President Bill Clinton for three years, during which time he wrote over 200 speeches for the president on subjects ranging from education to health care to the budget. Glastris was also co-creator of the president's "DC Reads this Summer" program. Before joining the White House, Glastris spent ten years as a correspondent and editor at U.S. News & World Report.

Table of Contents

1 Choosing To Go:

An Introduction to this Guide 1

2 Moving Up in the World:

Setting Goals and Imagining Your Future 13

Helpful Tools

Careers Clusters Interest Survey 26

Career Clusters Linked to Your Interests 30

3 If The School Fits, Pick It:

Finidng Your Type of College 39

Helpful Tools

Request for Admission Application Fee Waiver 50

The Four-Way Fit: Questions to Ask Yourself 61

The Four-Way Fit Worksheet: Build Your Own Rankings 65

4 The Other College Rankings:

Making a List of the Right Schools For You 67

Helpful Tools

The Four-Way Fit + Rankings Worksheet 94

The Washington Monthly's College Rankings

Best-Bang-for-the-Buck Colleges (by region) 95

Affordable Elite Colleges 165

Best Community Colleges 177

Best-Bang-for-the-Buck HBCU's 180

5 Troubled Waters:

The Community College Transfer Swamp 185

Helpful Tools

Sample Schedule and Milestones Chart 194

6 The Here and Now:

Taking Stock of Where You Are 199

Helpful Tools

College-going Activities Plan (9th-12th grade) 204

Sample Senior Timeline Table 216

Asking for Help: A List of Questions 219

7 Tasting Victory:

Preparing to Succeed 221

8 Families are Complicated:

The Tricky Business of Transitions 235

Helpful Tools

Sample Student Consent Form for Release of Information 246

9 Getting In:

Demystifying College Admission 247

Helpful Tools

How's the Fit? Grid 267

10 It's All About the Benjamins:

How To Pay For College 271

Helpful Tools

Cost Comparison Worksheet 295

Glossary of Financial Aid Terms 296

11 Carpe Diem:

Making The Most of Your First Year 299

12 Keep Up the Good Work:

Employment After College 317

13 Do Unto Others:

Non Profit and Public Sector Careers 331

50 Schools You Should Know About

Midwest 346

Northeast 356

South 365

Southeast 375

West 386

Acknowledgments 397

Notes 400

Editorial Reviews

"A welcome and engaging alternative to typical college guides . . . a refreshingly down-to-earth approach to deciding what matters when choosing a college."
—Diana Natalicio, president, University of Texas at El Paso


"Amazing and essential. I've been waiting my entire career for a guide that empowers and supports all students and families."
—Joshua Steckel, college counselor and co-author of Hold Fast to Dreams



"The Other College Guide is all about students, not school recognition and reputation . . . a wonderful and crucial resource."
—Anthony Lising Antonio, associate director, Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
Which students—and, of course, the parents bankrolling some of them—wouldn't like to know about "best bang for the buck" and "affordable elite" colleges? Washington Monthly has crunched lists with that criteria for years and has now released this reference, which includes these and other rankings from the magazine plus wrap-around text on topics including financial aid, the "community college transfer swamp," making the most of your first year, employment after college, and more. No index is provided, yet many insights will be gleaned from perusing this "here's the real deal" narrative. VERDICT A handy GPS guide for navigating college.—Judy Quinn, formerly with Library Journal

Library Journal