Where This Book Came From 1 --
Research Methodology, Biases, and Limitations 3 --
Is Important Information Missing from This Book? 8 --
Some Final, Very Important Disclaimers 11 --
Chapter 1 Three Prep Colleges 13 --
Simon's Rock College of Bard 14 --
Simon's Rock and Bard 18 --
Cool Book Alert! Jefferson's Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture / Leon Botstein 19 --
10 Largest Colleges/Universities 22 --
12 Smaller Colleges/Universities 22 --
College Planning Differs by Family Income 24 --
Deep Springs College 25 --
Get the Name Right! 26 --
An Unusual Application Essay 32 --
A Few Thoughts on the Large vs. Small Decision 33 --
Essay: "Secret to Finding Scholarships-There Isn't One" 34 --
Totally Free Colleges and Universities 36 --
Tuition-Free Institutions 37 --
Cool Scholarship! The Collegiate Bass Anglers Association 38 --
Chapter 2 Ivy League and More 39 --
Most Competitive Schools in America 43 --
Cool Book Alert! Looking Beyond The Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You / Loren Pope 48 --
Why We Still Have Men's, Women's, and Minority-Focused Colleges 49 --
Skull and Bones at Yale 49 --
Three Schools That Are Kicking Butt 52 --
Essay: "Western Colleges Finally Get Their Due" 53 --
Cool Book Alert! The Public Ivys: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergradate Colleges and Universities / Richard Moll 55 --
Q&A with a Dean of Admission: What Highly Competitive Really Means 56 --
Schools With Massive Endowments 56 --
Should You Go to the Best College You Can Get Into? 59 --
Measuring the Value of an Ivy League Degree 61 --
Eastern Oregon University 62 --
Top Ten Per-Capita Producers of Ph.D.s 64 --
Best Place to Grow a Woman Scientist? 64 --
Why Distance Doesn't Matter and All Schools are Local 64 --
Best College Library in America 66 --
Chapter 3 Schools Where Scholarship Is Honored 67 --
Why Reed Declines to Participate in National Rankings 70 --
Reed Scholars Win Honors 74 --
Every Reed Senior Writes a Thesis 75 --
Cool Web Site! Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 76 --
Interested in a Career in Higher Education? 78 --
A Short History of Educational Reform 79 --
So You Think College Presidents Have It Easy? 80 --
Cool Web Site! www.collegiatechoice.com 81 --
Cool Book Alert! The Fiske Guide to Colleges / Edward B. Fiske 81 --
Cool Book Alert! Colleges That Change Lives / Loren Pope 84 --
Cool Scholarship! Wofford Presidential International Scholarship 86 --
Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (CLAC) 87 --
Cool Book Alert! College: The Undergraduate Experience In America / Ernest L. Boyer 88 --
Highest Paid Professors in America 89 --
What About Bryn Mawr? 90 --
University of Chicago 91 --
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Classification System 93 --
A Note about Urban Danger 95 --
Top Ten Most Innovative and/or Unorthodox Colleges 96 --
Cool Book Alert! The Innovative Campus: Nurturing the Distinctive Learning Environment / Joy Rosenzweig Kliewer 96 --
Sewanee - University of the South 97 --
Hampden-Sydney College 98 --
Equestrian Center at Sewannee 99 --
Robert E. Cook Honors College 100 --
Real Truth about Cook Honors College 101 --
Truman State University 103 --
What Grad School Admissions Officers Love to See on Your Application 104 --
Interview with Robert E. Cook 105 --
Cook Honors College 107 --
Essay: "A College Officer Writes about Distinctiveness at a College" 107 --
Essay: "On College Counseling for the Intellectual Student" 109 --
Essay: "Advice from a Distinguished College Professor" 116 --
Cool Book Alert! The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character Development edited by the John Templeton Foundation 119 --
MIT's Charm School 120 --
Chapter 4 Great Books Programs 121 --
St. John's College 122 --
Reading List for Freshman Year 124 --
Reading List for Sophomore Year 124 --
Reading List for Junior Year 124 --
Reading List for Senior Year 124 --
Does St. John's Ever Change? 125 --
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts 126 --
Recent Pilot Great Books Programs 128 --
Chapter 5 Eco Schools 129 --
College of the Atlantic 130 --
Audubon Expedition Institute 135 --
New College of the University of South Florida 136 --
Cool Web Site! National Center for Fair and Open Testing 137 --
Is the SAT Realty Fair? 138 --
Cool Book Alert! This Way Out: A Guide to Alternatives to Traditional College Education in the United States, Europe, and the Third World / John Coyne, Tom Hebert 142 --
Cool Book Alert! Major in Success: Make College Easier, Fire Up Your Dreams, and Get A Very Cool Job / Patrick Combs 143 --
Essay: "What Is Intelligence?" 147 --
Cool Book Alert! How College Affects Students / Ernest Pascarella, Patrick Terenzini 150 --
Schools That De-emphasize Grades 151 --
Cool Book Alert! Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities / Alexandra Robbins 151 --
Prescott College Mission 155 --
Mahatma Gandhi's Seven Sins 156 --
Essay: "Why Kids Aren't Happy in Traditional School" 157 --
Better Late Than Never 160 --
Cool Book Alert! College Unranked: Ending the College Admissions Frenzy / Lloyd Thacker 160 --
Suicide and the Smaller College 163 --
Block Plan Schools 164 --
University of Cincinnati 166 --
Northeastern University 168 --
Kettering University 168 --
Chapter 6 Entrepreneurial Studies 171 --
Essay: "The Big Meeting" 175 --
On Choosing a Major and Launching a Life 176 --
Essay: "The Filene Center for Work and Learning" 179 --
Oglethorpe University's Career Exposure Program 182 --
Kansas State University Academic and Career Information Center's Peer Counselors 184 --
Coolest "Jobs" on Campus 185 --
Principia College's Career Summit 186 --
Five Highest and Five Lowest Paying Majors 186 --
Junior Decision Programs: Santa Clara University and Washington University in St. Louis 187 --
Wellesley College's Management Basics 188 --
Chapter 7 Engineering Schools 189 --
Harvey Mudd College 190 --
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 192 --
Really Cool Science! 194 --
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering 195 --
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 197 --
Colorado School of Mines 198 --
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art 198 --
More Engineering Specialty Schools 200 --
Some Other Schools of Engineering to Consider 200 --
Most Millionaires Come from the Middle of the Pack 200 --
Think Small Colleges Don't Have Much Clout? 201 --
Chapter 8 Flying, Sailing, and Militarizing 203 --
Military Academies 204 --
Webb Institute of Naval Architecture 205 --
Aviation and Aeronautics 206 --
Maritime Colleges and Academies in the U.S. and Canada 208 --
Cool Books Alert! From F to Phi Beta Kappa: Supercharge Your Study Skills by Lance O. Ong and The Complete Guide to Academic Stardom / James Duban 209 --
Motivational Deficiency? Or Just Plain Lazy? 210 --
Cool Book Alert! My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student / Rebekah Nathan 210 --
Chapter 9 Work Colleges 211 --
Essay: "A Life of Work and Learning" 212 --
Alice Lloyd College 214 --
College of the Ozarks 215 --
Saga of a Mountaintop School 216 --
Warren Wilson College 217 --
Cool Books Alert! Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More by Derek Bok and Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition / Vincent Tinto 218 --
Chapter 10 More Cool Ideas 219 --
Thomas Aquinas College 220 --
A Spiritual College? How Can That Be? 221 --
Should You Go to a Religious or Church-Affiliated School? 222 --
Special Programs for Nontraditional Students, Single Parents, and Women 224 --
Frances Perkins Program at Mount Holyoke College 225 --
Cool Books Alert! Traditional Degrees for Nontraditional Students by Carol S. Fungaroli and Bears Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning / Mariah Bear 225 --
More Cool Ideas: Specialty Schools 229 --
More Cool Ideas: Cool Classes and Programs 229 --
Computer Game Studies 230 --
Interpreting and Translating 230 --
Modern Railroading 234 --
School of the Building Arts 234 --
Tom Savin's Special Make-Up Effects Program 235 --
Even More Unusual Classes, Majors, and Programs 237 --
Cool Book Alert! Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds / Richard Light 238 --
Cool Scholarship! The Left-Handed Scholarship 238 --
Chapter 11 Men's, Women's, and Minority-Focused Colleges 239 --
Essay: "Why I Finally Chose to Attend an Historically Black College" 240 --
Cool Book Alert! Been There, Should've Done That / Susette Tyler 241 --
List of Historically Black Colleges 242 --
United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Member Institutions 247 --
Tribal, Indian, and Native American Colleges 261 --
Top Ten Colleges with "Substantial Proportionality" for Women's Athletic Programs as Defined by Title IX 266 --
