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There are many types of educational references to assist you in your search.  While these guides vary in format, most include information on enrollment, curriculum, faculty, majors/programs offered, campus life, financial aid, cost, selectivity, and a profile of the most recent entering class. 

General Information

These guides specialize in factual/statistical information.

• Barron's, Profiles of American Colleges, 2006, Good general information on college facts and finances, college majors and college profiles.  Includes a CD-Rom.
• College Board's, The College Handbook, Includes separate sections for 4-year and 2-year colleges, an early decision/early action table, a list of colleges by type, special characteristics, size, admission selectivity, and colleges with NCAA sports by division.
• Antonoff, The College Finder.  Offers information on more than 2,000 colleges arranged in more than 500 quick reference lists.
• Peterson's, Guide of Four Year Colleges 2006, This guide not only includes information on every US accredited four-year college but has nearly 1,000 in-depth descriptions and a majors index.

Special Guides

These guides offer a more subjective view.  The narrative descriptions when used in combination with statistical information provide an excellent "check and balance" system to your college research.

• Fiske, Guide to Colleges 2006, Lists each college's strongest departments and majors and is packed with students' tips on academics and social-life ratings for each school.
• Fiske, Guide to Getting into the Right College
• Moll, The Public Ivy's
• Pope, Looking Beyond the Ivy League
• Pope, Colleges that Change Lives
• Princeton Review, The Best 361 Colleges:  2006 Edition
• Templeton Foundation, Colleges That Encourage Character Development
• Thacker, Lloyd, Colleges Unranked:  Ending the College Admission Frenzy
• Yale, The Insider's Guide to the Colleges

Guides for a Particular Audience

• Coburn & Treeger, Letting Go:  A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years
• Kravets & Wax, The Princeton Review, The K&W Guide for Students with Learning Disabilities.  By state, this resource lists colleges with special accommodations for learning disabilities and what those accommodations are.
• LaVeist, DayStar Guide to Colleges for African American Students
• Peterson's, Colleges with Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorders, In addition to detailed information on colleges with comprehensive programs for learning disabled students, there is a reference chart for you to quickly see what each college has to offer.
• Peterson's, Top Colleges for Science
• The National Catholic College Admission Assistance, Official Catholic Colleges Guidebook

Guides for Majors, Careers, Finances/Scholarships, Sports

• Cassidy, The Scholarship Book, The complete guide to private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans for the undergraduates.
• College Board, Guide to 150 Popular College Majors
• College Board, College Costs and Financial Aid, One of the most practical guides to the financial aid process, this book also targets many common myths about financial aid.
• College Board, The Scholarship Handbook 2006, Lists over 2,000 undergraduate scholarships, internships, and loan programs.  Eligibility indexes allow you to search by many areas such as gender, minority status, and disabilities.
• College Board, Index of Majors & Graduate Degrees
• Leider, Don't Miss Out:  The Ambitious Student's Guide to Financial Aid
• Peterson's Sports Scholarships & College Athletic Programs