The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges

(New York, January 2003) - For some high school students, summer is a time to relax, make some money, and spend time with friends. But smart teens and their families use the summer months to get a head start on the college selection process. To assist in this effort, Kaplan Publishing released its new college guide, The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges (Kaplan, Inc./Simon & Schuster, $20.00; July 2002) this month. This guide features exclusive, previously-unavailable information, including:

The surprising results of Kaplan's national guidance counselor survey
Candid student observations about the academic and social life at the 320 most interesting colleges of 2002-2003
Valuable advice from two of the country's leading authorities on college admissions
This new guide, by two of the country's top college admissions experts, offers the practical advice families crave. "Colleges admissions departments are reporting that they are looking for students that are 'a good match' for their school," said authors Anderson and Basili. "After reviewing the information in our book, students can quickly learn which schools they should be considering and which schools they should avoid."

Anderson and Basili closely monitored the 2001-2002 college admissions cycle and share their opinions about trends on campuses-which schools have changed for the better, which for the worse; which schools are overrated, which are underrated; where a competitive student might excel, where a B student might shine. Here are some of their comments:

                
Trent Anderson   Seppy Basili

Who should apply and who shouldn't:
School Example, California Polytechnic State University

 TRENT: If you are ready to declare your major now, Cal Poly will start preparing you for your applied science or engineering career in your freshman year. The "upside-down" curriculum is perfect for students who know what they want. 
 SEPPY: There's no room at Cal Poly for theoretical research, or for changing majors. Not a school for students who want to explore different fields.

 
Where else a student could or could not find the same scholastic environment: School Example, Pomona College

 
 TRENT: Pomona is considered on par with any of the elite East Coast schools. While Pomona can't draw upon graduate school resources like Harvard and Yale can, it does benefit from the combined resources of the other Claremont Colleges. 
 SEPPY: Hmm… A choice between spending frigid winters at Williams or Wesleyan, or relaxing in the sun at Pomona? You decide.

 
Pros and cons of each school:
School Example, Agnes Scott College

 
 TRENT: There are 140 study abroad programs at Agnes Scott. Students get all the benefits of a small women's college and everything Atlanta has to offer, plus some of the best dorms in the country.
 SEPPY: There may be a party somewhere on campus, but you'll have to look pretty hard. If it weren't for Georgia Tech, dates would be nonexistent instead of scarce. 

To capture the most up-to-date information about college admissions trends, Kaplan conducted an exclusive national survey of high school guidance counselors. This survey was conducted by Market Measurement, an independent, national market research firm. Here are a few of the survey results:

Hottest School in the country? Harvard
Best place to go if you haven't saved enough for school? University of Arizona
Best academic facilities? UCLA
Which small schools should you consider? Occidental College and St. Mary's College, both in California
If two classic American movies about life on college campuses - Revenge of the Nerds and Animal House - were remade today, on which campuses would they be filmed? MIT is the runaway winner for nerdiest school, but the responses indicate that Animal House could be filmed on any campus in the country!
The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges is available wherever books are sold.

The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges
Kaplan, Inc./Simon & Schuster
By Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili
July 2002; $20.00; ISBN: 0-7432-3054-X

About Kaplan: Kaplan, Inc. (www.kaplan.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Kaplan offers: Test prep and admissions services worldwide, including K12 services for schools through Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions; after-school learning programs for kids through SCORE!; licensing and continuing education training and compliance tracking through Kaplan Professional, and campus-based and online post-secondary educational programs through Kaplan Higher Education. Kaplan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

NOTE TO EDITORS: Review copies are available upon request. Please contact Lori DeGeorge at lori.degeorge@kaplan.simonandschuster.com or by phone at 212-698-1272. For more information about The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges or to schedule an interview with the authors, contact Lori Duggan Gold at (212) 492-5903.

Press Contacts:

Lori Duggan Gold
PR Manager for Kaplan Publishing
Tel: 212-492-5903
lori_duggangold@kaplan.com

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