Kaplan/Newsweek 2002 Guidance Counselor Survey Finds that NYU is the Hottest and Trendiest School in the Country

New Book Includes Latest National Trends in College Selection

(New York, July 2001)- The results are in from Kaplan's Annual National High School Guidance Counselor Survey and the trend is clear: big is better and cities are hot! Published this month in the Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2002 (Kaplan Inc./Simon & Schuster; $25.00), the survey polled guidance counselors about the latest national trends in college selection. Across the board, the data shows that big names and big schools are hot; prestigious schools-not just the Ivies-are among the more desirable this year; and the Web plays a major role in the college selection process.

Of the 40 schools that made the list of Hot and Trendy schools this year, the Guidance Counselors' top five picks for 2002 are:

  
School
 Reason why it's popular
  
New York University
 All the majors, the arts programs, and the amazing Greenwich Village location.
  
Florida State University
 Football, fun, and sun; unlimited classes.
  
Stanford University
 The ultimate goal.
  
Arizona State University
 Research opportunities, the honors program, and the weather.
  
Duke University
 The academics, leadership development.

The Web has revolutionized the college admissions process. According to the Kaplan/Newsweek Survey, only 2% of those surveyed said their students are not actively using the Web when looking for and applying to schools. In addition, 65.3% of the counselors had a very favorable attitude towards websites as tools for their students. When Guidance Counselors were asked to pick the best college websites, the following five topped the Best of the Web list: California State University-Long Beach, Penn State at University Park, University of Texas-Austin, NYU, and University of Dayton.

To help readers quickly get to these Best of the Web picks, the College Catalog 2002 incorporates :CRQ ™ technology from Digital:Convergence Corporation. :CRQ ("See Our Cue") technology uses embedded cues, which look like product codes, and are read through the :CRQ software with a hand-held :CueCat ™ device. The device translates the cues, taking readers precisely to a specific Web page eliminating the input of lengthy URLs and time-intensive Web navigation.

In addition to the Hot and Trendy and Best of the Web lists, the survey in College Catalog 2002 includes:

Schools that offer the Best Value or the Tuition Dollar and those that are Responsive to Student Financial Aid Needs-especially important for late savers! Here are a few more important lists included in t he Catalog:
Schools that offer a high level of individual attention from the faculty-a characteristic that can help students achieve higher levels of academic success.
Schools with the best career services-important if finding a job at the end of college is important!
Schools that are hidden treasures-terrific schools that deserve more national recognition.
Schools that support diversity-top choices for students looking for not only a diverse student body, but schools that support diversity.
Schools that are academically challenging-these are the schools with the highest academic standards.

METHODOLOGY
 
Building upon the success of last year's Guidance Counselor Survey, College Catalog 2002 again utilizes the unbiased professional survey expertise of Market Measurement, a national market research firm. Market Measurement utilized a pure random sample of U.S. public, private, and Catholic high schools obtained from Dun & Bradstreet. The foundation of the survey was telephone interviews conducted within the sample provided for high school guidance counselors. To further enhance the accuracy and "projectability" of the study findings, Market Measurement also incorporated the popular research technique of data weighting to insure that the final study findings accurately reflect the total number of high school students in each state. In addition to the statistical information, guidance counselors were invited to share insights about the colleges with which they were most familiar. Many of their comments are included in the Catalog.

BOOK DETAILS

In addition to containing the Kaplan/Newsweek Survey, College Catalog 2002 is an easy-to-use guide enabling students to search for their ideal college through detailed indexes, which sort schools by cost, size, and selectivity. The Catalog contains comprehensive up-to-date admissions information for more than 1,000 top colleges and universities and a wide range of information on enrollment, academics, student life, admissions, selectivity, finances, and graduates. Each college's individual entry contains detailed admissions information specific to that school, including required admissions tests, selectivity data, and application and financial aid deadlines. College Catalog 2002 also features a reference section for locating schools with popular programs in specific fields of study. Unlike other college guides, Kaplan/Newsweek's College Catalog 2002 is free of paid advertising from the profiled schools. Kaplan has never accepted any money from schools profiled in their publications. Kaplan's guide provides straightforward, unbiased information that helps prospective applicants make informed choices throughout the application process. Parents and students can rely on this unbiased guide to make one of the most important decisions of their lives.

The Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2002 is available wherever books are sold.

Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2002
Kaplan, Inc./Simon & Schuster
July 2001; $25.00; ISBN: 0-7432-1395-5
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 in centers and online at www.kaptest.com; after-school learning programs for kids and one-on-one tutoring for high school students through SCORE! Learning, Inc. (www.escore.com); on-site education and professional development at schools; books, software, and magazines; professional training and compliance tracking through Kaplan Professional (www.kaplanprofessional.com); bachelor and associate degrees, certificate and diploma programs via online, distance and traditional classroom-based programs through The Kaplan Colleges (www.kaplancollege.edu), which include Concord University School of Law, the nation's first online law school, (www.concordlawschool.com); Kaplan College and The College for Professional Studies; and Quest Education, a leading provider of post-secondary education offering bachelor and associate degrees and diploma programs in schools across the U.S. (www.questeducation.com). Kaplan is a 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 Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2002 or to schedule an interview with the publisher, contact Lori Duggan Gold at (212) 492-5903.

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