Colleges and Universities Books

Highly relevant, stimulating reading recommended for anyone (and everyone) involved in higher education. The Family Track articulates many unspoken concerns of American academics through autobiographical pieces, interviews, and critical essays. From eldercare to parental leave, commuter marriages to children with special needs, the topics are as pertinent as they are undiscussed among faculties. Challenging and engaging, with practical strategies for developing family-friendly campuses.

I bought this book at the suggestion of Ms. Mentor (a.k.a. Emily Toth) who touted it in one of her wise and witty columns in "The Chronicle of Higher Education". As usual, Ms. Mentor provided "Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia".

Graduate students thinking about making careers as professors should read this book carefully, especially if they have or would like to have children. Each author in the edited volume describes her valiant attempt to have a family life and an academic job at the same time. It's not a pretty picture. The narratives are personal and powerful. Several are horror stories about the inhumane treatment of new professors who are also new mothers.

Although this book is most relevant as a cautionary tale for women entering academia, it is also a "must read" for anyone interested in the history of feminism. The memoirs of some of the senior female academics, pioneers in their fields, reveal awesome courage. This is the printed mentor that I've seen other books purport to be.

My one concern is that the book's bleak honesty may discourage some graduate students, or create the impression that it is better to wait until after tenure to start a family. I'm a clinical psychologist whose specialty is counseling doctoral students and junior faculty, and I don't condone waiting until after the tenure review to begin living. The average path from grad student to tenured associate prof now takes more than 17 years (gulp). Putting essential goals on hold for that long shrivels the ovaries. If you want both the baby and the job, go for it!

I really felt that I learned a lot from this book. It is important that those considering a tenure track job/career read this as others have mentioned. I think it's even more important that administrators read it.

I had a slightly better experience, with lots of support from both colleagues and family so I'm more optimistic about my chances for tenure. Either way, it is important that we understand how it was for women even 10 years ago before they could stop the tenure clock to have children. No wonder so few women are full professors now. It's sad. The main lesson I took from this is that w/o a good support network and a husband/partner who significantly helps out, tenure is unlikely. Also, it's unlikely if anyone gets sick or has any disability. It is sad that this is the reality, but important that we know this.

Palladino's book fills an important niche, especially for the majority of students who rank in the middle 50% of their classes. Each of the 150 colleges profiled alphabetically receives two-three pages of condensed coverage so it's easy to acquire a sense of what they each offer. Palladino's writing is clear and his descriptions are concise. "The Heart of the College" section on each school is the most worthwhile and enlightening. Here, Palladino attempts to capture the college's distinctiveness by focusing on culture, character, and the spirit of the faculty and students. Thus, readers can catch a glimpse of the elements that differentiate one school from another and is useful when trying to find schools that are "good fits." This is a necessary guidebook that immediately narrows the "search" for midrange students and is useful for identifying colleges that match what a student is looking for. Indices at the back categorize the 150 colleges by geographical and state location, size, and admissions difficulty, very helpful when looking for colleges outside one's local area. 5 Stars!

If you've looked through the Fiske or Princeton Review guide and realized that most of the schools listed are too selective for your child, this is probably the best guide for you. There is a little bit of overlap between the guides to the "best colleges" and Dr. Palladino's book, but not too much, so you will be getting different information. Even if you're insisting that your child go to a school listed in Fiske, if your child is a "mid-range" student, it might be good to see if Palladino lists the school in this book, as his choices are known to turn average students into ones that excel.

The best thing about Palladino's book is his very intelligent system of determining how the schools were included in the book. He wants schools to be relatively small (under 7,500 students), have a good freshman retention rate (75% or higher), a good graduation rate (50% or higher), a high percentage of faculty with terminal degrees, an average class size below 30, the availability of "transition to college programs," free psychological counseling, a good variety of athletic and extracurricular activities, a good rate of students going on to graduate school, an impressive distribution of core requirements, and he prefers residential campuses over commuter campuses. There are even a few more conditions, and he defends his reasons for basing his inclusions on these factors very well.

Because of his thorough system, I think parents should feel confident that the colleges he's chosen to feature are good ones. Further backing Palladino up is the fact that some of his choices overlap the less selective schools recommended by such experts as Loren Pope and Jay Mathews. There are a few schools in Palladino's book that might be too difficult for the average student, such as Elon University, but I feel he's nearly always accurate with his assessments. While I really do think there are some schools in Fiske that would accept the "mid-range" student, you will have a greater variety of choices in this book, and I highly recommend it.

CollegePlanGuy@aol.com (free educational advising available for economically disadvantaged students.)

Dr. Palladino takes us on a word tour of some of the country's finest sectarian and nonsectarian private colleges,- so clear in exposition that we feel we have been on a personal visit to each site. The student or parent reader learns a brief history of the college, the content of special programs, and the college's central academic focus. Descriptions of student life, athletic programs and other amenities round out each entry. The clear content of the book thourougly fulfills the promiose of the title. Superb! Neil R. Dauler-Phinney, Ph.D.

I normally browse and skip sections in books like this but found myself reading word for word. Wonderful photographs, history of the girl's game of basketball and how it evolved. I learned how unique girl's playing the sport really was. I learned Iowa 6 on 6 was covered heavily by media all over the USA. I am wondering if something special was allowed to die with the advent of 5 on 5 girl's basketball. I found that many 6 on 6 players were quite successful playing 5 on 5 college ball. Lot's more to think about the directions we are sometimes led in the name of progress.

This was such an entertaining book, especially for those of us that grew up in Iowa, and fell in love with the game the way it's played there. It brings back memories and conjures up images of many nights spent admiring those high school heroes and hoping to someday join their ranks.

Upon finishing this magnificent book, do I laugh or do I cry? Girls' high school basketball and teaching young girls to play basketball is my life. But what relevance does this book have? This is the history of girls' basketball in a state far away from mine. There are no diagrammed plays or secrets to success. Is it worth the hardcover price? To that question I answer an emphatic " yes! " There are a number of men and women in North America, who like myself, have dedicated themselves to girls' high school basketball. We can give you a dozen reasons why we love girls' basketball and why we have dedicated our lives to it. We can give you another dozen reasons why basketball is so important to the lives of our young female athletes. But still, when all has been said, words cannot adequately capture what the experience means to all those involved. Within the 200 pages of text, this book explains an American phenomenon that has its roots in Iowa and has proceeded to touch the lives of millions of girls, coaches and communities. That is why in reading six-on-six, I sometimes laughed and sometimes was swept up in emotion. This book is a comprehensive history of girls' basketball in the state of Iowa. The research is careful, thorough and disciplined. But in addition to covering the history of girls' basketball in Iowa, the book represents one of the best documentations of the history of basketball ever printed. The photos and interviews take you into the lives of the players -- how they played the game, how they overcame the obstacles of the early years in terms of facilities, equipment and transportation and most importantly, what basketball did for them personally....how they felt about the emerging game of basketball. It also covers how the game changed and why the changes were made. Iowa is unique in girls' basketball. It is the only state that since the 1920s, has continuously sanctioned interscholastic play and it does so with an independent sanctioning body that is separate from the boys. Those of us who live in the big metropolitan areas tend to think of Iowans as down-home conservative people who live a stable uncomplicated life. While their may or may not be some truth to the latter, what is perfectly clear is that Iowa is the most progressive state in the union when it comes to girls' athletics. They implemented Title IX fifty years before it became the law of the land. They appreciate, support, praise and celebrate their high school female athletes. In Iowa, the Iowa girl is queen. How did this develop? Why in Iowa? All of this is explained. But the best part of the book are the interviews that give you a glimpse into the lives of the girls, coaches, superintendents and sport writers that made all this possible.... men and women that had great vision and understood why basketball and sports is so important to the lives of teenage girls. As mentioned, the book is not about strategy or tips but through interviews, I learned some things that have helped me in my coaching. These have to do with the psychology of girls and why certain aspects of the game and experience are so important to girls. And why as a coach, I must respect the girls' wishes. If girls' basketball means a lot to you, read this book. You will be inspired by one of the great success stories of the 20th century.

I was unsure of my decision of what university I wanted to spend my next 4+ years until I picked up this guide! It's fabulous information packed into a simple guide and a must read for all high school seniors on the school of their choice.

Upon my first touch of this book, I felt an invigoration that I have nary felt before. The intensity and passion with which it was written by, perhaps, the finest author of our (or any) time, is undeniable. It's a tale of misbegotten love, of rumor and romance that one cannot help but be swept away by. Do yourself, and all who know you, a favor and read this book. You will never be the same again, and it will make you yearn for the Furman experience. My highest and most impartial recommendation.

Are you searching for the REAL perspective on the college life at the schools you are applying to? This book is written by a student at Furman who surveyed other students at Furman. I went to Furman, have read this book and think that this is the BEST and most ACCURATE perspective on life at Furman University. Buy this book and the ones for the other schools you are interested in and you can feel confident in your decision.

Getting your kid into a good college is a nerve-racking process for most parents. It certainly has been for us. We have found the customer reviews in Amazon very helpful. That prompts us to distill our ratings of the various guidebooks.

The best short reference on each college is the Princeton Review of The Best (311) Colleges. It gives ratings of academic quality, difficulty of admission, percentage admitted, etc. There is also a brief summary of college life and what each place might be looking for.

Peterson Guide is comprehensive, and has long write-ups for each school. There is a front section for each school, listed alphabetically within each state, and a back section with detailed profiles of selected institutions.

Fiske's guide is interesting, but he basically has something good to say for each school, so careful reading between the lines and for "damning with faint praise" is called for.

The Yale Insider's Guide is extremely subjective, with different students writing various reviews. We did not find it too reliable, except in conjunction with other books.

Likewise for Barrron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges. Recent alumni write of their (invariably positive) experiences. Take it with a grain of salt, or read carefully between the lines.

Choosing the Right College by ISN was extremely helpful. Some readers criticized it for being allegedly right wing. We did not find it so. Rather, knowing the point of view of the authors helped us evaluate their observations. Other books do not make their biases explicit. A feature of the book we found particularly helpful was the naming of excellent professors and departments in each college.

Antonoff's College Finder was interesting only in conjunction with other books.

Three books written from the perspective of college admissions officers were very interesting and helpful. They are The College Admissions Mystique, by Mayher, Getting In, by Bill Paul, and most of all A is for Admission by Michelle Hernandez. We strongly recommend that parents and the kids who are the applicants read at least one of these.

Another very helpful book was You're Gonna Love This College Guide, by Marty Nemko. It takes the student through the decision process of big vs. small, urban vs. country, elite vs. the level just below, geography, and so forth. That really got our daughter unstuck in her thinking process.

Loren Pope is another helpful author for those who think that not getting into Harvard is the end of the world.

Three books we did not find to be particularly helpful are Getting Into Any College, by Jim Good and Lisa Lee, The National Review College Guide, by Charles Sykes and Brad Miner (too out of date), and The Real Freshman Handbook, by Jennifer Hanson.

One book we found to be unexpectedly useful was Getting Into Medical School Today, by Scott Plantz, et. al. Even if your child is not interested in medical school, this book puts college in perspective for any post-college program.

We hope readers find our review helpful.

While not exactly a guide to getting into a good school, this book is full of insight on the admissions process.

There are lots of useful tips to be gleaned from the author's true stories of five students (names changed) applying to Princeton.

For example, there's sometimes an enormous difference a good letter of recommendation can make in an applicant's file. Last summer, a student tour guide and Admissions Office volunteer at a prestigious Massachusetts college said that every letter of recommendation is basically the same, glowing text, and so these are given little consideration by the Admissions people. After reading Paul's book, I am convinced that that student was mistaken; I see now how incredibly important a very well-written letter can be. And Paul tells why, in perfect, practical detail.

This page-turner is a great book; it clears up the mysteries, identifies the vagaries, and reveals the sheer humanity of the admissions process. Satisfying reading for the burnt-out parent who needs a break from the Peterson Guide... and a "must" for every high school guidance counsellor.

I read this book when it came out 3 years ago and I was directing the college placement efforts of an independent boarding school. I was impressed enough by the depth of Bill Paul's research and analysis of the admissions process at Princeton that I not only invited Bill to speak at a parents' day presentation at the school but ordered 30 copies of the book and put them up for sale after the event. Within ten minutes after Bill spoke, every copy-- including mine-- was gone.

Getting In follows a handful of accomplished high school seniors through the admissions process, offering examples of their essays, snippets of conversations and interviews, and other illuminating vignettes of senior year. At the same time, Bill shadows Fred Hargadon, the Princeton admissions dean, as he attempts to read all the applications and make what would seem to even well seasoned admissions professionals some extremely tough decisions.

The worth of this book lies in its accurate reflection of reality; it suggests that admission to one of the most selective (1 of every 11 applicants) schools is determined not only by academic excellence and extracurricular entrepreneurialism, but by the luck of the draw as well. Indeed, at one point in the book, Hargadon admits-- as I've heard him do on other occasions-- that if the admitted Princeton freshman class were somehow eliminated, he could fashion a statistically identical class from the rejected applicants.

This is not a how-to book; rather, it is a book that gives students with high admissions aspirations-- and their parents-- a context that will prepare them well for realities of the admissions game.

I purchased this book for an instructor and I personally don't have a review for this book but I am sure she is enjoying it.


Thanks

This work is a study that manages to be academically rigorous and emotionally moving at the same time. Highly recommended.

As a student affairs professional, it is rare that I find a text about students that is both academically and emotionally rigorous. This is one of those rare gems. It's a very good read for anyone interested in working with and helping underrepresented students succeed in higher education.

Dr. Rodriguez intertwines her own life experiences as a first-generation college student with those of her subjects in a way that strengthens her findings and adds a human touch to the data being revealed.

This book comes strongly recommended!

Outstanding Book! Well written! Very insightful history of an amazing person and a fine institution.

God, Country, Notre Dame is a book that once again proves what an amazing man Father Hesburgh is. This book is inspiring. If you've never read or heard about Father Hesburgh, this is a must. He has got to be one of the top 10 most influntial people of the 21st century.

I "read" this book for the first time on audio cassette and quickly ran out and bought it" Years later, I still think of it and am still amazed at what a tremendous person Father Hesburgh is. If I did not know its true, I would not believe that a person could accomplish so much in a lifetime. Knowing that this country and faith produces such great men, makes me proud to be Catholic and an American. This book would make a great, great gift!

Although he is almost forgotten today, Kingman Brewster who was the president of Yale from 1963-1977 was in fact an important figure in recent American history. One reason for this was the fact that he ran Yale in such a way that the university almost completely escaped the tumult that wracked other campuses during the Vietnam War. Another reason is that he revamped the admissons policy at yale so that poorly achieving students at prep academies such as Andover could not get in Yale over high achieving public school graduates.

It was in this area of expanding the elite educational experience at Yale to all Americans, not just members of the WASP elite that Brewster did his most signal public service. Brewster was truly an agent of change. This was most interesting in light of the fact that Brewster was born to a comfortable upper class family, which is precisely the sort of background one would think would spawn conservative thinking. Brewster's activism began back when he was a big man on campus as a Yale undergraduate.

Interestingly enough, Brewster was also one of the founders of the America First Committee that many Americans today regard as being a right wing outfit. Actually, as the author of this book points out, America First was originally a left-wing group and many of its most prominent members were left wing activists. After America's entry into World War II, America First dissolved and Brewster wholeheartedly took up America's cause against the Axis Powers.

It may surprise many Americans today that the Republican party used to have a strong left wing and Brewster was both a stalwart liberal and Republican. It was for this reason that Brewster was never offered a position in the Kennedy Administration.

As university president, Brewster initiated a wide body of reform on campus. Unlike most campus administrators of his time, Brewster did not resort to repression of dissent during the Vietnam War. In fact, Brewster publically sympathized with the radicals on many issues. After resigning from the presidency of Yale in 1977, he became the U.S. ambassador to Britain. After leaving the diplomatic service, he retired from public life and passed away as the 1980's were drawing to a close.

Kingman Brewster was an important American who held an important position as Yale University president. Geoffrey Kabaservice has done a public service in writing this book about a forgotten man in American history.

Many of us who came of age in the 1980s and '90s forget that America used to be a much more liberal place, and that there was a time in recent history when Republicans aligned themselves with issues like civil rights, meritocracy, affirmative action, and the problems of the inner city. We forget -- or never realized -- that in the '60s and '70s there existed a significant faction within the Republican party known as "the liberal establishment." These were men who, on the one hand, undeniably represented the Establishment: "old wealth" Yalies and Harvardites who had attended the best prep schools and summered on Martha's Vineyard; advisors to presidents, board members of the biggest corporations, leaders at the helm of the nation's academic, philanthropic, and religious institutions. On the other hand, they were extremely progressive, regarded as "traitors to their class" for pushing forward policies that were considered radical at the time. THE GUARDIANS recalls an era when Republicans were not all in thrall to populism and the agenda of the religious right, when they were just as likely to be seekers of peace in foreign affairs as rabid hawks. There's a quote from Elliot Richardson in this book that's an eye-opener: "Most people don't really get the fact that the Nixon administration was to the left of the Clinton administration. Even the Eisenhower administration was to the left of the Clinton administration."
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in modern American history.

This is a very interesting, but quite long, book which focuses upon Kingman Brewster and other members of the so-called "liberal establishment" that shaped national policy during the 1945 through 1970's period. In addition to Brewster, long-time Yale president, the author discusses the Bundy brothers, Cyrus Vance, Elliot Richardson, Bishop Paul Moore, John Lindsay, William Sloan Coffin, and even William F. Buckley. While most attention is devoted to Brewster's tenure as Yale's president, including the infamous Black Panther trial and May Day riot that did not occur, I found the discussions of the Vietnam war and McGeorge Bundy's period as head of the Ford Foundation extremely interesting. In some ways, the method of analysis is similar to "The Wise Men," who also, incidentally, make appearances in the book (especially Dean Acheson). Accordingly to Buckley and other critics, the "Establishment" consisted of old-line WASP families, of a liberal political orientation, usually well to do, with superior secondary private educations gathered at places such as Groton and St. Paul's, and then onto Yale or Harvard undergraduate, and then usually Harvard Law School or Harvard administration (such as McGeorge Bundy). This led to appointments in the State Department, Justice, some cabinet designations, and involvement in various presidential staffs, particularly JFK and LBJ. In short, a network of individuals, exerting tremendous influence on government policy, who knew each other over long periods of time and who could promote the careers of their fellows. This group also constituted the liberal-centrist wing of the Republican Party (yes, Virginia, there once was a progressive wing of the GOP), that was gradually displaced from leadership as the party headed toward the radical right. The author's research is truly monumental, consisting of archives and, particularly, dozens of Oral History interviews gathered by various collections. One does wonder, though,whether the so-called "establishment" ever exerted as much influence and power as the author suggests--what is clear is that no similar group exercises much influence in the era of Reagan and the Bushes.

As an undergraduate preparing to apply for graduate school, I was frustrated with the lack of material about social work programs. This book has so far been my most useful purchase concerning my application to grad school. It contains an informative general section about MSW programs, and then breaks down the admission and application process so that it is clear and understandable. There are also charts in the back to help monitor your application progress. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is buried under MSW paperwork and needs some direction and clarity in applying to schools.

My wife is looking at where she wants to get her MSW, and this book was a tremendous help! It does a great job of explaining the process, as well as providing valuable reference information.

After being out of undergraduate studies a few years, I was anxious about applying to an MSW program without help from professors or adviors that I would have had as help going straight from B.A. to a graduate program. But this book made up for lack of interpesonal connections to guide me through the application process.

The book was a very easy read, but with many great resources and suggestions for figuring out concentration areas, the supplemental statment, and even in reminders on common courtesy one might forget in the midst of anxiety.

This book was a great resource for me. Although you still need to put in all the work, this author gives someone with little other guidance a great outline for the process. I recently was admitted to a top MSW program and my book shows it...dog-eared, bent, highlighted...well worth the money.

Education program from the 60s still lasts From the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet 28 September 1999

In 1965, with anti-Vietnam demonstrations at their worst, philosophy professor Joseph Tussman began The Experimental College Program at the University of California, Berkeley. His goal, education for the sake of the individual and of society, sounds like a dream for the jaded higher education of today. In Habits of Mind: the Experimental College Program at Berkeley, Katherine Bernhardi Trow evaluates the program and its long- term effects. While evaluation of education generally focuses narrowly on the short-sighted and fashionable, this book's great merit is its description of the long term effects. Tussman College lasted four years, from 1965-1969. Some 300 students were chosen at random to participate. Trow interviewed forty students who completed the program, and she paints a vivid picture of how they were affected, what they learned and what positive influence it had in their lives. Tussman maintained that it was the university's fundamental duty to reawaken interest and get students involved for the sake of principles which are fundamental for individuals and for society: to develop an exercise of power built on rational, democratic and constitutional principles; to increase sensitivity to humanitarian values and fundamental human problems; to cultivate and strengthen ways of life and ways of conduct which make it possible for humanity to continue a war with institutions and with a spirit of rational discussion to find solutions to problems. Democracy demands of its citizens a political interest and active participation. To do this, according to Tussman, one must educate oneself in a fashion which before the breakthrough of democracy was reserved for members of the ruling class. Students probed deeply into fundamental problems. They examined the interplay between freedom and power. They were taught to be responsible citizens in a democratic society and custodians of western civilization. The program consisted of two parts: a syllabus and a pedagogical method. The syllabus focused on big problems and cultural crisis periods in history which had driven great thinkers to tackle fundamental questions. The reading list consisted of classics, such as the Iliad and works by Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Mill, and Marx, along with more current books, such as The Autobiography of Malcolm X. These were books by authors now viewed as "dead, white males." But students remember the reading as fantastic. Pedagogically, the program diverged radically from then-prevalent teaching methods. Teachers were recruited from various areas of study. All the reading material was read by both students and teacher, regardless of which subject the teacher normally taught. Lectures were held twice a week with all the students and teachers present, and smaller seminars were held. The students wrote essays every other week, and every day they jotted down thoughts and reflections prompted by books, lectures, seminars and discussions. These notes became an intellectual autobiography. The activities reinforced each other and formed a tight intellectual tapestry which stimulated and strengthened learning and education. It was, in short, a program which moved against the stream of mass education. The program seems even more radical if one considers that it, with its high standards, was established when the general trend was toward a relaxation of the demands on students and when Berkeley, like many American universities, was in a permanent state of uproar. What were the long-term effects? In the evaluation, the dense essay- writing comes out as highly valued and as a central force in the program-- at once challenging and entertaining. Essay assignments taught the students to think more analytically and abstractly. The students' linguistic ability was radically improved, in speech and in writing and as much in style as in grammar. The intense contact with the teacher, and the criticism the teacher provided in tutorials, played a constructive and crucial role. The lack of grades was positive. Instead of focusing on grades, one concentrated on the ideas and the knowledge for itself; competitive thinking was conspicuous in its absence. The important thing was to understand what one read and to be able to apply it in other contexts than the immediate one. It was not regarded as meritorious to memorize details in order to regurgitate them later. Tussman encouraged individual thought. The environment--a separate house and small groups --contributed to the feeling of a learned society and stimulated the students. The program helped students to grow intellectually and morally. Their ability to analyze, to adapt themselves quickly to new things, new environments and new problems and to view these from different perspectives grew. They acquired a better understanding of the world around them and a better ability to interpret and understand events in it. Empathy increased and led to intellectual satisfaction and a more content life, which is reflected in the professions in which the program's former students are now active: physician, journalist, attorney, civil engineer, etc. Why did the program cease if it was so good? The answer is brief: university bureacratic staffing problems and a certain amount of lack of interest in basic education at research-oriented Berkeley made the dedicated Tussman tire. The market has become an ideology instead of a means--even, with some exceptions, in academia. Students do not study to grow as a human being, but to satisfy the market. Within the not too distant future, perhaps we will hear a university or college president who, in a travesty of Kennedy's inauguration speech, will welcome novices with the admonishment: "Ask not what the market can do for you, but what you can do for the market." Doris Lessing calls the product of this competence-fixation the well-educated barbarians; those who have gone to school for twenty years, have brilliant records, but never read a book, know no history, and care only about knowledge in their field. That group does not include the graduates of Tussman College.

An important study of the impact of an intense collegiate experience on students.

An exceptionally rich and multifaceted account of an experiment which occupies an interesting and important place in the history of American higher education.