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Colleges Worth Your Money

A Guide to What America's Top Schools Can Do for You, 4th Edition

Andrew Belasco; Dave Bergman and Michael Trivette

Colleges Worth Your Money: A Guide to What America's Top Schools Can Do for You is an invaluable guide for students making the crucial decision of where to attend college when our thinking about higher education is radically changing. At a time when costs are soaring and competition for admission is higher than ever, the college-bound need to know how prospective schools will benefit them both as students and after graduation. Colleges Worth Your Moneyprovides the most up-to-date, accurate, and comprehensive information for gauging the ROI of America’s top schools, including:

  • In-depth profiles of 200 of the top colleges and universities across the U.S.;
  • Over 75 key statistics about each school that cover unique admissions-related data points such as gender-specific acceptance rates, early decision acceptance rates, and five-year admissions trends at each college.
  • The solid facts on career outcomes, including the school’s connections with recruiters, the rate of employment post-graduation, where students land internships, the companies most likely to hire students from a particular school, and much more.
  • Data and commentary on each college’s merit and need-based aid awards, average student debt, and starting salary outcomes.
  • Top Colleges for America’s Top Majors lists highlighting schools that have the best programs in 40+ disciplines.
  • Lists of the “Top Feeder” undergraduate colleges into medical school, law school, tech, journalism, Wall Street, engineering, and more.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 433 • Trim: 8½ x 10¾
978-1-4758-7318-4 • Paperback • May 2023 • $24.99 • (£18.99)
978-1-4758-7319-1 • eBook • May 2023 • $23.50 • (£17.99)
Subjects: Study Aids / College Guides, Education / Higher, Education / Student Life & Student Affairs, Family & Relationships / Education, Reference / General

Andrew Belasco, PhD, a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard University, is CEO of College Transitions, an educational consulting firm and a co-author of The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admissions Process (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016). His work has been published in the nation’s top higher education journals and featured in dozens of media outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Time, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and NPR



Dave Bergman, EdD oversees the collegetransitions.com blog and Dataverse, reaching an audience in excess of two million readers annually. Dave is also the co-author of The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admission Process (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).



Michael Trivette, PhD is a co-founder of College Transitions and has experience working within the University of North Carolina System and the University System of Georgia. His research has been published in Educational Policy, Review of Higher Education, The Journal of Higher Education, and the Journal of Education Finance.

Introduction & Methodology

Agnes Scott College

American University

Amherst College

Arizona State University

Babson College

Bard College

Barnard College

Baruch College (CUNY)

Bates College

Baylor University

Bentley University

Berea College

Binghamton University (SUNY)

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brandeis University

Brigham Young University

Brown University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University

California Institute of Technology

California Polytechnic Institute, San Luis Obispo

Carleton College

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western Reserve University

Centre College

Claremont McKenna College

Clark University

Clarkson University

Clemson University

Colby College

Colgate University

The College of New Jersey

College of the Holy Cross

The College of Wooster

College of William & Mary

Colorado College

Colorado School of Mines

Columbia University

Connecticut College

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

Cornell University

Dartmouth College

Davidson College

Denison University

DePauw University

Dickinson College

Drexel University

Duke University

Elon University

Emerson College

Emory University

Fairfield University

Florida State University

Fordham University

Franklin & Marshall College

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Furman University

George Mason University

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Gettysburg College

Gonzaga University

Grinnell College

Hamilton College

Harvard University

Harvey Mudd College

Haverford College

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Hofstra University

Howard University

Illinois Institute of Technology

Indiana University Bloomington

Ithaca College

James Madison University

Johns Hopkins University

Juniata College

Kalamazoo College

Kenyon College

Lafayette College

Lawrence University

Lehigh University

Lewis & Clark College

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola University Maryland

Macalester College

Marist College

Marquette University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Miami University – Oxford

Michigan State University

Middlebury College

Mount Holyoke College

New College of Florida

New York University

North Carolina State University

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Oberlin College

Occidental College

The Ohio State University – Columbus

Pennsylvania State University – University Park

Pepperdine University

Pitzer College

Pomona College

Princeton University

Providence College

Purdue University – West Lafayette

Reed College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rhodes College

Rice University

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology ................. 248

Rutgers University – New Brunswick

San Diego State University

Santa Clara University

Sarah Lawrence College

Scripps College

Sewanee – The University of the South

Skidmore College

Smith College

Southern Methodist University

Spelman College

St. Lawrence University

St. Mary’s College of Maryland

St. Olaf College

Stanford University

Stevens Institute of Technology

Stony Brook University (SUNY)

Swarthmore College

Syracuse University

Temple University

Texas A&M University – College Station

Texas Christian University

Trinity College (CT)

Trinity University

Tufts University

Tulane University

Union College (NY)

United States Air Force Academy

United States Military Academy

United States Naval Academy

University at Buffalo (SUNY)

University of Arizona

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Davis

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Riverside

University of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Chicago

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Delaware

University of Denver

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Iowa

University of Maryland, College Park

University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Miami

University of Michigan

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

University of North Carolina at Asheville

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Notre Dame

University of Oregon

University of Pennsylvania

University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh Campus

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of San Diego

University of South Carolina

University of Southern California

The University of Texas at Austin

University of Utah

University of Virginia

University of Washington – Seattle

University of Wisconsin – Madison

Vanderbilt University

Vassar College

Villanova University

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest University

Washington & Lee University

Washington University in St. Louis

Wellesley College

Wesleyan University

Whitman College

Willamette University

Williams College

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Yale University

Top Programs and Top Feeders Lists

Previous edition praise: A top guide to higher education choices, Belasco’s book is a succinct, affordable, and highly readable resource to suit the individual student looking for the perfect collegiate match. Candid summations identify the most sports- and Greek-crazy campuses and the prime majors for academic depth and future earnings. Coverage of student aid, counseling and recruiting services, top employers, and retention rates point high school seniors and transfer students to the best deals. Tidbits of data—the high crime rate around Wake Forest University, Notre Dame’s Catholic background, Yale’s music and drama opportunities, Memphis biking lanes, immense enrollment of the University of Washington at Seattle, progressive perspective of Oberlin College—enlighten families to peripheral aspects of campus life. Lacking from overviews are details of gender safety programs, especially the size of security forces. A superb choice for high school libraries and counseling offices, homeschoolers, and public libraries.

YA/Curriculum Support: College-bound teens will find well-presented information to help inform their decisions


— Booklist


A refreshing combination of data and insight, this guide provides families with critical information that can often be difficult to locate or discern. Colleges Worth Your Money not only answers key questions but will also prompt families to ask important ones as they research, visit, and ultimately select from their college options.
— Rick Clark, author, “The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together”


A comprehensive and digestible guide for individual top colleges and universities that doesn't just focus on who attends, but how and what they do upon graduation, this puts information at the fingertips of students and parents so they can make better college choices.
— Michael B. Horn, author, "From Reopen to Reinvent"


The authors of Colleges Worth Your Money have taken over 70 data points for 150 schools and skillfully woven them into a narrative that helps you really get to know each school. This exceptionally rich resource focuses on things other guidebooks don’t, so students can find the college that is right for them. I recommend this bookto both parents and students as an informative and accessible resource that will help students take ownership of the college search process and give parents the confidence that their students have the right information to make informed choices.
— Lynn Abrahams, PhD, learning disabilities specialist; co-host “College Parent Central” podcast


Colleges Worth Your Money focuses on what truly matters for today's students as they look for their best fit schools.
— Lynda McGee, award-winning college counselor, Downtown Magnets High School, LA


In my view, a college’s retention rate is the single most informative statistic when assessing a college- the higher the percentage the more it says that both the student and the college made a very good choice.Colleges Worth Your Money recognizes this along with a host of other
key metrics essential to making a well-informed choice of where to apply and enroll. While there is no guarantee that you will retain through graduation, consulting this richly researched guidebook will give you a much better chance than just counting on instinct.
— Bill Conley, vice president, enrollment management, Bucknell University


With some colleges now charging $300,000 for a single bachelor’s degree, you need to be smart, alert, skeptical and armed with facts to know if your dream schools are not only worth the price, but will prepare you for a high-paying job after graduation. In an easy-to-digest way, Colleges Worth Your Money is an innovative and invaluable resource that will provide you with answers to make the best possible college decisions. With so much at stake, I’d urge you to use this book as your college lifeline.


— Lynn O’Shaughnessy, nationally recognized college expert, TheCollegeSolution.com


Colleges Worth Your Money

A Guide to What America's Top Schools Can Do for You, 4th Edition

Cover Image
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Colleges Worth Your Money: A Guide to What America's Top Schools Can Do for You is an invaluable guide for students making the crucial decision of where to attend college when our thinking about higher education is radically changing. At a time when costs are soaring and competition for admission is higher than ever, the college-bound need to know how prospective schools will benefit them both as students and after graduation. Colleges Worth Your Moneyprovides the most up-to-date, accurate, and comprehensive information for gauging the ROI of America’s top schools, including:

    • In-depth profiles of 200 of the top colleges and universities across the U.S.;
    • Over 75 key statistics about each school that cover unique admissions-related data points such as gender-specific acceptance rates, early decision acceptance rates, and five-year admissions trends at each college.
    • The solid facts on career outcomes, including the school’s connections with recruiters, the rate of employment post-graduation, where students land internships, the companies most likely to hire students from a particular school, and much more.
    • Data and commentary on each college’s merit and need-based aid awards, average student debt, and starting salary outcomes.
    • Top Colleges for America’s Top Majors lists highlighting schools that have the best programs in 40+ disciplines.
    • Lists of the “Top Feeder” undergraduate colleges into medical school, law school, tech, journalism, Wall Street, engineering, and more.
Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 433 • Trim: 8½ x 10¾
    978-1-4758-7318-4 • Paperback • May 2023 • $24.99 • (£18.99)
    978-1-4758-7319-1 • eBook • May 2023 • $23.50 • (£17.99)
    Subjects: Study Aids / College Guides, Education / Higher, Education / Student Life & Student Affairs, Family & Relationships / Education, Reference / General
Author
Author
  • Andrew Belasco, PhD, a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard University, is CEO of College Transitions, an educational consulting firm and a co-author of The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admissions Process (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016). His work has been published in the nation’s top higher education journals and featured in dozens of media outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Time, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and NPR



    Dave Bergman, EdD oversees the collegetransitions.com blog and Dataverse, reaching an audience in excess of two million readers annually. Dave is also the co-author of The Enlightened College Applicant: A New Approach to the Search and Admission Process (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).



    Michael Trivette, PhD is a co-founder of College Transitions and has experience working within the University of North Carolina System and the University System of Georgia. His research has been published in Educational Policy, Review of Higher Education, The Journal of Higher Education, and the Journal of Education Finance.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Introduction & Methodology

    Agnes Scott College

    American University

    Amherst College

    Arizona State University

    Babson College

    Bard College

    Barnard College

    Baruch College (CUNY)

    Bates College

    Baylor University

    Bentley University

    Berea College

    Binghamton University (SUNY)

    Boston College

    Boston University

    Bowdoin College

    Brandeis University

    Brigham Young University

    Brown University

    Bryn Mawr College

    Bucknell University

    California Institute of Technology

    California Polytechnic Institute, San Luis Obispo

    Carleton College

    Carnegie Mellon University

    Case Western Reserve University

    Centre College

    Claremont McKenna College

    Clark University

    Clarkson University

    Clemson University

    Colby College

    Colgate University

    The College of New Jersey

    College of the Holy Cross

    The College of Wooster

    College of William & Mary

    Colorado College

    Colorado School of Mines

    Columbia University

    Connecticut College

    The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

    Cornell University

    Dartmouth College

    Davidson College

    Denison University

    DePauw University

    Dickinson College

    Drexel University

    Duke University

    Elon University

    Emerson College

    Emory University

    Fairfield University

    Florida State University

    Fordham University

    Franklin & Marshall College

    Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

    Furman University

    George Mason University

    George Washington University

    Georgetown University

    Georgia Institute of Technology

    Gettysburg College

    Gonzaga University

    Grinnell College

    Hamilton College

    Harvard University

    Harvey Mudd College

    Haverford College

    Hobart and William Smith Colleges

    Hofstra University

    Howard University

    Illinois Institute of Technology

    Indiana University Bloomington

    Ithaca College

    James Madison University

    Johns Hopkins University

    Juniata College

    Kalamazoo College

    Kenyon College

    Lafayette College

    Lawrence University

    Lehigh University

    Lewis & Clark College

    Loyola Marymount University

    Loyola University Maryland

    Macalester College

    Marist College

    Marquette University

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Miami University – Oxford

    Michigan State University

    Middlebury College

    Mount Holyoke College

    New College of Florida

    New York University

    North Carolina State University

    Northeastern University

    Northwestern University

    Oberlin College

    Occidental College

    The Ohio State University – Columbus

    Pennsylvania State University – University Park

    Pepperdine University

    Pitzer College

    Pomona College

    Princeton University

    Providence College

    Purdue University – West Lafayette

    Reed College

    Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

    Rhodes College

    Rice University

    Rochester Institute of Technology

    Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology ................. 248

    Rutgers University – New Brunswick

    San Diego State University

    Santa Clara University

    Sarah Lawrence College

    Scripps College

    Sewanee – The University of the South

    Skidmore College

    Smith College

    Southern Methodist University

    Spelman College

    St. Lawrence University

    St. Mary’s College of Maryland

    St. Olaf College

    Stanford University

    Stevens Institute of Technology

    Stony Brook University (SUNY)

    Swarthmore College

    Syracuse University

    Temple University

    Texas A&M University – College Station

    Texas Christian University

    Trinity College (CT)

    Trinity University

    Tufts University

    Tulane University

    Union College (NY)

    United States Air Force Academy

    United States Military Academy

    United States Naval Academy

    University at Buffalo (SUNY)

    University of Arizona

    University of California, Berkeley

    University of California, Davis

    University of California, Irvine

    University of California, Los Angeles

    University of California, Riverside

    University of California, San Diego

    University of California, Santa Barbara

    University of California, Santa Cruz

    University of Chicago

    University of Colorado Boulder

    University of Connecticut

    University of Delaware

    University of Denver

    University of Florida

    University of Georgia

    University of Illinois at Chicago

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    University of Iowa

    University of Maryland, College Park

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

    University of Miami

    University of Michigan

    University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

    University of North Carolina at Asheville

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    University of Notre Dame

    University of Oregon

    University of Pennsylvania

    University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh Campus

    University of Richmond

    University of Rochester

    University of San Diego

    University of South Carolina

    University of Southern California

    The University of Texas at Austin

    University of Utah

    University of Virginia

    University of Washington – Seattle

    University of Wisconsin – Madison

    Vanderbilt University

    Vassar College

    Villanova University

    Virginia Tech

    Wake Forest University

    Washington & Lee University

    Washington University in St. Louis

    Wellesley College

    Wesleyan University

    Whitman College

    Willamette University

    Williams College

    Worcester Polytechnic Institute

    Yale University

    Top Programs and Top Feeders Lists

Reviews
Reviews
  • Previous edition praise: A top guide to higher education choices, Belasco’s book is a succinct, affordable, and highly readable resource to suit the individual student looking for the perfect collegiate match. Candid summations identify the most sports- and Greek-crazy campuses and the prime majors for academic depth and future earnings. Coverage of student aid, counseling and recruiting services, top employers, and retention rates point high school seniors and transfer students to the best deals. Tidbits of data—the high crime rate around Wake Forest University, Notre Dame’s Catholic background, Yale’s music and drama opportunities, Memphis biking lanes, immense enrollment of the University of Washington at Seattle, progressive perspective of Oberlin College—enlighten families to peripheral aspects of campus life. Lacking from overviews are details of gender safety programs, especially the size of security forces. A superb choice for high school libraries and counseling offices, homeschoolers, and public libraries.

    YA/Curriculum Support: College-bound teens will find well-presented information to help inform their decisions


    — Booklist


    A refreshing combination of data and insight, this guide provides families with critical information that can often be difficult to locate or discern. Colleges Worth Your Money not only answers key questions but will also prompt families to ask important ones as they research, visit, and ultimately select from their college options.
    — Rick Clark, author, “The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together”


    A comprehensive and digestible guide for individual top colleges and universities that doesn't just focus on who attends, but how and what they do upon graduation, this puts information at the fingertips of students and parents so they can make better college choices.
    — Michael B. Horn, author, "From Reopen to Reinvent"


    The authors of Colleges Worth Your Money have taken over 70 data points for 150 schools and skillfully woven them into a narrative that helps you really get to know each school. This exceptionally rich resource focuses on things other guidebooks don’t, so students can find the college that is right for them. I recommend this bookto both parents and students as an informative and accessible resource that will help students take ownership of the college search process and give parents the confidence that their students have the right information to make informed choices.
    — Lynn Abrahams, PhD, learning disabilities specialist; co-host “College Parent Central” podcast


    Colleges Worth Your Money focuses on what truly matters for today's students as they look for their best fit schools.
    — Lynda McGee, award-winning college counselor, Downtown Magnets High School, LA


    In my view, a college’s retention rate is the single most informative statistic when assessing a college- the higher the percentage the more it says that both the student and the college made a very good choice.Colleges Worth Your Money recognizes this along with a host of other
    key metrics essential to making a well-informed choice of where to apply and enroll. While there is no guarantee that you will retain through graduation, consulting this richly researched guidebook will give you a much better chance than just counting on instinct.
    — Bill Conley, vice president, enrollment management, Bucknell University


    With some colleges now charging $300,000 for a single bachelor’s degree, you need to be smart, alert, skeptical and armed with facts to know if your dream schools are not only worth the price, but will prepare you for a high-paying job after graduation. In an easy-to-digest way, Colleges Worth Your Money is an innovative and invaluable resource that will provide you with answers to make the best possible college decisions. With so much at stake, I’d urge you to use this book as your college lifeline.


    — Lynn O’Shaughnessy, nationally recognized college expert, TheCollegeSolution.com


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