Designed for students and parents who are seeking a first-rate education at a reasonable price, this guide contains information on nearly 300 excellent, fully-accredited American colleges that fit this category.

Detailed descriptions of America's 50 best colleges are selected by their acceptance rate, enrollment rates, and SAT scores. Each chapter is written by a recent graduate, who provides an insider's view. This new second edition has been completely updated to reflect current conditions at each school.

The latest information on enrollments, tuition and fees, academic programs, campus environment, available financial aid, and much more make the 29th edition of Profiles of American Colleges America’s most comprehensive and authoritative source for college-bound high school students. Every accredited four-year college in the United States is profiled, and readers are directed to a brand-new Barron’s Web site featuring a FREE ACCESS college search engine that presents exclusive on-line information to help students match their academic plans and aptitudes with the admission requirements and academic programs of each school. The book presents profiles of more than 1,650 colleges, each profile including details on: • Admission requirements • Library and computer facilities • Admissions procedures for freshmen • Campus safety and security • Thumbnail descriptions of faculty • Requirements for a degree • Athletic facilities • Extracurricular activities • E-mail addresses • College fax numbers and web sites • Admissions Contacts • and more Schools are rated according to Barron’s reliable competitiveness scale, which ranges from “Noncompetitive” to “Most Competitive.” The book’s tinted pages section presents an Index of College Majors that lists all available major study programs at every school. Also profiled are excellent colleges in Canada and several other countries, as well as brief profiles of religious colleges, and American colleges based in foreign countries.

This work focuses on the service economy, it introduces the fundamentals of markets, consumer choice, financial assessment, risk avoidance, and other topics.