"Where You Go is Not Who You'll Be" by Frank Bruni is a book that every stressed out rising senior or parent should read.

It's a quick, entertaining and grounding read about not getting too caught up in the madness of modern day college admissions.  It makes the point that brand name schools turn out to mean very little when it comes to success in life, and that there are countless examples of successful people who started from humble educational backgrounds. 

It's not where you start, it's how you finish!

Click here for the Washington Post review

Click here for the New York Times Sunday Book Review. 

Looking for help on which college to attend?  Here's an interesting article from Michael Roth for The Washington Post on how to navigate your way to a decision.  Michael is the president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut. 

Click here for the article.

One of the best ways to make your college decision is to attend the admitted students weekend for each school on your short list. This article from Story2 provides tips on how to get the most from the experience.

Click here for the article.

Here's an interesting article from Nick Ducoff, a VP at Northeastern University.  He argues that it's not a skills gap, but rather an experience gap that holds back college graduates from the best job opportunities.

Though the article is conveniently self-serving—Northeastern is well-known for its active co-op programs for undergraduates—there's no arguing that experiential learning is extremely valuable for transitioning bright minds into the working world.

Click here for the article.

Now that you've been admitted to several schools on your list, how will you choose which one to attend?  Here's an article from the Huffington Post on how to navigate your way to a decision.

Click here for the article.

In this five part series from the New York Times, two college admissions experts answer questions to help students and their families make their final college decisions.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Lots of big-name schools post their decisions over the next 48 hours, including Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Rice, University of Pennsylvania and Yale.

Continue reading for the updated list of regular decision notification dates for several popular private and public schools. Good luck, seniors!

Here's an interesting article from the Washington Post about "undermatching"—when low-income students with the ability to succeed at elite universities never apply or attend one.  Past studies have shown that as many as four in 10 in this pool choose not to attend an elite institution because they didn't apply or decided not to enroll.

Undermatching is a serious social issue impacting long-term economic equality and social mobility, but it's also one that can be avoided with better information and planning.  

Read the article here

One interesting way to measure the value of a college education is to consider return on investment.  PayScale does this by comparing the salary of graduates (return) to the cost of attendance (investment) at each school it tracks.  

Here's the recently released 2015 rankings.  We'd focus less on the rankings themselves and more on the relative returns by major/career since it will give you a sense for where your interests can lead.  It comes as no surprise that schools strong in technology fare the best.    

University of California President Janet Napolitano indicated earlier this week that the UC system will not expand enrollment of California freshmen and transfers this fall if more funds are not appropriated from the state. Furthermore, enrollment of out-of-state students at UC Berkeley and UCLA will be capped.

Click here for a Los Angeles Times report on the topic.

This article from the Wall Street Journal explores the "value" of attending a name-brand college from three perspectives: the applicant's, the and the employer's and an admissions expert.  The article also includes a list of "best value" schools courtesy of PayScale that considers return on investment (future reported salaries) in addition to cost.  

Click here to read the article now.

Planning to major in business in college?  Here's an article covering some well-regarded undergraduate business schools for you to consider.  

Business and related fields are the most popular undergraduate majors in the country, accounting for approximately 20% of all college students. If you're thinking about it but still aren't sure, continue reading about the pros and cons of an undergraduate business degree and perspective from pundits, courtesy of the New York Times.

In this Los Angeles Times article, Carla Rivera writes about the rising number of college applicants taking advantage of early admission programs to remove stress and uncertainty from the admissions process.

The article also looks at early admission from the school perspective, and why/why not schools choose to participate.  

With admission rates falling and the number of early admission programs on the rise, we maintain that every college applicant needs to at least consider the possibility of applying early.  It may not always be appropriate, but when it is, it's a valuable way of maximizing odds and minimizing wasted motion for simply applying 60 days earlier than normal.   

Read the early admission article now

Preparing your first college tour and not sure where to start?

Here are some suggestions for schools to visit, grouped by region, to get you rolling. Each list includes 5-6 schools that offer a range of sizes, settings and selectivity to help imagine the possibilities.  We also suggest others worth considering and why.  

Cities currently covered include Boston, New York City, Syracuse, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

Click on the Continue Reading link below to see our suggestions, or try our College Tour Planner to build your own custom campus tour itinerary.