Best Colleges 2018 (Find the Best Colleges for You!)

The 2018 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges guidebook offers comprehensive advice for high school students and their families on researching their college choices, drawing up a smart shortlist, putting together a slam-dunk application and coming up with the money to pay the bills. Find out what programs you can look for that will raise your chances of thriving as a freshman, the many ways to wow the admissions office, and how to negotiate the best possible financial aid package. You’ll also get the latest Best Colleges rankings: exclusive lists of the country's top national universities, liberal arts colleges, regional colleges and universities, historically black colleges and universities, and undergraduate engineering and business programs. Also: Which schools leave grads with the heaviest and lightest debt loads? Plus: • A look at streamlined programs you can apply to in high school that take you through law school or medical school • How 8 recent high school grads chose their colleges – and got in • How to write a terrific application essay • Take a road trip with U.S. News to 12 colleges and universities in Washington state, Ohio, and North Carolina • What you need to know to get a great financial aid package • State by state directory profiling over 1,600 schools Note: Advertisements from universities and other reputable organizations enable us to offer this valuable guidebook at an affordable price. Advertisements do not influence current or future rankings.