Canter Bridge

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Because this 1,314-page book covers such a wide range of majors and the average family or college aspirant is likely to have narrowed his or her interests down to just a few, this book is best suited for the reference shelves of a high school guidance office where a diverse cross-section of readers can access it.

However, it’s not expensive, so perhaps worth the required nickels from the family or student who doesn’t mind tossing them at the CollegeBoard, a dependable provider of data and interpretation to college-bound students. This is especially true for the high school junior who begins to think about where he’ll go to college with little or no clue for what he’d actually like to study there (this reviewer still assumes the not-unanimously-accepted link between college and study). If your family has multiple college-bound high schoolers within a few years of each other, the data and trends presented in this book are not likely to change substantially from year to year. So, a single purchase might serve more than one of your children.

Each of the covered majors is grouped together with similar majors in a section. Under each major, subsections address ‘What it’s about’, ‘Is this for you?’, ‘Recommended high school prep’, ‘Typical courses in this major’, ‘Concentrations’, ‘What the study of this major is like’, ‘Other majors you might like’, ‘Questions to ask colleges’, Career options and trends’, and ‘For more information’. Not surprisingly, 1,314 pages fill up quickly.

The second section of the book then lists the colleges and universities in each state that offer each of the majors mentioned in the first.

You can find this information elsewhere. The appeal of this book lies in the fact that it collects it for you in one handy volume and gets it to you on the cheap.