1. Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges 2015 A Reference Resource for Answering “What” Questions about Colleges

2. What is Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges 2015 ? Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges 2015 is a print guide to every college in the US & Canada (and some international schools) Provides information about: – the campus – enrollment process – costs – academic programs The guide also features informational articles aimed at those searching for a four-year college & starting/undergoing the application process.

3. How to Find a Copy Peterson's (Firm). (2014). Peterson's four- year colleges 2015. Available: – In Print Reference Collection (378.73 PET). Located on the 1 st floor – eBook (Amazon)

4. Questions Answered by this Guide Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges can be used to find information on every four year college in the US & Canada and many international schools. This guide includes information for over 2,600 colleges about: – Campus Setting – Enrollment – Cost – Academic Programs Use this Guide to answer questions like these: What academic programs are offered at a university? What is the cost of attending a university? What are the enrollment requirements? What is the campus setting like? What is the student-faculty ratio? What types of financial aid are available at an institution? What are the most frequently chosen baccalaureate fields at a university? Which colleges are located in a specific state? What percentage of applicants are admitted? When are applications due? And many more….

5. Why Use Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges 2015? Peterson’s college guides are reliable & widely used. The guide provides comprehensive information about colleges in the US & Canada. Written for anyone searching for a four-year college.

6. Organization Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges contains four main sections: – 1) The Advice Center – 2) Profiles – 3) College Close Ups – 4) Indexes Let’s Explore each section

7. The Advice Center Location: pages 2-53 Contents: Informative Articles covering: – The College Admission Process – Choosing Schools – Standardized Tests – Distance Learning – College Visits – & more.. Use: Use this section to read expertly written articles on selecting, visiting and applying to universities. Navigate: Use the Table of Contents on page 1 to navigate to articles in this section of the guide.

8. Profiles (Colleges At-A-Glance) Location: pages 57-1021 Contents: arranged alphabetically by state Information for over 2,600 colleges: – Campus Setting – Enrollment – Cost – Academic Programs – Contact Information Use: Look up information about colleges Navigation: Browse the listings alphabetically by state or use the Indexes to locate the profile of a specific university.

9. College Close Ups Location: pages 1033-1496 Contents: In-depth information about 400 colleges written by officials from each institution. Use: Get more information about selected institutions. Navigation: Browse the two-page profiles or use the Geographical Listings of Close Ups Index (p. 1695) to search for Close Ups by area.

10. Indexes Location: pages 1497- 1695 Contents: – Indexes of the college profiles by: Majors Entrance Difficulty Cost Ranges – Alphabetical Listing of Colleges – Advertisers Index – Geographical Listing of Close Ups Use: Search for universities by major, entrance difficulty or cost range OR Search for colleges by name alphabetically to find the page on which the institutions profile is located.

11. How to Use Peterson’s Four-Year Colleges: Five Search Strategies Strategy 1: Searching by Geographical Location Strategy 2: Searching by College Name Strategy 3: Searching by Major Strategy 4: Searching by Entrance Difficulty Strategy 5: Searching by Cost Range Let’s explore each strategy

12. Strategy 1: Searching by Location When to use this strategy: You need information on colleges in a specific state. You need to know which colleges are located in a specific state. Process: – Locate the Profiles section (page 57) as it is organized alphabetically by state THEN – flip through the profiles until you arrive at the section of interest.

13. Strategy 1: Searching by Location Profile section arranged alphabetically by state Colleges listed alphabetically by state

14. Strategy 2: Searching by College Name When to use this strategy: You need information about a specific college that you know by name. Process: – Locate the Alphabetical Listing of Colleges and Universities (p. 1677) THEN – Locate the institution of interest NEXT – Use the page number listed to locate the college’s information in the Profile section.

15. Strategy 2: Searching for a College by Name Colleges listed Alphabetically by name Use pages numbers to locate a college’s information in the Profiles section

16. Strategy 3: Searching by Major When to Use this Strategy: – You need information on colleges that have programs in a specific major Process: – Locate the Major Index (p. 1497) as it is arranged alphabetically by major. THEN – Locate the major of interest and review the corresponding list of colleges that have academic programs in that major. NEXT – Use the name & location information provided to locate the listed colleges in the Profiles section using strategy 1.

17. Strategy 3: Search by Major Majors Index arranged alphabetically by major Major Alphabetical list of colleges with academic programs in the major Use the school location information to search the Profiles section using Search Strategy 1 OR use school name to search the Alphabetical Listing of Colleges and Universities using search strategy 2.

18. Strategy 4: Searching by Entrance Difficulty When to Use this Strategy: – You want information on how difficult it is to get into a specific college – You want to search for colleges based on how difficult it is to get accepted Process: – Locate the Entrance Difficulty Index (p. 1663) as it lists colleges by degree of difficultly gaining admittance. THEN – Locate the category of difficulty of interest and peruse the alphabetical listing of colleges in the category. NEXT – Use the name & location information to locate colleges of interest in the Profiles section using Search Strategy 1 OR the alphabetical listing of colleges index.

19. Strategy 4: Searching by Entrance Difficulty Entrance Difficulty Index: Ranks Colleges by difficulty in gaining admittance Category of difficulty Alphabetical list of colleges in the specific category of difficulty Use the school location & name information to search the Profiles section using Search Strategy 1 OR the Alphabetical Listing of Colleges to find more information about a college.

20. Strategy 5: Search by Cost When to Use this Strategy: – You want to know the Cost Range of yearly attendance at a college – You want to search for colleges in specific cost ranges Process: – Locate the Cost Ranges Index (p. 1671). Cost Ranges are listed from least to most expensive. THEN – Locate the range of interest and peruse the schools listed under that range alphabetically. NEXT – Use the name & location information to locate colleges of interest in the Profiles section using Search Strategy 1 OR the alphabetical listing of colleges index.

21. Strategy 5: Searching by Cost Range Cost Range Alphabetical list of colleges in the cost range Use the school location & name information to search the Profiles section using Search Strategy 1 OR the Alphabetical Listing of Colleges to find more information about a college

22. Get More Detailed Information After you have selected schools that interest you using the search strategies described you can search the Close-Ups section (p. 1033) of the guide for more detailed descriptions of colleges of interest. The Close-Ups section is arranged alphabetically by college name. Not all colleges will have a Close-Up profile – If a college you are interested in does not have a Close-Up profile visit their website for more information.

23. Further Assistance Should you need further assistance using this resource or have any questions about your college search please – Call the reference department at (XXX) XXX-XXXX OR – Email questions to xxxxxx@xx.orgxxxxxx@xx.org OR – Stop by the reference desk located on the 1 st floor anytime Mon-Fri 9am-5pm