A college degree has never been more important—or more expensive. Where can you get an amazing education without your parents having to remortgage the house or cash in their retirement fund? Which degrees will allow you to fulfill your dreams and earn a decent paycheck? What do you really need to know if you’re a black or Latino student or the first in your family to go to college?

Now, from the staff of the Washington Monthly comes a new kind of college guide, inspired by and including the magazine’s signature alternative college rankings. The Other College Guide is full of no-holds-barred advice on finding your best-fit schools and avoiding the terrible ones. It offers the real deal about money, loans, and preparing for the world of work. This essential higher ed handbook highlights how to sift through the endless barrage of fancy (and often misleading) brochures and will clarify everything from test scores and financial aid to credentials and transferring. This guide also features original and time-tested tools, templates, and timelines to help you choose the right school and make the most of your college experience. Culminating in two chapters on what the degree can do for you and fifty profiles of remarkable but frequently overlooked schools, this book in your one-stop-shop for getting to and through college.

All things being unequal, The Other College Guide will provide you—and your families and counselors—with the honest and practical information you need to make sense of the college process and carve a path to the future you imagine.