If you’re in need of a time-saving shortcut to get the low-down on a superior college, take a look at the Students’ Guide to Colleges, The Definitive Guide To America’s Top 100 Schools written by The Real Experts – The Students Who Attend Them.

The book is a compilation of what more than 30,000 students had to say about their schools. The 623 page guide is worth a look since it will help high school students to quickly and comfortably get some of the answers they’re after.

Chuck Hughes, a senior admissions officer at Harvard from 1995 to 2000, calls the book “a fresh and exciting tool that will be invaluable as you attempt to select the school that’s right for you.”

Hughes, who currently works as an educational consultant, has found that parents and students often have a distorted sense of what the best is, because they have focused too heavily on rankings and prestige.

Once students learn the stories behind the rankings, Hughes writes in the book’s preface, they get the answers to the essential questions about a school’s professors, its classes, its atmosphere, and its social life. This is the information needed to make the right match.

It’s a good book to look at if you don’t have sufficient time to examine a school closely. Because many students don’t know what they’re getting into, one out of four college freshmen nationwide don’t return sophomore year.

This insightful book, published by Penguin Books, reviews 100 schools through the eyes of college students who attend them. Christopher, a senior at Cornell, said the school’s reputation was “an Ivy League school that’s said to appeal to academically masochistic students.” When asked if he agreed, Christopher wrote:

“Yes, for the most part this reputation is accurate. Students here pretend they never work, that they’re just your average, slacker, party-going college kids. But head to the library and you’ll see those same people furiously scribbling notes while working in study groups. No other place on this humongous campus gets visited more consistently than our two main libraries.

For each school, the book has three different students weigh in on the same questions, and quite often you’ll find divergent answers to the questions.

Let’s take a quick drive out to Lewisburg, Penn., to see what students there have to say about Bucknell University. When asked about what the education is like, Ashely, a freshman from Glenbrook, Conn., said, “At Bucknell you definitely get a great education.

The professors are amazing. If you didn’t do well on a test, you can go to them and they’ll sit with you until you understand the material. They do this because they love teaching, have a passion for their subjects, and really do want to make learning fun.”

When asked about the students at Bucknell, Brian, a sophomore who hails from Collegeville, Penn, said, “The average Bucknellian is from the Northeast, Baltimore, D.C., or California. They listen to Gavin DeGraw or DMB, own at least one ribbon belt, know that the “classy” way to wear your collar is up. Most students are from upper-middle-class backgrounds, with an even Republican/Democratic split.”

When asked about the social scene at Penn Sate, Kathleen from Gilford, New Hampshire, said, “People party anywhere they can. Fraternities and sororities are normally open to all. However, the best parties are normally at the houses or the apartments. Alcohol is available to everyone if they try to find it. After a party, it’s amazing how many numbers are on your cell phone the next morning labeled “good kisser,” “awesome hair,” and “sexy!”

“But then again, Penn Staters are generally friendly even without the alcohol. Men hold doors open and it’s not uncommon to say hi to people you pass everyday. If you’re friendly, you’ll make more friends than your buddy list can hold!”

Why not go to www.studentsguide.com to see if the schools you’re interested in attending are reviewed; if they are you can read excerpts from the reviews.