IS THIS BOOK THE LIGHT AT THE END OF ONE TUNNEL? by Betty Johnson Staff Writer The North County Times (CA) March 18, 2008 It's pretty safe to say that Fred and Barbara Rugg, Fallbrook residents for the last 10 years, have a special affinity for teenagers. Rugg is the creator of the handbook Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges that experiences a surge in sales every spring. This is, after all, the season when high school juniors and seniors and their parents can go into meltdown from the pressures of trying to make sense of upper-division education. Choosing a college or colleges to apply to is only the first step in an agonizing process. Rugg's 25th edition of the handbook, out this year, is 283 pages of stripped-down information about some 1,100 four-year colleges out of more than 2,000 that offer bachelor's degrees. The opening section of recommended undergraduate programs, and the colleges that offer them, occupies the first 123 pages. The programs are classified in three groups (Most Selective, Very Selective and Selective) in 39 fields of study, ranging from agriculture to zoology. The second section of the book focuses on miscellaneous majors --- or shorter lists of majors that include fields such as actuarial science, Africana studies, mortuary science and wildlife. The next section deals with SAT scores, and what individual schools insist on as entrance requirements. The last section contains a list of the 1,100 colleges used in the study, designating where -- right down to ZIP code -- each one is located. Writing in the introduction about the information he receives for his book, Rugg says, "a variety of college personnel lobby for a certain program at their university." "Also ... we get tipped off at workshops (presented) around the U.S. ... Almost every year since 1977 I've added 300 departments to my list. This year that number is over 750." Before coming here, Rugg spent 20 years in public schools as a guidance counselor. A 1967 applied mathematics graduate from Brown University, he was the only member of his class to enter public school teaching, and he brought with him into his "new field" some skills he must have learned in his applied mathematics courses. He has created a handbook people can use. Not only that, he added in a note accompanying a copy of the 25th edition that he would continue his goal "of doing a free monthly college consult with a Fallbrook family." Contact him by phone at (760) 728-4558. Received on May 13, 2007: "Excellent resource; well worth the money; well-organized and very useful for students and parents of the college-bound." ~William. E. Williams (Morris County, NJ) Received on March 8, 2007: "This is a great book to help you find the schools that are rated highly in your child's major. Was a great help." ~J. McCandlish, mother of three sons (Pittsburgh, PA) Received in the mail, November 21, 2006~ "I use your book one way or the other with nearly every student." - Carol Goodell, Independent College Counselor, San Mateo, California February 19, 2006~ Framingham (MA) Public Library's "REFERENCE SOURCE OF THE MONTH" - Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges by Frederick E. Rugg "Many high school juniors spend April vacation visiting colleges. How will they decide where to visit? There is much advice and information available, but for students with an academic strength or career interest, Rugg's Recommendations is a great place to start. Fred Rugg evaluates 1050 colleges based on their subject strengths and selectivity. Other information included is average SAT/ACT scores, school size, location and websites. Once a list is generated, the candidate can narrow the choices by considering location and size. If you or a student you know is contemplating college applications, please visit us at the Main Library Reference Desk and have a look at Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges." September 25, 2005~ Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges has placed as one of the Finalists in the “Reference” category for the Best Books of 2005 from USA Book News. The book will be listed live on USABookNews.com for the next five months. Received in the mail, dated March 2, 2005 ~ Today, too much of the college search process focuses on buildings and dorms rooms and food and attractive viewbooks. As counselors, we need to help students explore the real value of college - that they learn what really interests them in an academic environment that supports them well. Rugg's Recommendations is a very valuable tool for this, and one of the three books I have counted on for 16 plus years to help families make smart college decisions. - Bob Stuart, Independent College Counselor, Yarmouth, Maine January 29, 2005 ~ Rugg's Recommendations - a valuable resource for 25 years Bradford R. MacGowan, Guidance Counselor, Massachusetts I have continued to buy multiple copies of each edition of Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges since its 17th edition for myself and for the college resource center at my school. Now, five years and five editions later, I want to sing the book's praises again. In the college counseling profession, we now take Rugg's for granted. Reaching for it and expecting it to be there is like turning on the water faucet or flipping on the light switch. We depend on it and if it isn't right at our fingertips, something immediately seems wrong. Fred Rugg, a former school counselor, is respected by members of his previous profession and is known for his book and for the seminars that he presents for high school counselors across the country... Rugg's approach encourages students to find colleges that will be good fits while avoiding the "more selective the college the better it must be" mind set that drives the magazine rankings. The book's enduring popularity (22 editions in 25 years) is testimony to its usefulness in the college search process, especially in the list-building phase. The foundation of the book is the lists of colleges grouped by majors and divided into three levels of selectivity. The colleges on each list are "recommended" for each major based on Rugg's conversations with students at the colleges and high school counselors, his own visits to college campuses, and other research. Rugg, in his characteristically honest and straightforward way, states that his "book is not perfect." No publication in this field is perfect, and no one book or other resource has everything you need to do the college search and application process right. Rugg's is one tool in the toolbox; it performs a needed function and performs it well. Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges is a helpful resource that contains good and current information. I am glad that it is widely available for students, parents, and counselors who need good information in the college search and application process. June 13, 2004 ~ "A Guide To the College Guides," a Sunday Boston Globe article, notes five college guidebooks of influence. Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges is pictured and is one of the five. March 31, 2004 ~ The 21st edition of Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges is named a winner in the Reference Category of New Jersey's Writers Notes Magazine Book Award. It placed in the top three as a Notable Book and Exceptional Read. Writers Notes Magazine praises the book, noting that Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges "slices the loaf of college choices and seasons it with a dash of humor." "Born of a desire to plumb the breadth and depth of collegiate choices, Rugg's provides an expanded index of the colleges, which details cross-sections of academia by major, might and miscellany - the place for college-bound students to begin their journey. " - Writers Notes Magazine ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*