• Choosing a College

  • A Guide for Parents and Students
  • By: Thomas Sowell
  • Narrated by: Robert Morris
  • Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (87 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Choosing a College  By  cover art

Choosing a College

By: Thomas Sowell
Narrated by: Robert Morris
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.22

Buy for $13.22

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

This book starts at "square one", before you know what questions to ask, what colleges to read about, or what statistics to look up. Sowell candidly describes the inner and outer workings of scores of American colleges and universities, big and small. He gives special attention to special programs, financial aid, and the academic environment.
©1989 Thomas Sowell (P)1989 Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about Choosing a College

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    44
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Whoa! References to 1987? WTF?

This thing must have been written in the late 1980s. But you won't know that from the description. My first clue was him telling you to write away to the AAA to get copies of travel guides to different regions. Umm.... can't you just look on the internet? Then he refers to some guides written in 1986 and 1987. Huh?

But there's still some good timeless advice in here. But really, Audible? Isn't this a subject that requires CURRENT information?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Dated but worth a quick listen

The author makes thoughtful and worthwhile observations and has many useful and timeless suggestions about the process of choosing a college. However, you do need to sift through a fair bit of chaff to find the wheat. Tables of data are read in a monotonous fashion and there are suggestions about calling or writing for more information rather than using the internet. An abridged or updated version would be a great addition to the Audible collection.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Timeless wisdom

This is an excellent guide that gives the reader an overview of the college system and what weigh while making a choice. It need not to be current to be useful since he gives the reader a frame that transcends time and place.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Still Somewhat Relevant

Still Somewhat Relevant. I am long out of College, but I wanted to read the works of T. Sowell. It is funny how not much has changed on the university side of academia since 1989.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Should have found this Sooner

Thomas Sowell is a very intelligent man, I wish that I had found this book earlier in my life. I actually quit going to school at one University because I got tired of the campus life, lack of professors caring, Etc. 5 years later I chose a different University that is more suited to me and I am almost with a bachelor's degree but I still wish I had found this book sooner

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Still relevant

Listen to this first if you are considering hiring a college consultant- you will either realize that you don’t need one, or you will be very prepared to get the most out of such a relationship. This is also an excellent overview of the whole college endeavor and my two teenagers have said they’ve heard things they never would have thought about- like the fact that famous professors at high- profile institutions are under pressure to “publish or perish” and so, in many cases, do not have the time or incentive to dedicate themselves to excellence in teaching their undergraduate students. Also helpful is Mr. Sowell’s insistence that the student’s personality and lifestyle are of utmost importance in choosing a college…he stresses over and over that a “good school” is one that fits the particular student socially, personally, and academically. The statistics are unavoidably outdated, but from the book you can learn WHAT statistics to consider and find them at your fingertips instantly through an internet search.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Partially outdated, but quite insightful

The book was originally published in 1989 and some elements of it are outdated, but otherwise Sowell is a thoughtful guide to the college admissions process, who as a professor offers valuable inside insights that are not obvious to people outside academia.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great for those going to college

I loved every book by Thomas Sowell, except this one- but that is because I'm NOT the intended audience. I went to college 45 years ago.

However, this is still a good book and had some interesting parts in it for me.

I would highly recommend this for those going to college- there are good tips and some things to look out for. For example, if you hate the dorm food, do you still have to get the food plan if you are forced to live in the dorms? Go visit. try the food. Check out what the student newspapers talk about.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Incredibly outdated

I wish I had looked at when this book was published before purchasing. It's from 2006 and incredibly outdated at this point. Maybe there is some useful information, but it's not worth sifting through to find out what's still relevant. I'm sure it was a good book back in its day.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sound issues

There seems to be some talking in the background of the recording that I found to be very distracting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!