Seems awfully young to be doing this;kids change so much. I bought the Fiske Guide and insiders Guide and found both useful, but my kids prefer doing things online. They both went on College Confidential as sophomores and typed in their stats and interests to get a list of potential schools. Of course they have to project test scores (but sophomores at least have PSAT scores to go by). Then they found youtube videos produced by students about the different schools, and went on some school websites. Can't say it helped much, because by the time we started visiting in junior year, they were no longer interested geographically in many of the schools that CC gave them as "matches." But it was a fun exercise for them nonetheless and started them thinking about college.

We really liked the Insiders Guide because it covers social life and other aspects of the colleges. My kids found this more interesting than basic information.

I have a freshman who's started thinking about college, and I want to get her some college guide books. Recognizing that she's not going to sit down and read anything like this cover to cover, what are some good books to get her thinking about what's out there, what college has to offer, and what she's likely to have to do to get in to certain schools? (I should note--she's not doing particularly well in school because she has not been motivated, but seems to be coming out of her funk and is trying much harder; I really want to help her get excited about college, which she has previously rejected.)