America's Best Kept College Secrets is an affectionate profile of more than seventy colleges and universities across the country that share four important characteristics:

1. Each one is a superior institution- exciting, challenging and welcoming.

2. Each one has an excellent reputation and is highly regarded by those who know colleges.

3. Each one accepts more than 60% of applicants and retains more than 85% of enrolled students.

4. Each one is a college or university of quality interested in applicants from outside its region.

This lively and informal guide offers an uncommonly candid appraisal of the college's culture - what it feels like to live and work on each campus. Profiles include large universities, tiny colleges, comprehensive universities, liberal arts colleges, and institutes of technology.

Peter Arango has been working in the field of college admissions for forty years, during which time he has counseled hundreds of students and families. He is an editor of the Houghton Mifflin Guide to U.S. Colleges and Universities, a contributor to numerous publications, and a frequent presenter at workshops on preparing for the college search. Currently, Peter Arango lives in Carpinteria, California where he holds the Littlefield Chair in Humanities at Cate School.

Follow @College_Secrets