A guide to selecting a college is provided, with an outline of the steps to take for admission to and descriptions of 100 "best" colleges: those that devote their resources largely to liberal arts and sciences or engineering and science, draw 20 percent or more of their students from outside their regions, and retain 70 percent or more of their freshmen through graduation. The selection process presented guides the student through choices about college academic characteristics, social characteristics, admission statistics and cost, financial aid, and further inquiry; and describes the colleges' application and admission processes. The college notes include these items: location, type and number of courses offered, programs for graduation, course load, retention, stated plans of graduates, class size, libraries, computer facilities, curricular challenge, student motivation level, student population, minority students, geographic distribution, campus and housing, student mix and personal life on campus, extracurricular activities and participation rates, percentage of applicants accepted, weight of admission criteria, freshman academic characteristics, correspondence addresses and deadlines, and comparative data. (MSE)