An official campus tour of the University of Pittsburgh probably won't point out that dorm-dwellers in Lothrop Hall can have trouble sleeping because of noise from the nearby hospital helicopter pad. But the College Prowler guidebook will.

	Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Jessica Getz, 18, a high school senior from Shaler, checks out the College Prowler guidebook at a kiosk at Ross Park Mall with employee Jeff Haber. The company publishes insiders' guides on U.S. colleges and universities. Click photo for larger image.

The official Web site of the University of Southern California doesn't comment on all the spoiled rich kids wearing Prada and driving BMWs. But a new DVD series called "The U: Uncut" does.

These "unauthorized" print and video guides, along with an Internet explosion of student blogs, characterize a growing trend in college search material, one that gives enrolled students the first and last uncensored word on their own schools, from academics and dorm food to the drug scene and relative hotness of the student body.

Such insider "reality" sources, taken alongside official college catalogs, Web sites, virtual tours and visits, offer high-schoolers an additional, if subjective, glimpse into what life might be like at a given institution.

"They are helpful as one part of the college search from a student's perspective, but you have to remember it's specific kids talking about their experience," said Peter Martorelli, a guidance counselor at North Allegheny High School. "Students should still visit the school and stay overnight if possible."

The concept of insider reviews isn't new. The Princeton Review has been publishing an annual guide for high school seniors for years, based on extensive input from students on campus. But with college entrance competition more intense than ever, and costs higher, the market for such materials is expanding.

"There are tons of college choices out there and it's hard to know where to start," said Jeff Haber, manager of the Pittsburgh-based College Prowler's new kiosk at Ross Park Mall.

"We want to help because we've been through the process without this kind of information," said the recent Pitt graduate. "If you're spending $25,000 a year or more on school, it should be the right school."

The kiosk has opened just as college acceptance letters are being mailed out and students are making their final decisions.

Doug Imbruce, founder of the "The U: Uncut" DVD series and a recent graduate of Columbia University, said he and his parents did all the typical college-search things, but even so, campus life was not what he expected.

"One day I was watching 'Cribs' on MTV, and there was a tour of Snoop Dogg's house," he said. "They showed everything right down to his new throw pillows. And I thought, 'I know more about what's in Snoop Dogg's refrigerator than I did about Columbia.' "

His DVDs offer "The Real World" version of the college tour, conceived by Mr. Imbruce during his junior year and hosted by stars from the WB Network, where he did an internship. The series covers 50 popular schools (Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania are included; Pitt and Carnegie-Mellon University are not).

"Our content is high-energy MTV style, but it covers all the bases," he said. "In 10 or 11 minutes we spend three or four on academics, and we also go into the dirty dorm rooms, show where kids have fun and study and really capture their lives."

The College Prowler guides, at roughly 150 pages each but with no photos, make up in content what they lack in visuals. The books are sold in stores, and the company is now trying out the kiosk concept at Ross Park Mall, with a location near Abercrombie & Fitch to capture teenage foot traffic. Shoppers can browse the offerings and also talk to someone who knows the college landscape well.

"A lot of times they have a few schools in mind, and I can recommend others that are similar in nature, whether it's by size, region, city or college town, whether they're tops in business or engineering," said Mr. Haber.

College Prowler grew out of a 2002 class project at Carnegie Mellon University. Now operating from offices on Baum Boulevard in Oakland, the company publishes 210 single-school guides at $14.95 each, plus larger compendiums based on region. Editor-in-chief Christina Koshzow says the list of schools is always expanding.

"Our books tell the good and the bad," Ms. Koshzow said. "It's like having an older brother or sister to ask."

The company also has a computer program that helps students narrow their choices based on specific criteria. The service is free.

For those who prefer watching to reading, "The U" offers five discs arranged by region -- Northeast, Midwest, South, West -- plus the Ivy League. Each tour has quick-hit, candid comments from students, scattered among footage of the grounds, facilities and surrounding area. Oh, and lots of young people drinking, dancing and commenting on the good looks, or not, of their fellow students.

Shot by student crews who spent up to a week on each campus collecting surveys and interviews, "The U" hasn't pleased everyone. Students at Northwestern University told their college newspaper that the campus depiction was skewed, overly generalized, left out too many important things and made them look like they had no social life.

On-screen comments about large state schools and small private colleges seem similar from one to the next, but there are interesting tidbits -- some would say stereotypes -- about such things as foreign-born teaching assistants who can barely speak English, the dominance of football fever or Greek life, off-campus housing and party scenes so intense that new students struggle to keep from flunking out.

The DVD set sells for $39.95 at www.theu.com or $14.95 for individual discs. Site visitors also can read student blogs from around the country and submit their own "brutally honest" reviews of the schools they attend. Mr. Imbruce said the 50 reviewed schools are a starting point, and plans are under way to add more.