Outfitting students for the perilous trip through higher education is big business, and several companies stake their reputations on the kinds of help they deem appropriate.

Here is a playbook on what the major publishers have to offer.

BARRONS EDUCATIONAL SERIES, Hauppauge, N.Y.BMOC: Bob O'Sullivan, managing editorMAJORING IN: Study guides, college admission guides, test prep booksANNUAL OUTPUT: 47 test prep guides; 55 study guides; seven college and grad school admission directoriesHOTTEST TITLE: "Our new line of AP exam flash cards (U.S. history, world history and biology with more in the works), which is designed to supplement our traditional book and CD-ROM study materials."WHY WE'RE SWEET: "The quality of our content: we always offer substantial course review. Our expert pool of evaluators: each of our test prep guides receives two thorough 10-point evaluations by experts in the subject. Our experience: for 65 years, we have been helping students prepare for important exams."TREND TO WATCH FOR:"Books that help students prepare for state assessment exams: since President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, more and more states are mandating exams that every student must pass in order to move ahead."THE COLLEGE BOARD, New York, N.Y.

BMOC:Tom Vanderberg, senior editor
MAJORING IN: Test prep and college admission guides
ANNUAL OUTPUT: Five test prep and seven college admission guides
HOTTEST TITLE: "Like our top-selling Official SAT Study Guide, our all-new series of SAT Subject Test study guides enjoys the advantage of being the only source of official tests from the test-maker."
WHY WE'RE SWEET: "The College Board, as a not-for-profit educational organization, is a trusted source, and its guides for its SAT, SAT Subject Tests and CLEP are consistent top sellers. It publishes the only official test preparation from the test-makers, with a focus on giving students the most authoritative, reliable and up-to-date information available."
TREND TO WATCH FOR:" 'Hot growing trend' doesn't really apply to this category. Publishers with popular Web sites are looking for ways to leverage Web content into print, a seeming reverse of the tide; but it's really just an acknowledgment that students like to select from a mix of media, formats and content type."
COLLEGE PROWLER, Pittsburgh, Pa.

BMOC: Luke Skurman, CEO
MAJORING IN: College admission guidebooks
ANNUAL OUTPUT: 271 titles
HOTTEST TITLE: "Our newest title, The Big Book of Colleges, to be released in August, combines 201 of our school profiles into one book."
WHY WE'RE SWEET: "Last year we published 211 guidebooks for 211 colleges, averaging 160 pages per school and totaling over 30,000 pages of content specific to the undergraduate experience. The quote-based, one-school-one-guide format provides a forum for college students to talk honestly and openly to prospective students."
TREND TO WATCH FOR:"Families are realizing that college is expensive and competitive to get into, so they want to make sure that the fit and the experience are as good as possible."
KAPLAN PUBLISHING, New York, N.Y.

BMOC: publisher Maureen McMahon
MAJORING IN: Study guides; college and grad school admission guides; test prep books
ANNUAL OUTPUT: Approximately 140 titles: eight to 10 college and grad school admission guides; 60 study guides; 70 test prep books.
HOTTEST TITLE: "The Premier series offers a highly customizable, multimedia format for study—print, online, mobile downloads and CD-ROMs—all organized in an online syllabus to help students maximize their study time."
WHY WE'RE SWEET:"Kaplan is the number one brand in test prep. We became an independent publisher this year (we started out in a joint venture with S&S). We build ongoing relationships with our students—from kindergarten through grad school and beyond—that hinge on products and services that extend far beyond traditional content."
TREND TO WATCH FOR:"The college admissions environment has changed dramatically in the past decade. The pressure is on for students to differentiate themselves in a competitive field plagued by grade inflation and deluged with qualified applicants."
LEARNING EXPRESS, New York, N.Y.BMOC: Karen Wolny, editorial director
MAJORING IN: Test prep, study guides and skill builders
ANNUAL OUTPUT: 35—40 titles, half for specific college, professional and vocational exams, and half skill builders and study guides
HOTTEST TITLE: "Our lead title this year is TOEFL: The English Scores You Need!, which includes a free, instantly scored exam online and an audio CD for listening to pronunciation."
WHY WE'RE SWEET: "We have an extensive test prep book program that is backed by a highly sophisticated, patented, interactive test engine offering well over 300 tests online that are instantly scored and give immediate diagnostic results. Many of our books, and certainly our newest titles, come with links to our online tests."
TREND TO WATCH FOR: "Connecting test prep books and study guides to online links that reflect real world test-taking conditions is a must to survive in today's marketplace."
PEARSON EDUCATION/EXAM CRAM, Indianapolis, Ind.BMOC: Doug Ingersoll, executive product marketing manager
MAJORING IN:Study guides; test prep books; practice question books
ANNUAL OUTPUT:20—30 titles, split between study guides and test prep books
HOTTEST TITLE:"The Exam Prep series provides in-depth topical learning from industry experts partnered with the popular test preparation tools from the Exam Cram line."
WHY WE'RE SWEET:"The proven pedagogical tools from the Exam Cram line have helped millions pass complex exams ranging from those on Microsoft Technologies, Nursing and Computer Networking to College Entrance Exams. Series tools such as the Cram Sheet tear-out review card provide for knowledge review and retention, and help students measure their exam readiness."
TREND TO WATCH FOR:"More tests will move from paper-and-pencil testing to computer-based testing, not only for ease of tabulation, but for the ability to better assess candidate readiness and knowledge."
MCGRAW-HILL PROFESSIONAL BOOK GROUP, New York, N.Y.

BMOC: Charles Wall, senior editor
MAJORING IN: Test prep and study guides
ANNUAL OUTPUT: Approximately 20 test prep books and 20 study guides
HOTTEST TITLE: "McGraw-Hill-branded test prep guides, a series launched two years ago, now covers virtually every major test, often with both book-only and book-CD versions."
WHY WE'RE SWEET: "McGraw-Hill is recognized worldwide as a powerhouse in educational publishing, and the McGraw-Hill brand on our test prep books is a guarantee of top-notch pedagogy and instructional design. Our TOEFL guide and other upcoming books that we're publishing in partnership with ETS have the appeal of coming straight from the test-makers."
TREND TO WATCH FOR: "The trend toward providing Web site support for test prep books can only accelerate."
PETERSONS, Lawrenceville, N.J.

BMOC: Del Franz, editor-in-chief
MAJORING IN: Directories; admissions and financial aid guides; test prep
ANNUAL OUTPUT: 64—27 test prep guides, 37 directories of schools and programs
HOTTEST TITLE: "Peterson's Vocab Rock: Musical Prep for the SAT and ACT is a book/ CD combination that taps into students' love of music with 12 songs by independent artists from the New York City club scene."
WHY WE'RE SWEET:"Peterson's, along with its ARCO imprint, is differentiated from other publishers by the breadth and depth of its test prep and admissions offerings—the former cover everything from the PSAT to the American Foreign Service Officer Exam. Admissions titles include not only publications for college admission, but directories to help students select a culinary school, a study abroad program or a management training course."
TREND TO WATCH FOR:"The increasing enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) classes and subsequent growing demand for AP test prep products is no secret in the academic publishing world."
PRINCETON REVIEW LIVING LANGUAGE, New York, N.Y.

BMOC: Publisher Tom Russell
MAJORING IN: Test prep guides, college guides and college-related books, grad school guides, study aid books, career-related books and general reference
ANNUAL OUTPUT: 39 test-prep guides; nine college-related guides; four graduate school guides; two career-related books
HOTTEST TITLE: "Our top sellers are our SAT and GRE guides and Best 361 Colleges."
WHY WE'RE SWEET: "Our 'Best Colleges' profiles and ranking lists are based on the largest (115,000 students) and longest (15 years) survey of students about their schools. Our SAT book—the only test prep guide to be a New York Times bestseller—and our LSAT/GMAT/GRE guides were the first with software, CDs, online components, and now DVDs."
TREND TO WATCH FOR: "The college application process has been 'super-sized.' Students are applying to more schools (12 to 15 on average, compared to six to nine five years ago), working more with college admission consultants (22% of freshmen entering private colleges this fall used them) and taking more AP exams."
SOURCEBOOKS, Naperville, Ill.

BMOC: Peter Lynch, senior editor
MAJORING IN: Study guides; college admission guides; test prep books; college life/survival guides
ANNUAL OUTPUT: One study guide; 10 college admission guides; two test prep books; five college life/survival guides.
HOTTEST TITLE: "The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College is our hottest title. While it sells well year-round, it sees major spikes during graduation and back-to-school, as people seek gifts for the high school grad."
WHY WE'RE SWEET:"We pay close attention to students and their needs. Students today are alert and savvy; if the author isn't sincere and knowledgeable, the students will move on to the next option."
TREND TO WATCH FOR:"College survival is the fastest-growing topic on the shelf right now. More and more students go to college each year, most of them unprepared for the adjustments you have to make to succeed on your own."
WILEY/CLIFFSNOTES, Hoboken, N.J.

BMOC:Greg Tubach, senior acquisition editor
MAJORING IN: Study guides and test prep books
ANNUAL OUTPUT: 20 titles—half test prep and half study guides
HOTTEST TITLE: "Teacher certification remains a hot trend, given the ramifications associated with NCLB (No Child Left Behind). We've been focusing much of our energy on meeting the demand of this market with teacher certification product releases such as CliffsTestPrep Praxis II: English."
WHY WE'RE SWEET: "One aspect that sets CliffsNotes' publishing program apart is our use of authors who are educators experienced in teaching the subjects about which they're writing. Also, we focus on teacher certification test prep products more than other traditional test prep publishers do."
TREND TO WATCH FOR: "President Bush's recent acknowledgment and promotion of the Advanced Placement program should keep the spotlight on that already popular program."