NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A fire-breathing, righteous attack on the culture of superprivilege.”—Michael Wolff, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Fire and Fury, in the New York Times Book Review NOW WITH NEW REPORTING ON OPERATION VARSITY BLUES In this explosive and prescient book, based on three years of investigative report­ing, Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Golden shatters the myth of an American meri­tocracy. Naming names, along with grades and test scores, Golden lays bare a corrupt system in which middle-class and working-class whites and Asian Ameri­cans are routinely passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials—children of alumni, big donors, and celebrities. He reveals how a family donation got Jared Kushner into Harvard, and how colleges comply with Title IX by giving scholarships to rich women in “patrician sports” like horseback riding and crew. With a riveting new chapter on Operation Varsity Blues, based on original re­porting, The Price of Admission is a must-read—not only for parents and students with a personal stake in college admissions but also for those disturbed by the growing divide between ordinary and privileged Americans. Praise for The Price of Admission “A disturbing exposé of the influence that wealth and power still exert on admission to the nation’s most prestigious universities.”—The Washington Post “Deserves to become a classic.”—The Economist

On the surface Liz Petrone looks as if she has it all: a family, a budding writing career, a successful marriage. But, like so many women, she is desperately lonely. She's also dealing with the life and death of her alcoholic mother and the ghosts of her own suicidal past.

The Price of Admission takes us on a journey with Liz from loss into renewed life. Raw, unflinchingly honest, and surprisingly funny, Liz writes from a universally understood place of struggle, whether that is the deep darkness of grief or the hazy, yet joyful, dimness of demanding everyday lives spent caring for ourselves and our families. Through a combination of personal narrative and common truths, Liz provides a timeless reminder to world-weary readers that, just as birth follows death, light does indeed follow darkness; and that, often, it is because of our pain--and not despite it--that we grow, survive, and--yes--thrive.

From the New York Times bestselling author of You Should Have Known (adapted as The Undoing on HBO), comes a page-turner about a college admissions officer with a secret—now a major motion picture starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. For years, 38-year-old Portia Nathan has avoided the past, hiding behind her busy (and sometimes punishing) career as a Princeton University admissions officer and her dependable domestic life. Her reluctance to confront the truth is suddenly overwhelmed by the resurfacing of a life-altering decision, and Portia is faced with an extraordinary test. Just as thousands of the nation's brightest students await her decision regarding their academic admission, so too must Portia decide whether to make her own ultimate admission. Admission is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the complex college admissions process and an emotional examination of what happens when the secrets of the past shake a woman's life to its core.

Money Talks. Secrets Walk. Jasmine Green is the daughter of a major Hollywood studio head. She lives the kind of life that makes people salivate (while hating her): bottomless bank account, vintage car, mansion, and birthday parties that end up splashed across the pages of People magazine. But even fabulously wealthy girls (and their family and friends) have skeletons in their walk-in closets. Just to clear her head, Jasmine anonymously writes a thinly veiled exposè about her life in the form of a screenplay. But when the script is bought by her own father's studio, suddenly this juicy read is the talk of the town, and on the fast track to being green-lit. Jasmine knows she has to do whatever it takes to stop her family's dirty laundry from becoming the next box-office smash. But she's up against one persistent tabloid reporter who's making it very, very difficult to keep her secrets....

From award-winning higher education journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Selingo comes a revealing look from inside the admissions office—one that identifies surprising strategies that will aid in the college search. Getting into a top-ranked college has never seemed more impossible, with acceptance rates at some elite universities dipping into the single digits. In Who Gets In and Why, journalist and higher education expert Jeffrey Selingo dispels entrenched notions of how to compete and win at the admissions game, and reveals that teenagers and parents have much to gain by broadening their notion of what qualifies as a “good college.” Hint: it’s not all about the sticker on the car window. Selingo, who was embedded in three different admissions offices—a selective private university, a leading liberal arts college, and a flagship public campus—closely observed gatekeepers as they made their often agonizing and sometimes life-changing decisions. He also followed select students and their parents, and he traveled around the country meeting with high school counselors, marketers, behind-the-scenes consultants, and college rankers. While many have long believed that admissions is merit-based, rewarding the best students, Who Gets In and Why presents a more complicated truth, showing that “who gets in” is frequently more about the college’s agenda than the applicant. In a world where thousands of equally qualified students vie for a fixed number of spots at elite institutions, admissions officers often make split-second decisions based on a variety of factors—like diversity, money, and, ultimately, whether a student will enroll if accepted. One of the most insightful books ever about “getting in” and what higher education has become, Who Gets In and Why not only provides an unusually intimate look at how admissions decisions get made, but guides prospective students on how to honestly assess their strengths and match with the schools that will best serve their interests.

Have you struggled to have the happy, emotionally nourishing relationships that you deserve? If you are a survivor of childhood trauma, neglect, or abuse, you've spent your life feeling as if happiness in love and friendship is for other people, not you. To have connections with others you've paid a price of admission to relationships, sacrificing your values, your safety, your sense of personal worth, and sometimes your financial security. You've felt unworthy of love. You believed, because of how you were treated when you were a child, that you had to pay these prices simply to have people be around you. You've been used and exploited by people who said they loved and cared about you. You've read every relationship self-help book on the market, but none of them seem to understand the ways in which your childhood trauma has affected your ability to be close to others.If this is your life, this book is for you. Drawing upon the author's four decades of working with survivors of childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect, this book teaches you to understand the emotional and neurobiological causes of your difficult relationship patterns. It describes effective strategies for learning how to trust yourself, how to assess other people more accurately, and how to take care of yourself emotionally so that you can have the healthy relationships that you deserve.

Lie. Cheat. Bribe. How far would you go to get into your dream school? How far would your parents go? Inspired by the recent college admissions scandal, this ripped-from-the-headlines YA novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things sees one teenage girl's privileged world shatter when her family's lies are exposed. It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer--she has it all--money, privilege, and a ticket to the college of her dreams. Or at least she did until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in smoke. Now her B list celebrity mother is under arrest in a massive college admissions bribery scandal, and Chloe might be the next one facing charges. The public is furious, the headlines are brutal, and the US attorney is out for blood. As everything she's taken for granted starts to slip away, Chloe must reckon not only with the truth of what happened, but also with the examination of her own guilt. How much did she really know-or guess? Why did her parents think the only way for her to succeed was to cheat? And what does it really mean to be complicit? Bestselling author Julie Buxbaum takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country in this timely tale of the hyper elite and the hyper competitive, and the lengths they go to stay at the top.

Make sense of college admissions and prepare a successful application Admission Matters offers comprehensive, expert, and practical advice for parents and students to guide them through the college admissions process. From building a college list, to understanding standardized tests, to obtaining financial aid, to crafting personal statements, to making a final decision, this book guides you every step of the way with clear, sensible advice and practical tips. This new fourth edition has been completely updated to reflect the latest changes in college admissions. including new developments in standardized testing, applications, financial aid and more. Questionnaires, interactive forms, checklists, and other tools help you stay focused and organized throughout the process.. With the answers you need and a down-to-earth perspective, this book provides an invaluable resource for stressed-out students and parents everywhere. Applying to college can be competitive and complex. Admission Matters offers real-world expert advice for all students, whether you're aiming an Ivy or the state school close to home. It also includes much needed guidance for students with special circumstances, including students with disabilities, international students, and transfer students. In addition, athletes, artists and performers, and homeschoolers will find valuable guidance as they plan for and apply to college. Understand how the admissions process works and what you can and cannot control Learn how to build a strong list of good-fit colleges Craft a strong application package with a compelling personal statement Get expert advice on early admissions, financial aid, standardized testing, and much more Make a final decision that is the right one for you Whether you think you've got applying to college under control or don't even know where to begin, Admission Matters is your expert guide throughout the college admissions process.

SATs, ACTs, GPAs. Everyone knows that these scores can’t tell a college everything that’s important about an applicant. But what else should admissions officers look for, and how can they know it when they see it? In College Admissions for the 21st Century a leading researcher on intelligence and creativity offers a bold and practical approach to college admissions testing. Standardized tests are measures of memory and analytical skills. But the ever-changing global society beyond a college campus needs more than just those qualities, argues Robert Sternberg. Tomorrow’s leaders and citizens also need creativity, practicality, and wisdom. How can the potential for those complex qualities be measured? One answer is “Kaleidoscope,” a new initiative in undergraduate admissions, first used at Tufts University. Its open-ended questions for applicants, and the means used to score the answers, gives applicants and admissions officers the chance to go beyond standardized tests. Does it work? As Sternberg describes in detail, Kaleidoscope measures predicted first-year academic success, over and above SATs and high school GPAs, and predicted first-year extracurricular activities, leadership, and active citizenship as well. And every year that Kaleidoscope measures were used, the entering class’s average SATs and high school GPAs went up too. What worked at Tufts can work elsewhere. New kinds of assessments, like Kaleidoscope, can liberate many colleges and students from the narrowness of standardized tests and inspire new approaches to teaching for new kinds of talented, motivated citizens of the world.

There are hundreds of books available that coach kids on writing college application essays, improving SAT scores and trying to beat the admissions system. Admissions Confidential is a definitive look at why those books don't work. Toor lifts the veil on a process that anxious parents and high school students have never had decoded before. And they may be shocked to find out: --that elite colleges spend thousands of dollars recruiting students they will never admit --why some students at the bottom of their high school classes are admitted to top schools when the valedictorians are rejected --how pricey independent college counselors can hurt an applicant's chances --why admission to a top school depends on who reads your application --why the top of the class at a high-performing high school may end up at their second and third choice Written in engaging first-person and covering the entire admissions process--from recruiting to enrollment--Admissions Confidential is a year in the life of a college admissions officer.