If you’re currently a college student, or plan on being one, you need to check out this book. Written by award-winning professors Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman, it’s loaded with insider information that only professors know--but few are willing to reveal. The over 600 tips in this book will show you: How to pick good courses and avoid bad professors How to develop “college-level” skills and habits that’ll put you ahead of the pack How to get through the freshman comp, math, language, and lab science requirements--in one try How to figure out what’s going to be on the tests, and what professors are looking for in papers and presentations How to pick a major you’ll really like--and be good at How to get the edge for graduate school--or the inside track to a really good job And much more. The tips are quick and easy-to-use, and the advice is friendly and supportive. It’s as if you had your own personal professor guiding you on the path to college success.

A top college admissions insider exposes the never-before revealed secrets to getting into one of America’s elite colleges. Your child is smart. Your child is on the honor roll. Your child aced the SAT. But is it enough to get into a top-tier college? In the Dirty Little Secrets of Getting into a Top College, educational consultant Pria Chatterjee simplifies the complicated process of college admissions, providing parents and students with the tools needed to secure a spot at one of America’s most competitive colleges. In the spirit of Kitchen Confidential, Chatterjee gives readers an exclusive look inside the college admissions office—and the mind of a college admissions officer—and exposes just what elite schools look for in a potential student. Through a series of real-world case studies and with a store of deep insider knowledge, Chatterjee will help you navigate the thicket of college admissions and show parents and students what skills and attributes to stress (and what to downplay) when applying to your dream school. • 100% SUCCESS RATE: This is the bullet proof guide to getting into a top college from a consultant with a 100 percent success rate getting her clients into one of America’s best universities. • INSIDER KNOWLEDGE: Last year 35,000 students applied to Harvard. Only 6 percent were accepted. Chatterjee, a Harvard alum who interviews potential Harvard students as a member of the university’s schools committee, explains that you too can be a member of that elite group. But you must stress the right qualifications.

Two award-winning professors, a former admissions officer at a major university (now a counselor at a prestigious high school), and a gifted high school senior (now in the throes of the college admissions process himself) team up to offer you over 600 tips, techniques, and strategies to help you get in to the college of your choice. Comprehensive, yet easy-to-read, this book will teach you: How to size up the colleges you're considering—and come up with a coherent list. What are college nights, college fairs, and college rep visits—and how you can use each to your advantage. What are "holistic", "contextualized", and "legacy" admissions—and how each can work for you. How some schools count "demonstrated interest"—and how you can take advantage of this little-known fact. What are Early Decision, Early Action, and Single-Choice Early Action—and whether any is right for you. How to figure out the true costs of college, and what is the difference between "need-" and "merit-based" aid. What it means when colleges say they meet "100% of demonstrated financial aid" and what "loan-free" means. When and how to make campus visits—and what to do on each. How to prepare for each section of the ACT or SAT—and how to increase your scores. What admissions officers are looking for in your application—and how to give it to them. How to write the all-important Common App essay—and present your extra-curricular activities. How to prepare for an alumni interview—and present yourself in the best light. Whom to ask for letters-of-recommendation—and how to help them write the best possible letter. How to compare your final offers—and, in some cases, substantially improve them. When it's good to wait out the "wait list"—and when not. -and much, much more. When you understand the college admissions process, you can maximize your chance of success. Why not put yourself ahead of the pack?

Drawing on decades of research, Karabel shines a light on the ever-changing definition of "merit" in college admissions, showing how it shaped--and was shaped by--the country at large.

Provides advice on gaining college admission, covering the people involved in the process, applications, unusual activities, matching the values of a college, getting references, and other related topics.

A sought-after packager of high school students shares 272 secrets to help parents get their kids into the top schools Targeting the savvy parents of today's college-bound teenagers who seek to gain a proven edge in the college admissions process, this book reveals 272 little-known secrets to help parents get their kids into the school of their dreams. Did you know? -A child's guidance counselor can help reverse a deferral. -A parent can help get a child off a waiting list. -There is a way for students to back out of Early Decision once they've been accepted. Based on the controversial insider information Elizabeth Wissner-Gross has gleaned from working as a highly successful packager of high school students and from interviews with heads of admission at the nation's top colleges, this book empowers parents by decoding the admissions process.

"Includes exclusive online content"--Cover.

Cut through the noise and make better college and career choices This book is about addressing the college-choosing problem. The rankings, metrics, analytics, college visits, and advice that we use today to help us make these decisions are out of step with the progress individual students are trying to make. They don't give students and families the information and context they need to make such a high-stakes decision about whether and where to get an education. Choosing College strips away the noise to help you understand why you’re going to school. What's driving you? What are you trying to accomplish? Once you know why, the book will help you make better choices. The research in this book illustrates that choosing a school is complicated. By constructing more than 200 mini-documentaries of how students chose different postsecondary educational experiences, the authors explore the motivations for how and why people make the decisions that they do at a much deeper, causal level. By the end, you’ll know why you’re going and what you’re really chasing. The book: Identifies the five different Jobs for which students hire postsecondary education Allows you to see your true options for what’s next Offers guidance for how to successfully choose your pathway Illuminates how colleges and entrepreneurs can build better experiences for each Job The authors help readers understand not what job students want out of college, but what "Job" students are hiring college to do for them.

In the fall of 1999, New York Times education reporter Jacques Steinberg was given an unprecedented opportunity to observe the admissions process at prestigious Wesleyan University. Over the course of nearly a year, Steinberg accompanied admissions officer Ralph Figueroa on a tour to assess and recruit the most promising students in the country. The Gatekeepers follows a diverse group of prospective students as they compete for places in the nation's most elite colleges. The first book to reveal the college admission process in such behind-the-scenes detail, The Gatekeepers will be required reading for every parent of a high school-age child and for every student facing the arduous and anxious task of applying to college. "[The Gatekeepers] provides the deep insight that is missing from the myriad how-to books on admissions that try to identify the formula for getting into the best colleges...I really didn't want the book to end." —The New York Times