Was just wondering which books you guys would recommend reading up on, or any other method that would help the creating an application process. Im a little uninformed about the whole process, what looks good to admissions, how to present the best application and essay, etc. and really need to increase my whole knowledge of the situation rather quickly as I am a rising senior. Well, any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance! 
<p>Rock Hard Apps by Katherine Cohen and Acing the College Application by Michelle Hernandez were both good</p>
<p>Hernandez for clarity and Harvard Schmarvard for common sense from a Harvard Grad who is smart enough to see that fifty or (many) more colleges are "top schools"</p>
<p>I want to bump this up.</p>
<p>bump it ........</p>
<p>uh no one?</p>
<p>You don't really have time to read everything and doing so would probably be more than you wanted to know anyway. For this reason, I would recommend "Acing the College Application" by Michelle Hernandez because it is concise and relates everything directly to the application. (shiningstar and faline already recommended it.) Anyone who is applying to an extremely selective college should definitely read "Harvard Schmarvard" by Jay Mathews. (faline already recommended it) -- see "Harvard Schmarvard" below --</p>
<p>There are a lot of guides that have 40-50 pages on how to do campus visits and then follows that with 40-50 pages on how to do interviews. That seems excessive.</p>
<p>There are four "behind the scenes" books on adcoms. </p>
<p>"The Gatekeepers" by Steinberg. Steinberg is a Wash Post reporter who was allowed to observe the adcom at Wellesley. It shows the inner workings of adcoms, but it bothered me in the way that it was like a Wash Post human interest story. Steinberg focuses on about 6-8 applicants and follows them thru the process to some extent. These applicants are special in some way, and it seemed to imply that the adcom was devoting that much time to each applicant, which would be impossible.</p>
<p>Another book is "Harvard Schmarvard" by Mathews who is a Harvard grad and a Wash Post reporter. He examines the brand consciousness that is driving the process where everyone is trying to get into a very small number of schools. He is critical of the process, but respectful of adcoms. This is a good book to read in order to understand the lottery aspects of applying to the extremely selective colleges, and the actual value of being accepted.</p>
<p>"A is for Admissions" is also by Hernandez who was a Dartmouth adcom member in the early 1990's. The book doesn't directly discuss how adcoms work, but it gives advice. In my opinion, the book has two flaws. First, the advice is outdated in many cases. I don't know why there is a whole section on the AI (Academic Index) which is used by the Ivies to determine whether or not they are allowed to accept athletes who may not be as academically prepared as the average applicant. Second, Hernandez has certain opinions. There is a lot in chapter one about how high schoolers applying to the Ivies have to understand that many adcom members are not Ivy graduates, and so they have to understand that they are being judged by people who are not as smart as they are. (Mathews makes reference to this in his book.) Also, Hernandez seems to believe that getting into an Ivy is the highest goal possible and that all deserving applicants are accepted. (If the system didn't work, then it would devalue the importance of her Ivy degree?)</p>
<p>The last book is "Applications Confidential" by Toors. The author was an adcom member at Duke, and hers is the most candid of all the books. This book will be most appreciated by a cynic. She discusses how adcom members are taught never to discourage anyone from applying under any circumstances. She talks about how she encouraged people to apply at presentations knowing that they could never get in. Her book gives you the best feel for how the applicants are reviewed and decisions are made right down to what it is like to sit in the adcom committee discussing the applicants. One oddity of the book is that she includes personal things about her life such as having a pet pig. At some level, it works. For example, she got the job as an adcom after giving an interview "presentation" on the subject of Peeps (the Easter sponge-like candy). That helps me to understand the process a little better, somehow. (Toors was a Yale graduate.)</p>
<p>Katherine Cohen's books gave me the willies..just like these Boards give a lot of kids and parents the willies. Solution..buy these books used on Ebay and feel less guilty about just skimming them. HOWEVER, my S looked hard at her Activity Sheet advice and examples which are well-crafted and show great improvement in Before and After segments, and I believe this is an area where we could all use advice so the student does not come across as an extreme conventional bore with minimal listings that don't "sing," or as an extremely grandiose young man or woman who lists every club in the school as an activity and claims to be saving humanity while playing three sports and debating daily, straining credulity.
A solid Activity sheet is a great asset..and I think every rising senior should be working on one over the summer...just the right "explanatory statement" to illuminate the student's chief extracurriculars without putting the adcoms to sleep. Adcoms are human and can only take in so much info about a person and retain it.<br>
Activity sheets are attached to the Common Application and all others and can be used on interviews if you keep it simple and elegant. Worth the work and when school starts, go to your favorite mentor and get their honest reaction and edit it more.<br>
It is good to hunt for jewels of advice in each book and reject what doesn't sit well with you. I also liked Harry Bauld's essay book the absolute best in terms of telling the student what the essay needs to accomplish in 500 words.<br>
I agree with Dufus that the Hernandez book is the most on point and clear for a basic aide.</p>
<p>ON WRITING THE COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY</p>
<p>by harry bauld</p>
<p>^^^^^^^</p>