<p>I’m of the opinion that you do the things in high school that help you become the person you want to be then and THEN apply to college. We didn’t advocate her doing any ECs solely for the purpose of the college application. In that spirit, I’ve listed the following in order of how useful they were to us.</p>
<p>A Is for Admission: The Insider’s Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges by Michele A. Hern</p>
<p>Pay attention to the dates when the SAT Subject tests are offered. Not all are offered every time the SAT is offered (some, like World History, are infrequent). </p>
<p>And… no one else has mentioned it:</p>
<p>What Colleges Don’t Tell You (And Other Parents Don’t Want You to Know): 272 Secrets for Getting Your Kid Into the Top Schools. By Elizabeth Wisner-Gross.</p>
<p>I found it a somewhat appalling, but fascinating read. I think we only found (or would consider!) a couple of the items useful. I wouldn’t give it to my junior, but I read it.</p>
<p>Majority of schools will give you the option of sending either SAT or ACT scores. SAT is popular in my area. Without College Confidential, I would not have ever considered the ACT. After lots of lurking here, it is clear that some kids can score tremendously different on each type of test. Well worth the time & $ to me to have a kid make at least 1 run at each type of test.</p>
<p>SAT II = SAT subject tests. Most schools don’t require them; many schools that do require request 2; a handful of schools request 3. Since many schools don’t require, it seems like most juniors don’t take and then suddenly fall in love senior year with a school that requires the testing.</p>
<p>I will second the recommendations for Gatekeepers and Colleges that Change Lives. These really helped us out. We used the online version of US News Best Colleges so it was easy to search for attributes (location, size, etc.). Any of the big college books aref nice for an overview (we used the 375 or whatever best schools).</p>
<p>Also, don’t get freaked out reading College Confidential. While there is plenty of good advice to be found, many here are rabid to get into the Ivies. The test scores and GPA are skewed to the tippy top of the curve.</p>
<p>mrscollege - thanks for the book plug. CC will have a review within the next week.</p>
<p>I liked Gatekeepers just for reading, BUT I don’t think it had much to take away to help applications. I sorta liked Harvard Schmarvard too. My son ended up at a school mentioned as one to take a look at.</p>
<p>I agree with rhumbob’s suggestion to not get freaked out reading CC.</p>
<p>You can go beyond books. Does your son admire someone who is living the life he wants? Meet with that person, find out where he/she went to school, and what they know about other similar schools. I also found it useful to note where the instructors for the various schools we researched when to school.</p>