<p>Hi guys</p>
<p>has anyone read that book here?</p>
<p>do you guys think it's good?</p>
<p>i read it, i feel that it puts too much emphasis on gpa/sat, and not enough on EC, when compared to the standards today.</p>
<p>it was published in 1997, and basically it said, if ur academic is extremely good, you can get in ivies with no EC</p>
<p>what do you guys think about this book? admission bible or outdated?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>can anyone recommend any other, maybe newer college app books ?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>you seemed to have read a different A for Admissions than I did ... applicants are graded on many dimensions including ECs. </p>
<p>Personally I think "A for Admissions" and "The Gatekeepers" and "40 Schools That Change Lives" are 3 great books to start with.</p>
<p>really? the one i read is written by an adcom from dartmouth</p>
<p>it says if ur AI>=8, then u can get in with little /no EC</p>
<p>Perhaps there are different editions. I didn't notice any special emphasis on SAT/GPA when I read my copy. I gave it away to a friend, though, so I can't go back and look.</p>
<p>Maybe we're just interpreting it differently...?</p>
<p>
[quote]
really? the one i read is written by an adcom from dartmouth</p>
<p>it says if ur AI>=8, then u can get in with little /no EC
[/quote]
You just summarized a major portion of the book into 2 sentences ... and, in my opinion, your summary is slanted in favor of your theory. </p>
<p>For those reading this I do suggest reading the book ... I found it VERY interesting. Most schools have some form of an Academic Index (AI ... AI>=8) ... and it is true if your AI high enough it can compensate for other weaknesses on an application ... and by "high" I mean very high within the pool of candidates at top schools like Stanford or Harvard. Similar grades are given along a couple of other dimensions also ... and for all but a few students all 3 grades must be high enough to be a serious candidate.</p>
<p>The book is slightly dated but does get into the nuts and bolts of how schools summarize info on students into a common language so they can discuss various candidates with a common language ... and they do end up with something like a AI=8 (and not talking about the 2400 SAT and 4.82 GPA).</p>
<p>Horrible book - the overall quality of the writing overshadows anything the book has to offer.</p>
<p>From just reading your description of the book, it seems that the book is trash.</p>
<p>Quote (pg. 129): "You always want to take the hardest courses available to you, since that shows a love of learning and the desire to face challenges"</p>
<p>There are so many things wrong with this statement, that when I read it, I had to put the book down, find a pen, and underline it; I couldn't find a statement that more succinctly described how flawed her views on education and knowledge are - it also made me very, very afraid of what exactly an Ivy League English degree can produce.</p>
<p>Astoundingly bad.</p>
<p>Don't waste money on these books. For that matter, don't waste your time.</p>
<p>keenan, can you share the specifics why you think that statement is wrong.</p>
<p>I think checking it out of the library is a good idea, you read these books to get a general idea.
I found inconsistencies with other book too, like the Cohen book, she said SAT II has score choice but I called and the collegeboard said no they don't do that, they send all the scores.</p>
<p>I'm a skeptic about the value of these advice books generally, but I thought this one was actually very useful. It gives a realistic view of what goes on inside an admissions office at an elite school, and this is not information that is widely known. It dispels the myth that you can't get in to such schools without having done every leadership position at your school plus hundreds of hours of community service. For top academic performance, those things apparently are not as crucial. At the same time, the book gives helpful information about how students with slightly lower numbers can bolster an application by writing great essays and presenting their activities in a favorable way. </p>
<p>Obviously, a book that's nearly 10 years old is not guaranteed to present a totally accurate picture of today's reality - for example, it would be nice to know how many schools actually use the Academic Index in the way Dartmouth did at the time this book was published. Does even Dartmouth still use it? I don't know. This author has also written "Acing the College Application," which is pretty practical, but less interesting because it doesn't cover the AI.</p>
<p>Can someone indicate how to calculate this AI?</p>
<p>POIH, it basically SAT I+ 2 SAT II+ CRS which is calculated based on rank and that is the short explanation, but the book goes into details on how to calculate CRS if the HS has no rank, etc..</p>
<p>Thanks TooRichForAid, but I found this which goes much deeper in calculating the AI</p>
<p>Here's an Academic Index calculator: <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index3.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index3.htm</a></p>
<p>toorich,</p>
<p>Her statement reflects an inconsistency with her stated ideals of love of learning - ie, the difficulty of courses taken has no direct correlation to any actual quotient of "love of learning."</p>
<p>For example, my senior year of high school, I took a year-long AP English course in addition to four other semester-long courses. Collectively, they weren't the most challenging courses, but I did so simply because I love the subject; I could have taken 2 other APs, but I decided not to - but does that say I'm not willing to "face challenges" or that I lack a "love of learning?"</p>
<p>Taking six semesters of English was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever done, but it was also one of the most rewarding.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Her statement reflects an inconsistency with her stated ideals of love of learning - ie, the difficulty of courses taken has no direct correlation to any actual quotient of "love of learning."
[/quote]
She worked in admissions at Dartmouth ... for kids who in the hunt for Dartmouth I would think there is a very high correlation between their love of learning and their seeking out the toughest courses at their school ... not because they are trying to game the system and make their transript look good ... but because at their level the courses most likely to be challenging and the most interesting would picked from among the toughest at the school. Does that mean kids applying should not take a cooking class; absolutely not ... but if an applicant is interested in science I would expect them to chase down the most challengong science courses they can handle.</p>
<p>What do you guys think about Admissions Confidential, or the Gatekeepers?</p>
<p>^^That is my next book.</p>
<p>Keenan,
Ok, what I took out of reading that book, not literally, is that somehow a student needs to come across in the application that the student loves to learn. Taking difficult courseload is also a must.
I don't necessary connect taking the most APs with the love of learning.</p>