<p>BearsandDogs are you an Islander?</p>
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Yes, it may be that some of the qualities I mentioned are evenly distributed among all racial and ethnic groups. I really don’t know. But even if that is true, I don’t think they tend to be expressed identically by urban African Americans kids, New York Jewish intellectual kids, or west coast Asian computer geeks. There are important cultural differences among people that are perhaps more interesting than how one’s ethnicity or race might shape a person’s attitudes on specific issues such as discrimination.</p>
<p>What I’m arguing for is a serious, determined effort to consider personal qualities that enrich the college experience. Are the admissions committees making that effort? Does The Gatekeepers seem to describe such a process in the URM case(s)? I’m not asking rhetorical questions.</p>
<p>Yes I am. Manhattan is an island I think.
Oh, I gotten it wrong. Bed-Stuy? not stuy high school? Then about Midwood? there was movie made about the school, too I don’t know the title.</p>
<p>And yes, I came from farway Islands nation.</p>
<p>While I thought the first book by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross (What Colleges Won’t Tell You…) was wound way too tight, and would make you crazier than CC already does, I really liked her second book “What High Schools Don’t Tell You…” This second book, while retaining it’s focus on over-the-moon acheivement also pointed out that there are many, many paths to excellence. In the back she has suggestion of camps and activities supporting dozens of interests. </p>
<p>By the end of the book, I wasn’t thinking, “How can you top all this crazy competition?”, I was thinking, “What interesting experiences can I help to create to support my kids’ unique interests?” A lot healthier, but still not relaxed.</p>
<p>I’m thinking a book titled, “Meditate your way into College!” might sell a million copies.</p>
<p>No, not live in Staten Island anymore. Still visit often though, it keep you level headed.</p>
<p>I was interested to see from The Gatekeepers how adcoms view your accomplishments in the context of your school and your home life. A lot was expected from the upper middle class girl from Palo Alto High.</p>
<p>tk21769 - You are right. There are important differences in subculture, and college is the appropriate place to mix them up. And I’m sorry that I was saracastic. It’s just that I feel we need to be careful not to denigrate the majority, or the high-acheiving minority, just to make the point that inclusion of smaller or less dominant subcultures are important.</p>
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<p>living in a small town -> genuine wholesomeness</p>
<p>Is this a groundless stereotype?
It may be a stereotype, but I doubt it is completely groundless. Life in a large city must have some effect on personality, for better or worse. Is the admission process well served, or not, by considering geographic, racial, ethnic origin etc? Not for any political purpose, but solely to broaden the range of personal qualities that contribute to an interesting student body. Would we be better served to just take the top N scores on some ideal standardized admission test?</p>
<p>I have to stand up for the Weissner “232 tips” book- as a newbie to the whole process I found it contained a huge amount of practical advice. ‘Stay positive in essays and interviews’, might be common sense once you think about it, but it was news to my daughter. And the gatekeepers was so depressing I couldn’t finish it without a break. Who knew the adcom’s were so self important that a rec from the dean of the college carried no weight? It did make me feel better about the little sense that goes into admission policy- above a certain level of gpa etc, it is totally arbitrary.</p>
<p>Yeah, like, you can tell how you did it by interviewer’s parting words, do not put stupid e-mail adress you made up when you are in grade school and still using, good sounding but weak rec. adjectives, those listings are entertaining. ( could be totally true.Who would think that “polite” “marches to his own drummer” “placid” are bad, then “concerned” “one-of-a-kind”“logical” are good?)</p>
<p>Previously recommended, but always bears repeating - </p>
<p>If you’d like a lighter look at college admissions, read “Accept My Kid, Please!” by Hank Herman. Scary how close to reality it is.</p>
<p>I make daily pilgrimage to college guide section of various B&N stores around the city.
Last week there were none, now, every store has new paperbacks versions of Wissner-Grosss gross secrets books, both HS and college.
I know it is just a coincidence cause no one is waiting on our library web site but how about it in your neighborhood?
Does CC have power to sell books or what?</p>
<p>Coincidentally, I just finished reading that book (from the library) yesterday… It was interesting, especially compared to the Hernandez that I’m reading at the moment. Wissner-Gross is unashamed of “packaging,” and it’s certainly worked for her.</p>
<p>I read Hernandez a few years ago, and thought it was self-important, outdated and boring.
Gatekeepers is more fun to read, and it offers some genuine inside look into the process, helping to make sense of outcomes that seem to make no sense.
The one book that the applicants should read is Bould’s book on writing college essays - informative, fun, and helpful advice.</p>
<p>My sister recently read Admission - A novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz</p>
<p>It’s fiction, but she highly recommended it. Anyone read it?</p>
<p>I read “The Overachievers” a few years ago. Yikes! All I can say is “poor AP Frank.”</p>
<p>Finished “The Price of Admission” a few weeks ago. Found it informative although most of it wasn’t news to me.</p>
<p>Just finished “Investing in College” by Malcolm Getz. Thought that distilled a lot of the discussion points found here on CC to more concrete facts. </p>
<p>Also enjoyed “Colleges that Change Lives” & “Looking Beyond the Ivy League” by Loren Pope.</p>
<p>Has anyone read “Hopeless to Harvard”? It is an ebook, I guess that means you have to print the whole thing, though it says it is only 47 pages. The point seems to be on finding a ‘spike’ - or in other words a passion. I wonder if it is worth reading.</p>
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<p>I read the book and thought it was OK. It was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen.</p>
<p>I thought Admission was an enjoyable book for someone steeped in the admissions process, like many of us on this board. There are two parallel stories - one about the admissions officer’s personal life, the other about the admissions cycle. The author was an outside reader at Princeton (what that really means, I’m not sure) so it was interesting to think her descriptions of committee discussions might be accurate. It’s on the light side of admissions reading.</p>