Those "rock your application" books...

<p>So I stopped by B&N to look for college guide books and was astounded at the number of books that have been published to help you with the specifics of your application (not just the essay part). I am interested in buying maybe ONE of these books, but I don't want to waste my money on one that tells me that I should be honest and not spell things incorrectly on the app forms (well...obviously!). Does anybody have any advice as to which books were helpful?</p>

<p>college admissions for dummies</p>

<p>Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez.</p>

<p>She was a Dartmouth admssions officer. I don't know that I'd spend $14 on it; my local library had a few copies.</p>

<p>Before buying any books check your local library first or your school library. If your local library is on line you can place holds on the book and have it delivered to a library near you. I know I was extremely surprised at the number of college help books available through the library.</p>

<p>Michele Hernandez has a website and an e-newsletter you can sign up for:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Take a look at these helpful newsletters from another private counselor:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeology.com/newsletter.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeology.com/newsletter.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Be certain to attend the college fair - most have seminars about writing essays, financial aid, etc. This website also has a newsletter (second link below) with helpful articles.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/Events/CollegeFairs/NCF/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/Events/CollegeFairs/NCF/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/News/StepsNewsletter/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/News/StepsNewsletter/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also, go to amazon.com and look at the reviews for college books - just type in something like college applications or college essays in the search engine. Many of the reviewers comment on the books and also give names of books they found helpful in their college search. Or just type in the name of the book you are interested to see what reviewers say about it. </p>

<p>You might also find the following helpful - there are articles about writing essays, etc. Many of the articles are a year old, but then so is the data in any book you'll buy right now.</p>

<p><a href="http://collegehunt.blogspot.com/2005/09/colleges-for-hispanic-students_02.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://collegehunt.blogspot.com/2005/09/colleges-for-hispanic-students_02.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And sign up for <a href="http://www.fastweb.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.fastweb.com&lt;/a> if you haven't already. There are also good articles on this site.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>The Harold Bauld (I 'm almost positive I'm spelling his name wrong) on writing the application essay.</p>

<p>Edit: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Writing-College-Application-Essay-Acceptance/dp/0064637220/sr=8-1/qid=1157425023/ref=sr_1_1/104-9658547-4899123?ie=UTF8&s=books%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Writing-College-Application-Essay-Acceptance/dp/0064637220/sr=8-1/qid=1157425023/ref=sr_1_1/104-9658547-4899123?ie=UTF8&s=books&lt;/a> <here it is. Definitely the creme de la creme of college application books. He literally knows how to get you into a good college with your essay</p>

<p>I liked PR's book full of effective essays and where the students who wrote them got in.</p>