College Admission 101

April 1, 2018
The intimidating process of applying to college is broken down into manageable chunks for students and parents in this relatively compact volume.The editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, which provides services to college applicants, tries to demystify topics from choosing your best fit college--in terms of academics and affordability--to navigating the bewildering worlds of standardized testing (whether, when, and which) and financial aid. The guide covers frequently asked questions about the best classes to take in high school, the importance of extracurriculars, how to navigate online applications, and more. Institutions named in the examples are overwhelmingly elite private schools and prestigious state universities, an unfortunately narrow focus. No mention is made of the increasingly popular option among upper-middle-class families of looking overseas for affordable alternatives. Despite glancing references to saving money by attending a local community college before transferring to a four-year institution, the overall assumption is that families will be able to afford to invest a lot of time and money in this process. Fortunately, guides like Loren Pope and Hilary Masell Oswald's Colleges That Change Lives (Penguin, 2012), which focuses on liberal arts colleges, and Strive for Colleges' I'm First! Guide to College (Strive for College Collaborative, 2018), for first-generation college students, help fill in some of these gaps.A thorough yet concise guide to college admissions that covers a lot of familiar territory. (Nonfiction. 14-adult)

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