Rating: 
Summary: Satisfied customer
Review: The book offers a much-needed dose of reality for anyone approaching the competitive world of college admissions. While the author relies on her experience on Dartmouth's staff, general concepts can be gleaned and applied to other competitive schools. The book is particularly helpful to those unfamiliar with the subject and gives an idea of what to expect from the mysterious and uncertain selection process. Hernandez' book is specifically designed for ivy-caliber schools and does not purport to help unqualified students gain admission to highly selective colleges. It is more of a common-sense manual that helps candidates within range improve their chances by maximizing their attributes and submitting flattering and reasonably polished applications. Helpful suggestions are offered, such as pitfalls to avoid in personal essays and strategies for tackling wait list purgatory. Complicated statistical tables and analyses are provided; interpreting the data may require some degree of sophistication. "A is for Admission" is written in a chatty, informal style that is highly entertaining. The humor should help relax even the most anxious of readers.
Rating:
Summary: AN ADVICE BOOK THAT REALLY WORKS
Review: This book allowed my daughter to assess her chances and create an application that put her assets in the most positive light. It also gives one the real low down on the impact of legacies, athletics, minority status, VIP status, and the like. It will show you who must or should use Early Decision and exactly what sort of school it should be used at. It explains who goes to highly selective colleges, who works in their admissions offices and how the application is judged. As a national merit finalist at one of the most competitive private day schools in the country (in New York), she just completed the college admission (and rejection and waitlist) process. Read this book and you will understand why the credentials just listed do not guarantee admission to the top schools. She was admitted to one liberal arts college that is always in the USNEWS top 3 and was one of her top choices, and at another that is always in the top 5 or six. She was waitlisted at two of the college's that have among their initial HYPS. She was accepted at all her "safeties" and "ball parks." She was rejected and waitlisted at some colleges that are not in the same "tier" as where she was accepted. Yes, she applied to a lot of colleges. But these colleges get a lot of applictions. You can tell from this book what your chances are in the Ivy League and at other highly selective schools. Take actions to improve your chances (however modestly), and assess your prospects. If you are trying for a top tier school, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Demystifying, informative look at the application process
Review: College applications are a mystifying process. With directions often never exceeding a sentence or two, students are often left with the question "Well, what exactly DO they want from me?" Well, this book tells you. Mrs. Hernandez's brutally honest look into the application process lays everything out crystal clear for the reader to see. As they say, knowing is half the battle, and knowing how top colleges look at your application let you tailor your application so that the best qualities of you are shown. It also offers plenty of good advice on what to do if you're a NKB (Nice kid, but...) and aren't one of those people with a 1600 and have published their own bestselling novel. The only warning I would have is that college admissions has gotten exponentially harder over the past 5 years since this book was published, and what is said in the book about Academic 7, 8 and 9's (i.e. the most academically qualified)isn't as true as it was five years ago. Current academic 7 8 9's would do well to take a look at the advice given to 4, 5, 6's as nothing is guaranteed in today's crapshoot that we call college admissions. Particularly, I feel the essay has become more and more important in differentiating between top qualified students. Parents ought to start reading this book before their kid is in high school, so they can sort of guide their children in the right direction, but please please PLEASE don't give this book to kids until the start of their summer before senior year. I would shudder to think of a kid whose entire four years of high school were spent scheming about how to get into Harvard; high school is simply not a stepping stone into college, it's a time of learning to be taken in it's own right. Overall, this was truly a wonderful book written in a straightforward, easily readable fashion that did loads for me in taking much of the guesswork out of college apps. Combine this with Harry Bauld's book on writing the college essay to truly make your application stand out. Also, if you plan on doing the Common Application, check out her other book on the Common Application. I haven't read it, but any little advantage you can get will only help you into getting into your first choice school.
Rating:
Summary: For parents and students, the best book on admissions
Review: As an obsessed parent of a student who has just gone through the college admissions process, I recommend this book above all others. Nothing else comes close. It is the only one that takes you inside a college admissions office to truly understand what goes on. After reading this book you (as a high school student) and your parents will have a very realistic idea of the chances of getting into a highly competitive college. My son applied to seven highly competitive colleges, included Harvard, Stanford, Williams and Amherst, and I was able to predict ahead of time exactly what the responses would be. If you want to go through the process with as little anxiety as possible (not that you won't be anxious), this is the book for you. One tip: I think you can safely ignore her advice about the common application. Other than that, a gem.
Rating: 
Summary: Verbal Skills in the Second Quartile
Review: This is not a bad book. To hear any "inside" account of the admissions process is illuminating. As an outsider, I can only credit the author's arguments when they seem to have the ring of truth. For example, the importance of standardized test scores is argued convincingly. She explains the difficulties of using other metrics (high school transcripts, essays, etc.), and the angst felt by admissions officers who juggle these imprecise and contradictory pieces of information. Hernandez also makes a wonderful point about the weak and clichéd application essay. Her examples of stand-out essay subjects, like an essay about the killing and eating of a squirrel, provide interesting examples of originality. (Though one wonders whether they would appeal to all admissions officers.) Sadly, it's not the well-written book one would expect from a Dartmouth graduate. This undercuts the author's credibility (as well as casting doubt on the value of a Dartmouth education). It does bolster the author's own argument that admissions officers are not the cream of the Ivy League crop. I got off to a bad start with this book early in Chapter 2 (p.12), where I learned that "Those who are gifted in math but who are weak readers and writers will ultimately stand a lesser chance of acceptance at top colleges (unless they apply to ... MIT)". Oh, MIT has no standards? In criticizing the pre-1995 SAT scoring, the author says, "...ETS had to extrapolate at the extreme ends of the scale based on their own judgment, one that seems not to have been based on hard data. I do not mean to criticize their procedures, but there seems to be a disturbing lack of mathematical method...it almost sounds as if they had to fudge the data..." Well, if this were true, it would be a fascinating story, and criticism would be in order! But Hernandez does not explain sufficiently. Perhaps she assumes the reader can't handle the logic involved, but one suspects she doesn't understand the issue herself. Be prepared for informal and chatty writing, like this sentence: "Besides, Dartmouth is the only Ivy League college that I know of that even asks for a peer letter" (p. 141). Yikes! Is that how they write in the Ivy League? Or: "I can say without a doubt that academic 4s are usually not weak students..." (p. 82). Huh? Run that by me again? Her writing is heavy with use of the personal pronoun. The useful description of the process (what you want to know) is mingled with personal opinions about how the process ought to work, and it takes some effort to disentangle the two. While her criticisms are sometimes interesting, they don't form a coherent theme, and often come across as random, flippant complaints. If the author's verbal skills are lagging, what about her math? We learn (p. 65) the interesting fact that .0458 = 67. The discussion of the "academic index" computation (ch. 6) may or may not be correct, but it's written with a lack of grace and clarity, putting this reader to sleep. The book reads like a rough draft. But if you know little about college admission, you will benefit from this inside view.
Rating:
Summary: Let us read the GOOD book
Review: This book is a must read for high school students or even jr high kids who want to have a vice grip on their college admissions. As a high school senior who read this after most of my applications were already turned in, I realized there was so much I could have done to organize my entire high school career and even stuff I could have done in jr. high to streamline the college admissions process. I've made lots of mistakes but after reading this, I understand better what colleges are looking for. For all of those hopeful prospective college students, best wishes. For the best book on writing college essays and writing in general, another bible to get is, On Writing the College Application Essay by Harry Bauld. The most unique way to shine above the tens of thousands of applicants is your essay. Take heed and delve into the wisdom of this book. For the actual steps in handling an actual college application with meticulous detail that goes far beyond the general guidelines, also get Michele's Acing the College Application. Having an excellent academics and passions is worthless if you can't present it in an attractive manner. That's what this book is for.
Rating:
Summary: still the gold standard for college admissions
Review: As a parent who not only just went through the admissions process but who also read almost every book ever written on selective college admissions, I can say that this book is simply the best. I was surprised at the immature review that cited weak verbal skills -- not true and an unwarranted ad hominem attack that makes me think the author wrote a competing book! Hernandez keeps her style chatty/breezy which is a good thing considering that many of the issues about standardized test scores, test norming and rank can be maddeningly complex. What the book is is READABLE and CLEAR. Hernandez manages to make even subjects like the history of the SAT interesting and once you realize how crucial standardized testing is in Ivy admissions, you'll realize why she spends so much time on the subject. For those who claimed the book doesn't give you a blueprint for applying, that's not the goal of this book. A is for Admission clearly lays out the admissions process at the Ivies from the day your file arrives to the day your file is evaluated and commented upon. For those who want to actually write winning applications, Hernandez' new book Acing the College Application covers that subject as does Bauld's book on the college essay. Those two are the finest "how to" books on actually filling out applications. Or you could do what we did and hire Hernandez who just guided us personally through the application process and helped our son fulfill his life long dream of attending Dartmouth College. I'm happy to say that the author's personality matches her clear and helpful writing style. A must have book for all students and parents even considering the Ivy League schools.
Rating:
Summary: Demystifying, informative look at the application process
Review: College applications are a mystifying process. With directions often never exceeding a sentence or two, students are often left with the question "Well, what exactly DO they want from me?" Well, this book tells you. Mrs. Hernandez's brutally honest look into the application process lays everything out crystal clear for the reader to see. As they say, knowing is half the battle, and knowing how top colleges look at your application let you tailor your application so that the best qualities of you are shown. It also offers plenty of good advice on what to do if you're a NKB (Nice kid, but...) and aren't one of those people with a 1600 and have published their own bestselling novel. The only warning I would have is that college admissions has gotten exponentially harder over the past 5 years since this book was published, and what is said in the book about Academic 7, 8 and 9's (i.e. the most academically qualified)isn't as true as it was five years ago. Current academic 7 8 9's would do well to take a look at the advice given to 4, 5, 6's as nothing is guaranteed in today's crapshoot that we call college admissions. Particularly, I feel the essay has become more and more important in differentiating between top qualified students. Parents ought to start reading this book before their kid is in high school, so they can sort of guide their children in the right direction, but please please PLEASE don't give this book to kids until the start of their summer before senior year. I would shudder to think of a kid whose entire four years of high school were spent scheming about how to get into Harvard; high school is simply not a stepping stone into college, it's a time of learning to be taken in it's own right. Overall, this was truly a wonderful book written in a straightforward, easily readable fashion that did loads for me in taking much of the guesswork out of college apps. Combine this with Harry Bauld's book on writing the college essay to truly make your application stand out. Also, if you plan on doing the Common Application, check out her other book on the Common Application. I haven't read it, but any little advantage you can get will only help you into getting into your first choice school.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Informative
Review: I am an assiduous student who is working to get into Princeton University. This book is mostly for those wanting into Dartmouth, but it can surely be applied to other colleges as well. The thing that was best was an explanation of the AI (Academic Index). Ms. Hernandez, however, was a less than adequate writer. Her writing was not very good, as is testified by other reviewers before me. Still, it was a good book, well worth 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book with more insights than any other I have read
Review: Many reviewers indicated this is the best book on the subject. I agree. Why is it better than the other ones? There are several reasons, as described in the following paragraphs. The author is a true insider, as she was an admission officer at Dartmouth for four years. She uncovers many insights about Ivy League admission that the other books do not. By reading this book, you will get an in depth knowledge about peculiar formulas used by the Ivies, including the Academic Index, and its subset the Converted Rank Score (CRS). The CRS indicates that the Ivies do not care so much about GPAs, which at the top level does not differentiate between candidates, but they care instead about class rank. Another factor that is key is the strength of your curriculum (honors and AP classes). If you took easy classes to get As, forget it, your 4.0 GPA will be discounted accordingly. According to the author, test scores are crucial. They account for 2/3 of the Academic Index points. And, academic factors account for 70 to 85% of the overall admission decision. Also, the SAT IIs are as important as the SAT Is. This is a fact most ignore by over preparing for the SAT Is by spending big bucks on prep classes (Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc...) , but not spending much energy on preparing for the SAT IIs. This is a major strategic error. It goes without saying that the Ivy League is incredibly competitive. The average SAT score of the Dartmouth freshman class is 1415! So, to distinguish yourself as a better than average applicant you have to score over 1430 on your SATs and do equally well on your SAT IIs. Obviously, this is no small feat for common mortals. What makes the admission game even harder is that so many applicants get accepted under preferential treatments. About 39% of the freshman class at Dartmouth got in under such favored status. These include athletes on scholarship, legacy students, VIPs, and minorities. If you are among any of these groups, it will be significantly easier for you to get in; otherwise, refer to the paragraph just above. The acceptance rate between applicants coming from public schools and private ones is virtually the same. So, save your money for college tuition. Expensive elite private schools do not have an inside track to the Ivies, regardless of what they say in their ads. If you are on the Wait List, or are a Transfer applicant, unless you are very idealistic and bounce back well from setbacks, you better forget it. Both situations stack the odds against you big time. A much more favorable position is to be a strong candidate and go the Early Admission or Decision route. The author shares excellent data indicating that in all cases with all the Ivy League schools the acceptance rate during the ED period is nearly double the one during the regular period. Another excellent characteristic of this book is that the author shares a most balanced perspective on extra curricular factors, including: community involvement, essay, letter of recommendation, and interview. Essentially, if you are a top-notch applicant, these factors will really not matter much. If you are a not so good one, it won't matter either. You will not make the cut. But, if you are in the grey area, then a brilliant essay, great letter of recommendations, out of this world interview may be tipping points in your favor. Yet, all of those intangibles may not even help you out if you are Wait listed. In conclusion, this is an excellent book that gives you a most realistic assessment of what the admission process is like at Ivy League schools. There are really no tricks, no short cuts, you just have to be a world-class student. As described, you will get much insight about this mysterious admission process. But, better awareness does not mean you can crack the game. In this respect, this book is a cut above other ones who convey that an excellent essay or excellent letter of recommendation can make up for relative mediocrity in the more important academic areas. This is just not true. And, this book tells you why.
| 
