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Summary: The only college admission guide worth reading!!!!
Review: Kudos! A Is For Admission is the only college entrance reference book that has shed any light on the actual process. The book is informative and entertaining all in one. Michele's bright personality shines through her writing and makes this book easy to read and comprehend. Eventhough the book is focused on freshman applicants, a transfer applicant like myself can get as much use out of the book as anyone else; there is a very brief chapter on transfers, but the info in the other chapters is abundantly more useful. Many books only discuss the essay, or the SAT, or the grading system, but Michele's all-encompassing book sheds light on every aspect of the admisions process. Even those not planning on applying to Ivy's can use the books section on the essay; Michele's discription of the "slice of life essay" really helped me get a grip on exactly what it was that I was trying to show ("not tell")those shadowy figures behind the admissions office door. If you ever have one bit of confusion, doubt or curiosity about the admission process, A Is For Admission is the book for you.
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Summary: A book that is shaking the foundations of higher education
Review: With the release of her first book, A is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting Into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges, former Dartmouth Admissions Officer, Michele A. Hernandez has broken the silence about what actually takes place behind closed doors in McNutt Hall at Dartmouth College and in other Ivy League admissions offices.
In a tale that reads like a gripping New York Times bestseller, Hernandez objectively and thoroughly reveals in a step-by-step fashion how the admissions process works and how to better one's chances for admission to not only the Ivy's but to other top colleges. In addition, she lays down the facts which finally provide the answers to such controversial questions as: Do minority students really have a better shot at admissions? Does the need-blind admissions policy really apply to all applicants? Does being an athlete or a legacy really increase your chances of being accepted?
Not only is A is for Admission a must-read for students, parents, and high-school guidance counselors who want to get the inside scoop on the admissions process, but anyone who still wonders about their own successes or failures in the admissions process will certainly get a kick out of reading this book.
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Summary: Finally, the book I've been looking for!
Review: My son is beginning his junior year of high school so I am naturally interested in learning as much as possible about college admissions. I volunteer in the used book sale room of our local library and, as a result, have read (or glanced at) most college admissions books (including the recently published books). In my opinion this book is the best I've read because it supplies the actual mathematical formula for comparing applicants with different academic histories. The author admits that not all colleges use the ivy ranking system. However, they all use similiar standards, so the weighting of grades, SATs, APs, etc. is very accurate. Even if you are not ivy bound, this book will give you background so that you can ask the "appropriate" questions when inquiring at the school of your choice as to their admission standards.
Personally, I am distrustful of any professional making decisions in my life (or my child's)and I always doublecheck any recommendations from the experts. This books allows me to make a sanity check of the college advisor's recommendations.
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Summary: A must-read for anyone applying to a competitive college
Review: As its title suggests, this a practical, no-nonsense book on how to get admitted to a top college, with all the inside information that the author gathered in her four years as assistant director of admissions at Dartmouth (where she also went to college).
It's an awesome book! I highly recommend it for students (or parents of students) applying to any competitive college, or if you're just curious (as I was) about how this mysterious process works. There is lots of juicy stuff about who average admissions officers are (people trying to identify greatness, but not great themselves...), how they evaluate applicants, and how much of an advantage it is to be an athlete, minority, or legacy. There is also great advice about which essays work best, strategies for making your application stand out, etc.
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Summary: A book that reveals the mystery of the admissions process
Review: Michele Hernandez's book, "A Is for Admission," is a great piece of literature that gives high school students the opportunity to test their chances at a very selective institutions in the US. Being a high school senior actively involved in the process of application filling and essay writing, this book serves as the perfect guide to aid every part of the process. "A is for Admission" also provides the applicant with the most closely guarded secrets of the IVY Leaugue, such as the Admissions Index, the truth about legacies and minority recruitment. Beside the fact that Hernandez's writing sometimes seem a bit mediocre for her level of education, this book provided me with the utmost satisfaction and I'll never regret buying it.
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Summary: College Admission Secrets Revealed
Review: This book claims to reveal admission secrets of the ivy league colleges, such as the so called "Academic Index" they use in evaluating an applicant's academic strength. Although most of the "secrets" do sound convincing, whether the they are definitely true or not, I do not know. Nontheless, the book contains plenty of useful and valuable tips on college application process which make it almost a MUST buy for a high schooler shooting for the top colleges in the nation. Some informations are slightly outdated.
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Summary: Excellent Depth, But Somewhat Limited.
Review: I loved this book. It fully put Ivy League Admissions into perspective for me. However, I found it only be of limited use. For one, it assumes that you are still in high school or that you at a point in high school where you can make significant changes to your GPA. It seemed like a book geared toward freshmen who are just getting started in their goal setting. It can still be useful to juniors and seniors, but in this respect, I'd consider it more of in the category of something parents should read PRIOR to senting their kids to high school. In fact, they should probably start in elementary school, since middle school should be practice for high school.
The section on transfer admissions was terrible. I'm a transfer student and nearly completely left out. So, I had to do my own researching to supplement this gap. You see, for the elite among the California state schools (UC Berkely, UCLA, UCSD, etc.), transferring from a community college is easier than freshman admission as UC's give preference to qualified community college grads. However, with this Ivy League the exact opposite it true. If you want to transfer to an Ivy League school, it's pretty much a far reach and can be more competitive than even freshmen admissions as there are an even larger number of freshmen competing for an even smaller number of openings.
The idea of getting a counselor recommendation was also a bit off-course, as not all school use the personal counselor system and some use "educational advisors" instead. And if you're already in college and far from your hometown, it's pretty hard to get in touch with a retired high school counselor to write you a letter of rec.
Still, overall, the book was pretty good. It gave an honest take on the nature of affirmative action, sports, and legacy in admission decisions and it provided a good starting point in assessing whether or not one has a real chance and how to improve one's chances. I'd recommend it, but I'd also recommend reading other books in addition to this, especially for the part on the admissions essay.
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Summary: Best college admissions book yet
Review: This was the kind of book that motivated me and had me taking notes as soon as I started reading. It demystified the process that most books only make more confusing. Michele Hernandez's background in college admissions and her generous will to share her secrets help to make the book seem believable and trustworthy. She is clearly an excellent writer and keeps the mood of the book light, making admissions seem less intimidating. The organization is easy to read and understand, especially when the author goes through an application step-by-step. The book dispels common rumors and shows kids that they don't have to be legacies or academic geniuses to get into competitive schools, giving them the confidence they need to shine in the application process. The author gives specific advice to "average" kids to give them the edge they might need to get in to a competitive school. She even includes a list of guidelines, starting in freshman year, to help future applicants plan to feel good about their applications and accomplishments by the time they get to senior year and the sometimes frustrating admissions process. By using the AI formula and statistics included, one will have a better idea of the probability of their acceptance into a top school or what they need to do to get there. Overall, I thought the author covered all topics of admission well, from both the admissions officers' and students' points of view, and invoked confidence in high-school readers in a straightforward fashion. A is for Admission was easily the best college admissions book I've read.
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Summary: Well written and well organized; useful and informative
Review: This book struck me as being just as advertised. An admissions officer who also has the benefit of being a graduate of the school that employs her, Dartmouth, set out a road map for anyone interested in understanding how highly selective schools evaluate prospective students. She was careful to point out which of the rating formulas and techniques were specific to Dartmouth or the Ivies and which were generally used by most or all of the highly selective schools. She explained the philosophy behind various subjective rating factors without being strident about their social engineering purposes. She covered all the major topic areas concisely and in a well organized fashion. The writing style was straightforward and easy to read.
If you're interested in this topic at all, this book is well worth reading.
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Summary: College Admission Secrets Revealed
Review: This book claims to reveal admission secrets of the ivy league colleges, such as the so called "Academic Index" they use in evaluating an applicant's academic strength. Although most of the "secrets" do sound convincing, whether the they are definitely true or not, I do not know. Nontheless, the book contains plenty of useful and valuable tips on college application process which make it almost a MUST buy for a high schooler shooting for the top colleges in the nation. Some informations are slightly outdated.
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