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.
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