Admissions Books

I want to thank Cafi for the wealth of information contained in 'And What About College?' We used it for all aspects of the process- from early planning when Shauna was 13 to the final stamping of the five college applications... We are happy to report that Shauna is accepted at Brown University under early action, and awaits word from the other four. Cafi's guidance, humor, clarity and ideas were invaluable... and the sample cover letters were a helpful prompt for this homeschool principal! I look forward to her new book and wish her the best!

I'm a new home schooling dad in CA who read this book just after making the decision to start home schooling. The book's terrific. It's well written, concise, and delivers what it promises. In our case, it erased all lingering doubts about college for home schooled children. I appreciate all those who contributed to its completion.

With a college-bound son who just turned 15, I find myself returning to this book again and again for advice, solace, detailed information, guidance. Cafi Cohen has been through it all. Her son attended the Air Force Academy and is now a test pilot. Her daughter attended an excellent college. AND she did a non-traditional, loose hs program with her kids. I wrote up a transcript for my son this week, using her book, and was truly heartened to see how beautifully it all came together. This is one of the best homeschool advice books I have ever read. A real gem.

Authors Cafi Cohen and Patrick Farenga have addressed the "getting into college" questions raised by parents schooling their older children at home, like, "How do we work up a set of transcripts?" "How do we get them into college without a recognized degree?" and "What choices in education do we have?"

The sub-title of the book might be misleading. Although a portion of the book talks about getting a child into the "best" universities and colleges, this book will be helpful to homeschoolers concerned about getting their children into any (or not necessarily the best) college.

We purchased the book several years ago and have followed its procedure. We had no trouble getting our daughter enrolled in college. The book provides clearcut and specific direction that alleviates the fears many of us home-schooling parents experience as we begin the high school years. It is helpful even if your children are not the frequent "home schooled genius types."

Since working up a transcript is best done on a year by year basis, the best time for parents to read this book is probably just before they homeschool their (first) child in the 9th grade.
The information on transcripts is worth the purchase price of the book itself.

I especially appreciated the authors' description of getting into local colleges through the "side door" approach by home-schooled teens taking a college course or two during the high school years.

Mentioned but not detailed in the book, there are colleges that are especially predisposed to homeschooled students. Many evangelical Christian colleges would be included in that number.

The book will not only create confidence in parents, it will also provide answers to all those nagging questions that friends or family might ask, as demonstrated by the title, "And What About College."

Dear Ms Cohen,

I am emailing to thank you for the wonderful book you wrote, And What About College? With the help of your book and The Dummies Book on Financial Aid, my homeschooled daughter has been accepted into the Honor's Program at a small university in Austin, Texas and has been awarded a full scholarship for four years. We couldn't be happier! And I could never have presented her so fully without your advice, your experience, and the wonderful model letters, transcripts, and resumes presented in your book. I learned so much in the process; hundreds of hours went into all this. And we were successful!

We live in India and are volunteers in a unique school that was developed in Kerala. We are not missionaries, yet without the generous scholarships we would not have been able to afford college. Not only did I need to get her into the college of her choice, but I needed to present her as a student they couldn't live without.

Of course she is a good student, worthy of the awards she has received. However, you gave me the format, the language, and the confidence to present her in the best possible light so that the college could recognize her unique experiences and qualities.

We both have attended orientation, classes have started, and my daughter is happy. SEU and the college experience it is offering her has been a wonderful choice. I thank you for your book; you are one of the people who is responsible for my daughter's success.

With deepest gratitude, Homeschooling Overseas

This was my first experiece with Hundreds of Heads publishing. While it was not what I expected, the book is full of comments by other parents sharing what did and did not work for them. Topics covered include when to begin the application process, test scores, how to know when to back off, what do do when your child was not accepted, and much more. The book is easy to read and also includes many useful websites for parents. Just seeing me read the book helped get my daughter motivated.

Navigating the college admissions process can be much more difficult than you might imagine. So, why not let parents who've already done it give you a helping hand - make that hundreds of helping hands. The tips range from heartwarming to humorous to extremely helpful. They will enable you not only to survive, but to be successful while keeping your sanity intact. From deciding when to start looking for colleges through the separation process, this is the ultimate source book for parents. More than highly recommended!

This book doesn't give you a step by step process. I don't think anyone can do that because everyone's situation is different. What it does is provide you with wisdom from hundreds of real life experiences -- some mistakes and some successes. It's almost like having a support system of friends that are there to help you.

We are in the thick of the college application process right now with our daughter just starting her senior year. This book has taken a lot of the stress out -- and put a great deal of the excitement back into getting her accepted to the right school for her!

I wish there was a book a like this for every phase, milestone and crucible moment that my kids will go through. This book will not reduce the your child's process of applying to and getting accepted to college, but parents can breath much easier knowing what to expect from so many others who have been through it before. The book is organized brilliantly and presents all sides of every issue, from when to start the process to how to handle getting the news. If only this book had been around when for own parents, who mostly relied on my high school counselor and whatever they remembered from their experiences 25 years earlier.

Advice from the heart ... the good, the bad and the ugly experiences of those who have already tread where you are about to go. No snobby neighbors, no competing colleagues, just hundreds of heads sharing their stories in easy-to-read snippets. It's a well-balanced presentation that allows you to benefit from the reflections of other parents who have already faced the challenges of kids, colleges and chaos. My college years are too far behind me to be relevant today, so this book was a much-needed wake-up call.

I thought that this book was hilarious. Professor Kerman is a genius. I hope he decides to write more books about his wild adventures.

This book is the funniest nd most enjoyable book that I have ever read and I reccomend it to sports fans who don't like the prices for everything being raised in sports.

"Sneaking Into Concerts" is very fun but I doubt ill be trying any of these methods. It is way off the standards of TicketSecrets.net but is was still worth the read for the entertainment value.

This is truly a Great Book,it combines seriousness and humor very well.The techniques that the professor shares with the readers really work!He drives home the fact that if this is a crime then why are there no victims?If you read the review from that feminist(I may not have spelled the word right,but I do spell useful things correctly)just remember that she is dead wrong and frankly, stupid.Thanks and enjoy!

Now we can all get in, ticket or no ticket. The professor teaches us by example how to get in to our favorite events. If you love sports or just events in general, "sold out" will never have the same meaning again. Scott writes with an irreverant wit, always asking, "Why shouldn't I be able to go in?" Hysterical and almost unbelievable. Even if you have no intention of trying his techniques yourself, live vicariously through Scott and his adventures and have some great laughs.

Unlike many college guides, this one presents students' impressions of their campuses as well as the most pertinent statistics and facts about each school. This makes for a good read, one that high school students should find user friendly and engaging. This shouldn't be the only guide that students refer to, but it goes a long way in personalizing the whole college search process and helping students discover which attributes are important to them in deciding where they will feel most comfortable during their college years.

I purchased this book at the NACAC conference in Seattle. What a great book! The Prowler gives its readers a new way to view colleges and universities. I highly recommend it as an adjunct for parents and high school students as they embark on the students' college quest.

This book is written by students for students and provides excellent details of what's happening on college campuses. It is a must read for any student applying to college.

As a private college counselor I find the Big Book of Colleges to be a valuable tool. It is up to date, insightful and honest information from the very students who live at that college. Even though I supply my office with the guides, my clients end up going out and purchasing them so they can share the information with family and friends. What a "fun" way to learn and discover more even before you visit!

WARNING: this is not your typical college guide book! And, when it is written by students for students, that's a good thing. While there's no doubt that college-searching students need a guidebook with facts, figures and statistics, a book that puts "flesh on the bones" of a potential college experience is equally important. This is the prospective college student's anecdotal guidebook on subjects: such as "Nightlife, Greek Life, Guys, Girls, and Drug Scene". Basics are also included, but what the students will sit around to read and discuss are the four or five quotes on various topics including "Academics, Local Atmosphere, Safety and Security", etc. It is the quotes by each college's current students that give this one-of-a-kind guidebook its power. My students Love this book.

Neil Clark
Dean of College Counseling and Guidance
The Walker School
Marietta, Georgia

The exercises in this book are nothing like I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot: Barrons, Kaplan OG, Princeton Review. I have them all and this book has some serious mathematics. If you can do the exercises in here, you will breeze through the exam.

Warning: Not for the numerically challenged.

This book is well structured.
You must work out through each chapter and if you don't understand something you should just look how problem(s) is(are) solved. The explanation are very explicit, step by step, sometimes with alternative ways.
In each chapter problems are provided in a row. These problems are in blocks for several examples related to the type of problem (ex. chapter Algebra: algebraic expressions, factoring, linear equations, unsolvable equations and whole bunch of other questions chosen according to the type of section of Algebra). It's good because if you don't know how to solve a definite type of problem, you must see how first problem is done, then you must solve the next one and you know how to do it.
Other prepbooks don't always follow after this type of book structure. They provide you with a set of different questions related to the chapter title (let's take Algebra again), but they can give all types of problems in a row. As result if you don't understand how to solve definite type of problems related to one rule (type) then you should search for the same type of problem on different pages and compare explanations. Sometimes it's not very comfortable and time taking process.
There isn't any theory there - all theory is in examples and answers. But word Advanced on book's title means that you already must know it. Actually you don't need it because you can understand the way of thinking and formulas usage just repeating provided by author solutions step by step.

EZ -Solutions GMAT Math Series Books

The overall content in the EZ-solutions set of nine GMAT books is very good. When I started studying for the GMAT I couldn't answer so many questions. But now that I have used the EZ -solutions books I can answer a lot of them. I still need to practice on my speed but they have helped me come a long way. The EZ-solutions books break down each subject covered in the GMAT with a step-by-step system.

The EZ-solutions set of nine GMAT books were extremely helpful considering I haven't had a math class in over six years, and I couldn't remember simple things such as integer properties. Like I said I had taken a GMAT practice exam and I couldn't answer many questions, but now I am getting a lot better.

The format of the EZ-solutions set of nine GMAT books is very good as it breaks down each topic in different books.

The text of the EZ-solutions set of nine GMAT is perfectly clear and precisely to the point. After going through each of the nine EZ-solutions set of nine GMAT books more than once and taking them with me where ever I have gone, they hold up nicely.

I believe that anybody studying for the GMAT should have the EZ-solutions set of nine GMAT books in their collection. They should also get the Official guide, with the Kaplan math review as well. The math lessons in the EZ-solutions GMAT books are much better than the Official, Kaplan, and PR. They have a lot more examples, with a lot more instruction as well. The Official GMAT guide isn't a good book for instruction but just for extra problems. Kaplan and PR have a decent math review in their book but the EZ-solutions GMAT set of nine books really bring it home.

I would recommend the EZ-solutions GMAT set of nine book series to anyone studying for the GMAT. Especially those individuals that who need a math review, and just not practice problems. This set of nine books breaks down each subject covered on the GMAT, and gives detailed expiations of each one.

The EZ-solutions GMAT set of nine books are a little more pricey then those currently on the market. But if you are serious about taking the GMAT and getting a good score I believe they are worth the extra money. As I mentioned earlier some of the other books on the market don't have as good a math lessons as the EZ-solutions GMAT books. Highly recommended!

I bought the series of EZ Solutions for the GMAT and found them to be very helpful. After going through GMAT books from Kaplan, Princeton Review, and others, I needed something more in-depth to tackle all type of questions. The EZ books cover a broad spectrum of content and practice questions with detailed explanations. These are great books for those who are seeking to perfect their score or need something more than just the basic review provided in regular study guides. They are also a good review for those who have been out of school for a while and need to refresh their math skills to score higher on the GMAT . The EZ books are very detailed and comprehensive, far more than any other book that I have seen. I would highly recommend using the EZ Solutions GMAT set of books to improve your scores!

This is a great book and I would highly recommend buying the EZ GMAT Advanced WB if:
(a) you are already completely well-versed with all the math concepts, and
(b) you are already scoring about 700 level and just need more practice with difficult math problems.

If not, do not buy this book as this can greatly discourage you and throw you off tandem. You should first use the EZ GMAT Basic WB to see your weaknesses and accordingly buying the other content area books such as the EZ arithmetic, algebra, application, geometry, word problems, and logic & stats, or probably all of these (if cost is not an object). The review books contain each and every math concept that you need to know. If you have all 9 EZ GMAT books, that's all you need, nothing else.

Good luck in your GMAT prep!

EZ Solutions - Test Prep Series - Math Practice - Basic Workbook - GMAT (Ez Solutions: Test Prep Series)

Finally, a well thought out book for parents thinking about the college process! My favorite story is early in the book setting the tone for a great and helpful read. Early on, the author is clear that the process is out of control for many parents. As the Admissions Director for MIT, she makes it clear not to worry about college until it is time, rather than picking your preschool with intent to head to the IVYies....This book really tells us there is much more to learn on this road and truly this book is all about that journey in a healthier way!

Really grounded for both parents and teens. A must to read before any other books on college, including the guides to colleges. This gets you centered on what is important and aligns your values; then you can focus on the facts about colleges. A great duo.....a college admissions dean and a pediatrician....both care deeply about kids and speak to what they need.

I found this book to be useful. The author had several suggestions that we had not thought of and facts we were not aware of. The whole college admissions process is way harder than when I went through it, and I would say, there is a lot of negative as far as I can see. Her book is encouraging that the process can be a positive one, if you can step out of the frenzy that most other kids and parents seem to be embroiled in. The only reason I gave it 4/5 stars instead of 5 is because I felt there was some conflicting information between our school's college counselors and her and that's confusing.

As parents who have seen many of our friends completely lose perspective as their kids apply to college, my wife and decided that we would not go down that road when our time came. Forget all the books that imply they will get your child into a "brand name" school. It's about discovering together a place where they can grow, and strenghtening your relationship as you launch them toward their future. In the name of sanity, I recommend this book (and also a great one our own pediatrician recommended, "Getting In Without Freaking Out.") Stop hovering -- start helping your kids by not imposing your agenda.

Ms. Jones's advice on how the parents of high school juniors and seniors can reduce stress in the college admissions process is spot on.

I was lucky enough to receive Ms. Jones's advice when she spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at our Boston area high school. For those not so lucky, you can obtain the advice in her book, coauthored with pediatrician Kenneth R. Ginsburg.

Parents - and their children - will benefit from Jones's advice for two reasons: 1. Jones explains WHY current parents are so hyper about the admissions process (partly due to the fact that we parents are from the generation which mistakenly believes we can accomplish anything!) 2. And Jones gives practical advice on HOW each parent can reduce their child's stress in the admission process, including actions that can be easily implement right away.

Every parent of a high school junior or senior should buy her book today.

PRICE OF ADMISSION
LESLIE MARGOLIS

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

Jasmine Green's life has been turned upside down. The screenplay that she wrote about her life, with the barely veiled characters of herself, her dad, her brother, their step mom, everyone has been discovered and credited to her recently deceased boyfriend. And if that wasn't bad enough, it's the hottest thing going right now and her father's acquired the screenplay.

PRICE OF ADMISSION is a fun book, chronicling Jasmine's discovery that the thinly veiled diary is about to make Austin's parents a million dollars and potentially ruin her own life in the process, especially when she gets a copy of the screenplay from her father, she knows one look at it will ruin everything, all her family secrets (like her brother hooking up with their twenty-three year old step mom) will be out for all the world to see.

The book has a fun premise and you have to feel sorry for Jasmine as she tries to figure out a way to come clean about the whole thing. And just when things are looking up, they come crashing right back down again. Sprinkled throughout the story are scenes from the screenplay, which highlight different aspects of Jasmine/Jess's life. From her mixed up love life to finding out her father's remarrying-again-to finding her brother kissing her new stepmother.

I really liked Duke, Jasmine's best friend and would have liked to have seen a little more of him in the book. Some parts of the story did feel a little rushed, but PRICE OF ADMISSION is still a very enjoyable read.

You can visit Ms. Margolis' website at www.lesliemargolis.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
April 2008

As a studio head's daughter, Jasmine Green's seemingly perfect life is just a facade for some very serious problems. Despite her cushy home, endless resources, and fancy cars, Jasmine's father is completely absorbed with his job, her brother is having an affair with their stepmother, and Jasmine herself is dating two guys at once. When one these guys dies, his screenplay is found in his apartment, and is sold to Jasmine's father's company. The only problem? It's really Jasmine's screenplay, and it's the story of her life. Every lurid detail.

Price of Admission is a gripping, galvanizing, and outstanding novel that explores the depths of family loyalty as Jasmine does all it takes to keep her family's dirty little secrets from being revealed. This novel doesn't fail to meet expectations, and Jasmine's clear and expressive voice is authentic. Rather than make excuses for her actions, she learns to face them, making her a character that no one can resist. The colorful cast of expressive and fallible characters make this lively and full of attitude read that will steal your attention away and won't release you until the credits roll.

http://thecompulsivereader.blogspot.com/

As much as I liked Margolis's "Fix," I like "P.O.A." even better. There's a ton of drama on the very first page and things only get more complicated from there. Margolis maintains a sharp sense of humor all the way through. The book starts with a great premise, mixing together screenplay and text, and doubling the suspense in the process. The lead character, Jasmine Green, is totally sympathetic, and it's easy to understand her excitement, and her frustration, over the misunderstandings her script generates. I especially like the last quarter of the book, when the plot twists and re-twists. Through all the intrigue, you also get a great snapshot of Hollywood glamour as it looks up close, as well as some real pathos in the life of a high-profile family.

At Jasmine Green's ex-boyfriend Austin Cooper's funeral, Austin's father makes an announcement to the mourners. A screenplay called Cold-Blooded, Two-Timing Rat was found in Austin's dorm room. In honor of his dead son, the screenplay was given to an agent, who in turn sent it on to film studios. The good news? The screenplay was bought by EggBrite Studios! Who knew that Austin Cooper, the athletic son who wanted to be a doctor, would turn out to be a writer too?

Jasmine knew. She knew because the screenplay wasn't written by her dead ex-boyfriend at all. It was written by her! And the title, Cold-Blooded, Two-Timing Rat, was in reference to the fact that she was cheating on Austin. With his brother. But that's not even the worst part! The screenplay also reveals dirty family secrets about her stepmother and brother's secret love affair, her father's neglect of his children, and dirt about pretty much everyone else in Jasmine's life. She cannot let the movie be made. But what can she do to stop it? All of Hollywood is raving about the screenplay, and the production of the movie has become the hottest thing in town.

Not to mention the fact that the screenplay isn't very well disguised. Jasmine explains, "If only I'd disguised my life better. I mean, I could have done more than change everyone's name. And even that is so obvious when you think about it for half a second. The lead character, Jessica Brown, has green eyes, and I, Jasmine Green, have brown eyes. That's the only difference between us. Same with my brother, Jett/Jake. Charlie and Austin? Sure, I call them Chad and Alex, but they're so clearly the same people. Anyone who reads this and knows them will definitely recognize their personalities."

PRICE OF ADMISSION is a fast-paced and fun read that is likened to reading an entertainment magazine. There are lots of digs about Hollywood personalities, gossip, scandals and paparazzi that are laugh-out-loud funny. Portions of the scandalous screenplay are actually incorporated into the book and makes for an interesting novel technique that works well with this storyline. The only snafu with this is that sometimes the fictional/real character names get a little confusing to the reader, especially since they are so similar. And, like Hollywood, some of the characters do seem to lack depth. For example, Jasmine is so wrapped up in the screenplay debacle that she doesn't really grieve for the loss of her ex-boyfriend. Still, the story is suspenseful and made me want to keep turning the pages.

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

This is the kind of book that you take with you everywhere until you finish it. Price of Admission has two levels of suspense: not only are you dying to find out what happens in Jasmine's complicated, fast-paced life but you are also curious about the fate of the screenplay that she created about her life. This book provides a glimpse of the price of fame for a successful Hollywood family. My pre-teen daughter enjoyed it as much as I did. It's beautifully written and I highly recommend it.

This book has clear answers and good questions, but there are a helluva lot of typos and mistakes in the text (especially for a 2nd edition) which can make things confusing. In the data sufficiency section tests there are no answer choices, so that makes that entire test section almost worthless. Having said that it does give you a lot of information about how to solve the various problems, but again just disappointing that there are so many errors in the text.

I found this book to be excellent for sorting problems into groups and learning what common principles are behind related problems. The book has a cool list of ¡°tips¡± imbedded in the solutions section which helped me grasp the common principles behind problem groupings. Even as a liberal arts major and former investment banker, I found a good number of these math and verbal tips simple but not necessarily obvious and enjoyed having them spelled out for me. Examples: Tip #48: ¡°Two rectangular solids my have identical surface areas but different volumes (and vice versa)¡± and Tip #92: ¡°If A is thought to be causing B, the idea that B is causing A is called reverse causation and casts serious doubt on the notion that A is really causing B.¡± The book has a wonderful review of analytical writing and a nice short grammar review in the appendix. This book will teach you how to do problems, and I found it a great complement to the GMAT Official Guide, which has gobs of practice problems but doesn¡¯t deal with how problems work conceptually. In summary, although I was a bit skeptical at first, I thought this book was well deserving of its claim to be ¡°the #1 skill-building GMAT book.¡±

I think this book is invaluable for someone who's preparing the GMAT. It focus on topics that students need to master to get a reasonably high score in GMAT. This approach is quite differenty from other text where they simply list a series of problems for students to work on. I feel this approach is much more effective in helping students to answer the more difficult questions in GMAT.

Excellent skills-building tool that closed the gap in my preparation for the GMAT, which other prep books weren't doing. The author does a fabulous job of providing the lowdown on the question types that recur on the test and the approaches that actually work, and presenting them in a way that's easy for time-poor test takers to digest. Indispensable in helping this test taker hit the 95th percentile. Absolutely worth the investment.

I found 'Ace the GMAT' to be, by far, the most helpful book of all of the GMAT preparation books I used. While the Kaplan GMAT book and the official GMAT guide published by ETS are both invaluable, I nevertheless found the tips and strategies provided by the 'Ace the GMAT' book to be the most comprehensive, concrete and ultimately helpful. The strategies included to tackle the math section were particularly good, especially the chapter regarding questions on probability. Overall, I do not think that anyone's GMAT prep-book arsenal is complete without this book.

This thoughtful collection of essays from college administrators is well worth reading. Despite a few clunkily written contributions, it offers real insights into the productizing and marketing of the college experience. In addition, I highy recommend the book, GETTING IN WITHOUT FREAKING OUT -- which, on a very practical, user-friendly level, helps families turn the tables and become wise education consumers.

Mr. Thacker does everyone a service with his well orgainzed and written treatise on the often confusing admission process. Job well done Mr. Thacker, keep up the good work! A must read for anyone who is applying to college or whose kids are applying for college. Do yourself a huge favor and pick up a copy of this book now.

"Nobody likes what's going on in college admissions---not students, not parents, not college presidents and not deans."
- Lee Pelton, President of Willamette University (quoted in College Unranked)

So, what has happened to college admission? Have the ranksters, the testers, the branders, the marketers, the dot.coms, etc. taken over? How did we let it happen? And what, if anything, can we do about it? Well folks, there is hope, and hope has come in the form of a book and an organization.

College Unranked is more than a book; it is a call to action to all who care about education. The book is the first tangible contribution of the Education Conservancy (educationconservancy.org), a non-profit organization that is "committed to helping students, counselors, and colleges overcome commercial interference in college admissions." All proceeds from the book support the work of the Education Conservancy.

College Unranked is a collection of 20 essays all by college presidents, deans, directors, and others in admissions and higher education. The editor, Lloyd Thacker, wrote the introduction, four sets of "Editor's Stories," and the summary and recommendations. The theme of the book, which runs through the essays, is that "Commercialism's intrusion into college admission has transformed a uniquely American educational experience into a problematic American commercial exercise." This is not, however, a nostalgic look at the "good ol' days," it is full of practical wisdom that can affect what we do today.

Thacker and his essayists are doing more than just asking us to think outside the box; they are asking us to throw out the box completely; the box in which colleges are branded and students are packaged, where colleges are ranked and students are measured. A frequent and deserving target in the essays is the U.S.News rankings---"Complicity [with U.S.News] is a disservice to our students and prospective students, and it helps distort various public policy issues affecting higher education (Adams in College Unranked)." It is important to note that while essayists criticize industry icons, they also put responsibility on those who are compliant as well. While some of the stakeholders are more to blame than others, we are all feeding the problem at some level or, at the very least, our complacency is allowing it to continue.

It is difficult to present a book that can be read with equal interest by admissions personnel, secondary school counselors, parents, and students; but College Unranked has done it. While some outside the profession might not care about or grasp some of the "trade talk" in the essays, there is not enough of it to turn off these readers. This is not a "how to get in" book, it's a book about how to do it right. Parents and students are challenged to take responsibility as well and are given the tools and the advice to help them do so.

Those of us who agree that "Something is wrong with college admissions---something wrong enough to care about, to discuss, and to change (Thacker in College Unranked)" now have a flag to rally around.

"Let us all---counselors, students and parents---reclaim the college selection and admission processes a form of education rather than a form of commercialism (Ballinger, p. 175)." Quixotic? Maybe. But also visionary, optimistic, and crucial. Individual lament can become collective action. We won't know if it will work unless we give it a try. Let's give it a try.

If you are the parent of a college-bound high school student, you owe it to yourself to read this collection of essays before you enter the fray of college admissions. Too many rankings. Too much marketing. Too much pressure. Too many tests. There's alot of blame to go around, and this book is a beginning at reforming the schools, students, parents and media who drive the system.

Given the moment we are in, Lloyd Thacker's book is not just good for, but vital to the admissions profession. With wisdom and disarming candor, College Unranked's contributors identify the commercial influence in our profession and describe its manifest forms: from the "ranksters" to the overgrown role of standardized testing in the admissions process; from the marketing of educational products to the reallocation of aid from those who need it to those whose numbers are in demand. Rather than just criticize, however, as so many volumes do, the essayists in College Unranked proffer bountiful and sage advice to virtually everyone involved in the college admissions process: students, parents, colleges, the media, for-profit educational companies and the College Board. Anchored by many years of experience, and fortified by their very unity in this volume, the essayists' insight is at once sound, challenging and reassuring. I join Thacker's endorsers who proclaim on the book's back cover that College Unranked is required reading for anyone who is planning to apply to college. As a college counselor who will soon welcome a class of undoubtedly anxious but hopeful high school juniors and their parents to the process, I am grateful to have this book on my shelf. Echoing College Unranked's already published praise, the advice it gives is more powerful, more heartening and more inspiring than that spun by any guidebook or magazine. For that, Thacker deserves abundant commendation.

The book was nice and short, easy to read.

This book is an engaging reference tool. It is more than information on how to pay for college. It is a beginning step to understanding financial literacy and preparing for your financial future.

Chapter One sets the framework for the book and begins expanding the readers world view on money in general. Understanding the basic difference between income and wealth is the first step towards financial literacy.

The insight that is given in terms of how you negotiate and relate for preparing for college and working with financial aid officer can easily be transferred to relating to the bank or any other financial institution.

There is more to this book than is obvious to naked eye.

Dr. LaVeist is using college entrance preparation as an opportunity to introduce his reader to wider concepts on money and basic finances.

I enjoyed this book. The authors are two brothers who weaved a story about getting their sons ready for college into a book about college financial aid, which is usually a very boring topic. Very creative! They managed to entertain AND educate.

I am so thankful to these two brothers. Who have work hard in bring all of this information together. Look forward to here about more in the near future. Again, thank you, my son will benefit from this greally.

This is just the type of book on financial aid that I was looking for. It makes the whole confusing process easy to understand. It's a quick read, intelligent and entertaining. It speaks to black folks. After reading it, I have a better understanding of how the whole thing works.