We have a junior, so college admissions are on our minds. I've been interested in education for decades, even before I was homeschooling, and Kansas Dad is a college professor, so we may be a bit more knowledgeable about higher education than the average person, but not necessarily from the prospective of parents of an applicant.
Mr. Selingo persuasively argues the entire college application process is designed to benefit the colleges at every step of the way, rather than the students. The goal, then, is not to help a student find a school where he or she will be challenged, fulfilled, and well-educated, but to create a class with specific characteristics.
"I saw how many awesome students didn't make the cut," she tells me one morning as we sit at Starbucks on the ground floor of the Emory admissions building. "It completely changed my mind about the advice I give to students. Now I tell them do the best you can, pursue your genuine interests, and let the chips fall where they may."
There was little in the book that was new to me, but much that would be useful for parents of students beginning a college search, including those who are just starting high school. Some tips are specific, like taking the ACT or SAT more than once, and some are more general, like looking for a combination of characteristics of a college's past classes to determine if they might be able and willing to offer steeper discounts to a prospective student. On the topic of application essays, for example, he says, among other bits of advice:
The essays that stick out do s not because of what the applicants write but how they write it--with an authentic voice that gives readers a sense of what the student see, feels, and thinks.
Some of these strategies have to be modified to be effective for homeschooling students.
To write the book, Mr. Selingo observed and interviewed admissions employees reading applications and making admissions decisions over the course of a year. He also followed a few specific students, interviewing them through the year as they moved through the admissions process. He shares these experiences and processes in the book.
One of the other main themes in the book is that colleges are either "buyers" or "sellers," in terms Mr. Selingo uses. The sellers are the most elite colleges and universities. They receive far more applicants than they accept. They do not offer scholarships and grants to the best students, because they have plenty of applicants who will pay the price tag. (They do often devote a great amount of finances toward aid for families in the lowest income brackets, if those students can get admitted.) On the other side, are college and universities who provide an excellent education but don't attract the same number of students. These "buyers" are willing to provide scholarships and discounts to talented students willing to attend a non-top-tier institution, even to families who might otherwise be able to afford the tuition. He encourages high school students to consider colleges with an open mind, without being blinded to all but the most selective.
In addition to the admissions process itself, Mr. Selingo shares his own assessments of admissions which in my mind fell into two different categories. First, as I mentioned above, he gives tips and outlines strategies for students who are applying to college. These strategies include how to assess what a student wants out of college, how to expand the college search beyond the most selective colleges, and how to maximize a student's presentation on an application.
The second category of assessments relate to the authenticity and appropriateness of the process of college applications and admissions today. Mr. Selingo argues for changes in the process that would decrease the stress and anxiety for applicants. He presents ideas that would shift the focus of admissions back to the good of the student. I was intrigued by his arguments, though there seems to be little incentive for anyone in power to institute any of the changes he recommends. I also found the book a little distracted in its goals: Is it a book for parents who are navigating the admissions process or is it a call for change in the industry? I think he wrote it as if it were both, but sometimes the bouncing between the two goals made the book disjointed.
Overall, if you haven't paid much attention to the admissions process at selective colleges and universities, this is a fascinating summary of the process and its difficulties.
I have received nothing for this review. I checked this book out of our local library. Links to Bookshop or Amazon are affiliate links.
