WINSOR COLLEGE COUNSELING SUGGESTED READINGS

While publishing tomes about a variety of aspects concerning the college admissions process has become a booming business in itself, following are some titles that we believe you might find helpful in understanding and navigating this interesting - and sometimes mysterious - process.

Setting the Agenda:

The College Admissions Mystique, by Bill Mayher – One of the best, most rational, and most insightful books about ​ ​ the college process; though dated, it provides good reading for both student and parent. Bill’s experienced voice provides effective and well-reasoned guidance.

Colleges That Change Lives, by Loren Pope – The former Education Editor at the New York Times challenges all to ​ ​ ​ delve more deeply into the substance of 40 schools that do not top various lists of college selectivity, but that all provide exceptional academic opportunities. More importantly, Pope uses his essays about each school to demonstrate and define the collegiate attributes each applicant should investigate. A very, very useful book for all. ​

Looking Beyond the Ivy League, by Loren Pope – Along with Colleges That Change Lives, another effort by Pope ​ ​ ​ that seeks to demystify the college admissions process while challenging many status-based myths and beliefs.

College Unranked: Ending the College Admissions Frenzy, by Lloyd Thacker – A collection of essays written by ​ ​ top college officials that challenges the conventional understanding, perception, and practice of current college admissions. This effort has sparked considerable debate at the highest collegiate levels about the very essence and purpose of the college admissions process.

Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College that is Best for You, by Jay Matthews ​ ​ – With humor and insight, this award-winning education writer for the Washington Post asks readers to forget preconceived notions about school reputations to focus instead on what the prospective can get out of a particular school. Along the way, he offers various bits of advice, often debunking myths about the process and about schools.

Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds, by Richard Light – A Graduate School of Education ​ ​ professor at Harvard explains the range of choices that students face in making the most of their undergraduate opportunities by relating a variety of students’ experiences and choices over the course of his ten year study. Described as a “handbook for academic and personal success,” this work is quite readable.

Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania, by Frank Bruni – ​ ​ Through anecdotes, statistics, and surveys, Bruni challenges readers to look beyond names to see the impressive opportunities for success that can be found in many places and at many different schools… and types of schools.

The Process:

The Gatekeepers, by Jacques Steinberg – A New York Times reporter follows a Wesleyan admissions officer through ​ ​ ​ ​ the process, illuminating every step followed as he experiences exactly what life in the admissions “trenches” is all about. Enlightening, to say the least.

I’m Going To College – Not You! Surviving the College Search With Your Child, edited by Jennifer ​ ​ ​ ​ Delahunty - The former head of admissions at Kenyon College calls upon friends, colleagues, and acquaintances – all parents of children applying to college - to extol their parental wisdom regarding what and what not to do in the college search. Some of the writers included in this anthology are Joe Quennan, Anna Quindlen, Jane Hamilton, and Gail

Hudson. Students, too, can take some valuable insights from the words of these parents as they navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of the college process.

Crazy U, by Andrew Ferguson - An author and journalist of note provides a candid and humorous chronicle of his ​ ​ journey through the college admissions process with his own son… and how much his son teaches him along the way.

Fiske Guide to Colleges, ed. by Edward B. Fiske – Perhaps the most trusted guide to information about the over 310 ​ ​ colleges contained in the book. While that list of schools is perhaps the biggest limitation to this valuable volume, the individual school essays (not just statistics) are developed and updated with care and with regular input from students and administrators at the colleges and universities in question.

The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges, ed. by the staff of the Yale Daily News – Written from an irreverent ​ ​ ​ ​ adolescent’s point of view, this guidebook is more readable, perhaps, than many other guidebooks. It provides good information in a way that captures the interest and attention of the prospective college applicant. A good contrast to the Fiske Guide or other, more “encyclopedic” college guidebooks.

Panicked Parents’ Guide to College Admissions, by Sally Rubenstone and Sidonia Dalby – Written by veterans of ​ ​ the Smith College Admissions office, this handy volume addresses all steps of the college process from the parent viewpoint. Written in an engaging and witty style, parents will appreciate the advice provided and the reassurance that all involved will survive! Now published by Peterson’s, all sections have been updated and augmented for greater value and effectiveness.

Big Fat Research Volumes:

College Handbook 2018; The College Board - This is the only guide available that contains objective information on ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ every accredited college in the United States--2,200 four-year colleges and universities, and 1,700 two-year community colleges and technical schools. With its clearly laid-out entries and more than 40 indexes, the College Handbook 2018 is ​ ​ also a fast, relatively easy way for students to find specific information, narrow a search, and compare the schools in which they may have initial interest.

The Best 384 Colleges, 2019 Edition: In-Depth Profiles & Ranking Lists to Help Find the Right College For You; The Princeton Review - Over 25 years and more than a million student surveys later, Princeton Review stands ​ ​ by its claim that there is no single “best” college, only the best college for you … and that this is the book that will help ​ ​ ​ ​ you find it! Helpful information, some interesting organizational methods, and a lively style captures one’s attention; ​ however, this compendium is limited by its ‘ranking’ focus, so ignore that aspect and this will help.

Four-Year Colleges 2019; Peterson’s (49th Edition) - This large volume is considered by some to be the ultimate guide ​ ​ for students trying to choose the best college or university for their undergraduate education. Information on every accredited four-year institution in the U.S. and Canada, including many international schools - totaling more than 2,500 institutions - is provided here. Additionally, useful articles on creating a short list of your "Top Ten" colleges, surviving ​ standardized tests, preparing your college application, paying for college, finding scholarships, and advice for international students applying to U.S. colleges and universities are all included in its many pages.