Books for Preparing for College

Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook:
Preparing Your 12- to 18-Year-Old for a Smooth Transition
by Cafi Cohen, Linda Dobson (Editor)

LOVED IT
Reviewer: Dolores F. from Pismo Beach, CA United States

  All students homeschooled or institutionally educated should read and heed Cafi Cohen's Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook. It's fascinating. (Without obvious intent this book makes a strong case for continual lifetime learning.) It is an exceptionally well-annotated reference work. It more than adequately addresses the doubts homeschooling families have about college admission. The "How we (they) did it" excerpts are inspiring. There are real examples of good admission essays. Transcripts are covered. This handbook is as easy and fun to read as the Reader's Digest.

   The benefits of this book begin when the pupil can read. Don't wait for the student to ask, "What about College? The sections of the book on "Paper Trails" and "Putting It All Together" are worth more than the cost of the book. All homeschooling families must have this book in their library.

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When Hope and Fear Collide:
A Portrait of Today's College Student
by Arthur Levine

An insight to this generation's struggles.
Reviewer: A reader from Logan, Utah

   When Hope & Fear Collide is a book every person in student affairs should read. This book explores the reasoning behind today's struggling college student. It explains why students perceive college as necessary not merely for learning, but for obtaining a better job and a better life. Learning is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. This book also gives a history of the events these students were exposed to during their lives and the role these events play in shaping their attitudes towards college and life.
   Students today view universities as businesses. They expect royal customer service and won't settle for anything less. They will take their money elsewhere. Students spend more time working jobs or with relationships than they do on college studies. When asked how they feel, students usually respond with the word "tired". When asked what they do for fun they respond, "study". Many students have become recluses with their jampacked rooms full of everything from VCR's to coffee machines. They don't need to go out for anything. Even classes are held on-line, so forget going to class.
   Students today are more likely to fear not being able to succeed than their peers a decade ago. They ask, "Will we have it better than our parents?" This fear is juxtaposed to their great hope to try and achieve. This generation is very service oriented and believe they can make a difference in their own backyard and thus, affect the world. Again, if you are in student affairs, administration or residential life, this book will be beneficial.

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ABC of Getting the MBA Admissions Edge (US)
(officially supported by McKinsey & Co. and Goldman Sachs)
by Matt Symonds, Alan Mendonca

A real Must..,
Reviewer: Brian O'Donnell from USA

  I must admit I needed a helping hand with my application. The Essays, GMAT, letters of recommendation... sometimes seems like an endless process where you never know if you're wasting your time since you have no guarantee of being accepted (especially at schools where it's getting ridiculously competitive). this book has guided me through the whole process.

   First, the book gives you the confidence you need to keep faith. It outlines loads of testimonials of successful candidates (Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Columbia, Kellogg...). When you read their stories, you feel that they were like you: people who had accomplished some stuff but obviously had doubts and weaknesses. Then, the game is how you present yourself and how you write successful essays.

  The key is that you should adapt your essays to the various school profiles. The authors have done an outstanding work on the top schools. There are about 50 pages per school outlining the differences between all the schools. If you want to be admitted to Stanford, you obviously don't say the same thing in your essays as if you want to be admitted to Columbia. The great thing about this book is that you get insider information. The other books I bought are just too general, stuff like "smile on the day of your interview"....this is more specific.
 

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The Ultimate Verbal and Vocabulary Builder for the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT and LSAT
by Lighthouse Review Inc.

Easy to use
Reviewer: minkidd from Austin, Texas

  The way this workbook had me actually using vocabulary, rather than just studying lists of words, helped to firmly "plant" these words and their definitions in my mind. By following the instructions to write synonyms, antonyms and sentences using each vocabulary word, without a doubt, has been the strongest tool that I have found to increase my test score.
 

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