The 75 Biggest Myths about College Admissions: Stand Out from the Pack, Avoid Mistakes, and Get Into the College of Your Dreams

by Jerry Israel

ADMISSIONS SECRETS COLLEGES DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW

THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ... and incredibly confusing. You have probably heard countless "facts" as to what works, what colleges want to see, and how to get into competitive colleges. Don't believe the hype Following the wrong college application myths can cost you time, money, and most important, the chance to get accepted into the school of your...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402209959
• ISBN13: 9781402209956
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Application empowerment

My daughter and I read this last spring of her junior year in high school and it was extremely enlightening. The short sections were perfect for her attention span (at the beginning of the application process). Then this fall in her senior year, she picked it up again to help guide her in the application process. She came away with the attitude that it was in her power to get into any college she desired. I was excited that she now felt in control of the process. This book helped broaden her college search because she no longer felt some schools were out of her reach. She ended up applying to academically challenging small colleges and pursuing some options for athletic participation in college. Thank you, Dr. Israel. The length of the chapters, the questions, and content of easily understandable answers are excellent. I sent an email to her senior class recommending this book!

An excellent insider's perspective on colleges

We have two daughters nearing college age and this book provided useful insight into the admissions process. Jerry has spent his career in higher education, was President at Morningside College and the University of Indianapolis, and his experience gives him a refreshing take on the college selection process. Because Jerry really doesn't come from the world of elite college institutions (like Harvard or Princeton) his perspective is the kind that is useful to most of us who have children that have the vita to attend a good state college or private university, but don't aspire to 1600 on the SAT. Some of Jerry's myths in the book are fairly conventional, of course completing college is more important than where you attend. But it is in Israel's discussion of the business model used by most colleges, and this model's impact on the price a family is likely to pay for college that the book shines. Essentially the argument boils down to the following: 1) The quoted price of tuition is typically higher than the actual cost of education. This pricing model is designed to give the college leverage to charge high income families what the market will bear while giving them space to negotiate price with other prospects. The price of college is almost always a sticker shock for parents, and many parents avoid considering private colleges at all because the posted price is so intimidated. Israel does a nice job of explaining why this is a mistake. 2) Colleges are prepared to negotiate price with most of their prospects. This negotiation is generally conducted by offering scholarships (which are really just discounts on price) and loans. 3) Colleges are more likely to work with students who treat the college as if it is their first choice and with students who best complete the profile of the student population they are trying to recruit. 4) Colleges won't negotiate if they aren't asked. If you are truly interested in the school and explain your circumstances well, colleges will do what they can (within reason) to close the deal. Thus purchasing college, in some respects, isn't much different than buying a car, and Jerry does a nice job of debunking the myth that somehow it is. Jerry's insights on how to test a college are also well worth reading. After reading the book, I'm convinced that we'll make at least one unannounced visit to any college that our daughters are seriously considering. If you are just starting the college selection process, this book is a great resource to frame the search and get started on the right foot.

Something you will keep going back to

Very helpful already and we are just in the beginning phases of the college selection process. I can see that it will be something more than a one time read but will be used as a valuble resource to give insider-like tips to guide you through the entire college application process.

Wonderful Resource

I am the mother of a college sophomore and a high school junior so I've bought and skimmed through a lot of college books over the years. Many of them disappoint me because they are often focused on getting kids into the Ivy League. This fixation is ridiculously misplaced when you consider that only .2% of kids attend these eight schools. Jerry Israel's book, however, is extremely helpful because it addresses the needs of all teenagers intent on attending college. It's a very empowering book because it explains that high school students and their parents enjoy far more bargaining power than they realize. One of the themes of the book is that schools need and want good kids -- even if they don't have 4.0 GPA's and killer SAT scores. In many ways, it's a buyer's market. The key, of course, is to find solid academic and financial fits and Israel, who was the former president of the University of Indianapolis, provides lots of suggestions. Israel doesn't name any specific institutions in his book, which is one of the reasons why I think my own title, The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, would make a perfect companion book. My book shares the same educational philosophy, but it also names names. I provide real examples, for instance, of how colleges decide who will receive the best aid packages and who won't. I also mention the names of schools in the chapters that I devote to explaining how families can truly evaluate schools as well as departments within them. I think anybody who reads the 75 Biggest Myths About College Admissions and The College Solution will be well prepared for the college odyssey.

75 Truths About the Business of College Admissions

The cover of The 75 Biggest Myths About College Admissions offers the reader the opportunity to "Stand Out from the Pack, Avoid Mistakes, and Get into the College of Your Dreams." The book delivers on all counts and more. On one level it works as a "How To" book for high school students desiring an inside look at the college admissions process and the best approaches to get accepted by the college(s) of their choice. Each of the 75 biggest myths are presented and accompanied by a "Reality" with detailed explanation of that reality. Often, it is a reality that less than consumer friendly institutions of higher learning might not want shared. The book provides students with tactics to make themselves informed consumers looking for a college environment that best fits their educational and financial needs. Just as important, it provides means to discern whether their prospective colleges are truly consumer friendly, actively seeking to meet those needs. A veil is removed that depicts the selection process as one often based upon business decisions not always in the best interest of the prospective student, and sometimes not even in the best interest of the institution involved. The book details how colleges obtain student information along with the approaches and time lines used to recruit and make financial offers. It outlines tactics for students and parents to measure the merit of potential financial aid. If this book is interpreted only on the "How To" level it deserves to be read by high school guidance counselors and any student seeking admission. It also might serve as a guide to university personnel seeking advice on becoming consumer friendly. On another level this book provides something even more important to prospective college students, something likely to be appreciated by their parents. It presents a reality and philosophy about the true meaning of this process, student success. Myth 2 states, "Success in life depends on which college you choose." The reality is, "Success in life depends not on which college you go to, but whether you graduate from college." From that point on the book not only outlines tactics to use in gaining admission to the college of your choice, but interweaves with those realities what it means to be the kind of student that can make the most of this book and their full college experience. It provides a proactive selection approach for the student, suggesting topics like an unannounced visit to campus to test the institution's receptiveness and ability to react. It awakens the potential recruit to the reality that this process, to get the most out of it and their future college experience, should not be one of passive acceptance of whatever is placed in front of them. Students should use this process to apply and improve their critical thinking skills in making one of the most important decisions of their lives. Those of us that have lived our lives, attended college, and graduated ca