Synopses & Reviews
Two expert college admissions consultantsa mother-daughter teamshare their step-by-step, proven strategy for creating an application that stands out and gets you IN!
Lillian Luterman and Jennifer Bloom have been helping high school students get into choice schools for more than twenty years. For each student, their method is based on a simple concept: be alike but spike.” Ironically, its often the well-rounded student,” an ideal many applicants strive for, who gets rejected. This book shows students how to create an individual distinction by identifying a passion and layering” itshowcasing their interest in many different ways. While guiding students through every step in the application process, this book is enlivened with instructive case studies, charts and checklists, sidebars for parents, and New Yorker cartoons.
And unlike most books about getting in,” In!s lessons do not end at college acceptance. Luterman and Bloom present the admissions process as an opportunity for students to mature, expand their horizons, and discover what makes them tick. This book gets students in, and gives them the tools and confidence they will need for future success.
Be Alike”How to optimize your GPA, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and more.
Spike”How to develop a unique area of distinction that makes you stand out from your peers.
How to create a winning college applicationincluding personal essays, activity chart, letters of recommendation, and more.
How to choose the right college for YOU, and how to prepare to attend, and afford, your top-choice school.
Review
An accessible, student-centric approach
Clear examples demonstrate how to incorporate individual talents and energies into an effective strategy.
In! will show you how to shine.”
Ray Kim, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Academic Advising, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
In! offers smart tools that can be employed successfully anywhere one wishes to excel.”
Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas
Helpful and easy-to-read
An excellent guide, especially for students trying to compete at the top level...”
Library Journal
"In! College Admissions and Beyond is the best resource book I have seen for preparing high school students and their parents for the college admissions process. It has both tactical and strategic advice and can be read cover to cover or used as a reference. I used it with my daughter and it made a tremendous difference in her understanding of the process and, therefore, her ability to compete effectively."
Sally K. Bayless, Through The Magic Door
Synopsis
An award-winning, step-by-step guide to college admissions that helps students through every aspect of the application process and gives them a proven approach to make their application stand out from the rest.
Two expert college admissions consultantsa mother-daughter teamshare their step-by-step, proven strategy for creating an application that stands out and gets you IN
College admissions has never been more stressful. Not only is admission ruthlessly competitive, with more and more qualified students applying each year, but the application process has become more confusing than ever before. Most parents and students feel anxious, overwhelmed, and confused by the choices and trade-offs.
In is based on the authors 20+ years of experience working privately on boarding, college, and graduate school admissions with students from all over the world. While there is no shortage of college admissions guidebooks on the market, In offers students and their parents a crucial element that none of the others do: a clear, step-by-step strategy that helps students not only compete academically with other qualified applicants but also develop a defining interestin incremental, attainable stepsthat distinguishes them from their peers and gives them an edge with college admissions officers.
This strategy is summed up in a four-word phrase: be alike but spike. This means that the applicant must perform on par with other students applying to similar colleges, while also working to stand out from the packlike a spike on a graphin one area. (Ironically, it s often the well-rounded student, an ideal many applicants strive for, who gets rejected.) In shows students how to create that distinction by identifying and "layering" their passion, showcasing their interest in many different ways and circumstances.
Enlivened with instructive case studies as well as entertaining New Yorker cartoons, this book carefully guides students through the application process, showing them how to rise to the top of an applicant pool of thousands. And unlike most books about getting in, In s lessons do not end at college acceptance. Rather than viewing college admissions as a hurdle to be quickly and painlessly cleared, mother-daughter team Luterman and Bloom present it as an opportunity for students to mature, expand their horizons, and discover what makes them tick. Not only does this book get you in, it gives teenagers the tools and confidence they'll need for future success.
Be Alike How to optimize your GPA, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and more.
Spike How to develop a unique area of distinction that makes you stand out from your peers.
How to create a winning college applicationincluding personal essays, activity chart, letters of recommendation, and more.
How to choose the right college for YOU, and how to prepare to attend, and afford, your top-choice school."
Synopsis
Two expert college admissions consultants?a mother-daughter team?share their step-by-step, proven strategy for creating an application that stands out and gets you IN
College admissions has never been more stressful. Not only is admission ruthlessly competitive, with more and more qualified students applying each year, but the application process has become more confusing than ever before. Most parents and students feel anxious, overwhelmed, and confused by the choices and trade-offs.
In is based on the authors' 20+ years of experience working privately on boarding, college, and graduate school admissions with students from all over the world. While there is no shortage of college admissions guidebooks on the market, In offers students and their parents a crucial element that none of the others do: a clear, step-by-step strategy that helps students not only compete academically with other qualified applicants but also develop a defining interest?in incremental, attainable steps?that distinguishes them from their peers and gives them an edge with college admissions officers.
This strategy is summed up in a four-word phrase: ?be alike but spike." This means that the applicant must perform on par with other students applying to similar colleges, while also working to stand out from the pack?like a spike on a graph?in one area. (Ironically, it's often the ?well-rounded student," an ideal many applicants strive for, who gets rejected.) In shows students how to create that distinction by identifying and "layering" their passion, showcasing their interest in many different ways and circumstances.
Enlivened with instructive case studies as well as entertaining New Yorker cartoons, this book carefully guides students through the application process, showing them how to rise to the top of an applicant pool of thousands. And unlike most books about ?getting in," In 's lessons do not end at college acceptance. Rather than viewing college admissions as a hurdle to be quickly and painlessly cleared, mother-daughter team Luterman and Bloom present it as an opportunity for students to mature, expand their horizons, and discover what makes them tick. Not only does this book get you in, it gives teenagers the tools and confidence they'll need for future success.
?Be Alike"?How to optimize your GPA, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and more.
?Spike"?How to develop a unique area of distinction that makes you stand out from your peers.
How to create a winning college application?including personal essays, activity chart, letters of recommendation, and more.
How to choose the right college for YOU, and how to prepare to attend, and afford, your top-choice school.
About the Author
A mother/daughter team, Lillian Luterman and Jennifer Bloom work privately on boarding, college, and graduate school admissions with students from all over the world.
Lillian Luterman has been involved in education throughout her entire career. She began her educational consulting practice twenty years ago and has watched it expand globally. Her current clients include children of Fortune 500 CEOs and government leaders. A graduate of McGill University with a masters degree from Emerson College, Lillian specializes in working with clients with learning problems as well as with gifted children. She lives with her husband in Westport, Connecticut.
A graduate of Harvard College, Cambridge University (U.K.), and Harvard Business School, Jennifer Bloom began working with her mother in 2005. Prior to that, she spent more than ten years in marketing and advertising. She has worked for companies such as American Express, Ogilvy and Mather, and J. Walter Thompson, creating and launching new services as well as award-winning advertising campaigns.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I, BE ALIKE”
Part II, SPIKE”
Part III, PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER: BEING ALIKE AND SPIKING ON THE COLLEGE APPLICATION”
CONCLUSION: COLLEGE AND BEYOND
Appendix
The COLLEGE PREPARATION TIMELINE
WAITLIST AND DEFERRAL STRATEGIES
RESOURCES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Index