Get into Any College: Secrets of Harvard Students (Get Into Any College)

They show you how they did it. Essentially, it is by leaving much less to chance than any of the other applicants. They show a level of readiness, preparedness, thoroughness, and maturity that is uncanny. Their attitude and methodology will make you not only successful in your college admission process, but in business, and life.

One of the keys is to realize that success is dependent on both quantitative factors (GPAs, test scores) and qualitative factors (extracurricular achievements, essays, and evaluations). In most aspect in life this is also true; you need a good mix of IQ and EQ to succeed. The authors actually make a case that the essay may be the most important part of the application. They state that in terms of getting into the top schools, a great essay can make up for a mediocre GPA (anything is relative, I think we are talking about a 3.4 GPA). But, an excellent GPA (4.0) can not make up for a poor essay. Evaluations are also critical. Again, the authors leave very little to chance, and show you a neat way to make your recommenders write you first class evaluations (give them a banzai resume, show them an article on writing recommendation, etc...).

This is the first book I read on this subject. And, `Get Into College' has set the bar extremely high for all other books on this subject.


OK   June 19, 2003
 11 out of 24 found this review helpful

I haven't throughly read through the book. However, I have breifly examined most of the chapters, but have not come across any amazing, new, or non-explicit information. Most of the advice is simply common sense acquired by most high schoolers through different programs, lectures, seminars, etc. If you are new or not currently preparing for admissions, the book would probably help direct you in a proper direction. However, after recently finishing my sophmore year in high school, I was impressed. I have read a few colleges-admission books, and I strongly, emphaticaly, and rigidly recommend "A is for Admission" by Michele Hernandez. She worked, as an admissions officer or director (not sure of the exact position), for around twenty years at Dartmouth. She takes you into the highly-selective Ivy League admissions office. The book provides sample applications, sample discussions of admissions officers, and other valuable information. Buy it! PS: I am not "A is for Admission" for monetary reasons ;) Also, if you are really interested in admissions, check out the collegeconfidential.com discussion boards.


very helpful   October 25, 2002
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

As being an International student, I didn't know much about college application. In the past summer, I got three books on college application and essays. This is the one that I think the most helpful. I believe no matter who you are, there are so many tips that you might not know. The teachers' recommandation for example, it teaches you how to "help" your teacher to write an excellent one. Also, it has essays that worked and didn't. So you can see the difference between them. From reading this book, I've gained more confidence about the whole college application process. If you don't know much about what to do, get this book as soon as you can and you will find out that it is actually not that hard.