The Enlightened College Applicant

A New Approach to the Search and Admissions Process

By (author) Andrew Belasco, Dave Bergman

Publication date:

30 August 2016

Length of book:

252 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781475826906

Deluged with messages that range from “It’s Ivy League or bust” to “It doesn’t matter where you go,” college applicants and their families often find themselves lost, adrift in a sea of information overload. Finally—a worthy life preserver has arrived. The Enlightened College Applicant presents a no-nonsense account of how students should approach the college search and admissions process. Instead of providing recycled entrance statistics or anecdotal generalizations about campus life, authors Belasco and Bergman incorporate cutting-edge data and research to pull back the curtain on critical topics such as:

Whether college prestige really matters,
How to maximize your college admission prospects
Which schools and degrees provide the best return on investment
How to minimize the costs of a college education
What college-related skills are valued in the job market,

and much more. Whether you are a valedictorian or a B/C student, this easy-to-read book will improve your college savvy and enable you to maximize the benefits of your higher education.

Dedication
Acknowledgements
College Reframed: An Introduction
Chapter 1: The Big Picture
Chapter 2: College Reframed: What Really Matters in a College
Chapter 3: Getting In: Admission Mythbusters
Chapter 4: Getting In: Improving Your Odds
Chapter 5: Getting In: Applying
Chapter 6: Planning the Financial End
Chapter 7: College Advice for the Career Minded: So You Want to Be a…
Ten Key Takeaways & Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendix A
About the Authors

Belasco and Bergman, cofounders of education consulting firm College Transitions, have put together a friendly, easy-to-follow guide for approaching the overwhelming topic of higher education. The authors give parents a bird’s-eye perspective of the college admissions landscape, discussing the financial realities of college education along with practical advice for helping children identify colleges that are right for them. Acknowledging that students and parents alike are drawn to big-name schools, they open with the sobering fact that 37,000 students will compete for 2,000 seats in Harvard’s class of 2021. For best results, they advise high school seniors on curriculum choices for their final years of high school and dispel the notion that summer programs carry any weight in acceptance. Nowadays schools tabulate 'demonstrated interest' based on whether prospective students use social media to introduce themselves to their top choices. Parents may have trouble accepting that 'higher education is a buyer’s market,' but the voice of reason in these soon-to-be dog-eared pages will provide comfort and direction for those starting the application process.