Books


I have always been an avid reader. I used to brush my teeth before school with a book in one hand and my toothbrush in the other. I have read many books on college admissions and I like to hand them out to my students marked with specific pages to read. These are the books I’ve found most helpful with both the process and helping to give peace of mind to anyone going through the process.

Admission Matters

This is a great overview of the admissions process from start to finish.

Fiske Guide to Colleges 2019

One of the “big books” with profiles of more than 350 colleges and an excellent reference.

College Essay Essentials

Written by Ethan Sawyer (The College Essay Guy) College Essay Essentials is an essential book for College Essays. It contains great brainstorming exercises, specific ways to organize your essay and great examples of successful essays. The College Essay Guy is also my “go-to” for resources and information on the entire application process.

The Fair Opportunity Project

Free downloable guide put together by two Harvard Students.

Crazy U

This is a funny, informative book that you will love reading. It’s a bit dated now as it was published in 2011 but it’s still worth the read.

Colleges That Change Lives

This is a fantastic book that will get kids and parents thinking about schools that they probably haven’t considered yet.

The Naked Roommate

This book should be a gift for every college-bound graduating senior. There is so much marketing that many kids think they will be going to paradise and don’t realize there may be an adjustment period.

Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be

A great book showing kids and parents that success depends on hard work, persistence, and determination, and not the name of the college you attend. It’s a dose of sanity in the high pressure world of college admissions.