Customer Reviews

Countdown to College: 21 To Do Lists for High School: Step-By-Step Strategies for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Graders 2nd Edition

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After being shown this book, I ordered two copies; one for my niece and one for my nephew, both of whom will be graduating from eighth grade next spring. Having gone through the experience of looking at, applying to, and choosing colleges with two sons, I can say that the information this book contains is right on the mark. It is thorough, succinctly presented, and easily understood. The list format and quotes from students present the information in a logical way that is fun to read. Organizing the lists as tasks to be considered during each year of high school makes the college search process much less overwhelming. I wish that "Countdown to College" had been available as my family felt its way through the process for the first time seven years ago.

As the president of College Parents of America, the only nationwide member association dedicated to serving and advocating on behalf of current and future college parents, I consider Valerie Pierce's "Countdown to College" to be one of the most valuable and user-friendly college planning guides in print. When I first began compiling and culling information for parents to access on our Web site (www.collegeparents.org), I consulted "Countdown" frequently for resources and easy-to-understand explanations of complex preparation and application processes. I found the book to be concise, well-organized and comprehensive in its "To Do" lists for high school students. Today, my staff and I still keep several dog-eared copies around for quick and easy reference. And, we have enlisted Ms. Pierce as one of our "Ask the Experts" panelists for our members to consult. I highly recommend this book for all parents of high school students -- and I guarantee that their copies will become dog-eared as well!

This book is a "must have" for any college-bound student. As a certified trainer for the College for Texans program, I know how important it is to start the process early. This book is a comprehensive guide to the entire college preparation, admission and financial aid process. I've seen many, many guides to college and this is very best!

I am in eighth grade and am already looking into what to do to get into top colleges. Through all of my research, I have to admit, I got very confused. This book helped me see when to get things done, how to get them done, and also gave some extra sites to help you on your journey through high school and on to college. This book is chocked full of financial aid and scholarship tips, volunteer information, the "ABCs of SATs and ACTs", many checklists of what to do in each grade and in the summers, how to lay out a four year plan, and tons of advice from students who have already taken the journey into college.

I would recommend this book to anybody!! And it was easy to read for an eighth grader!! 21 'To Do' Lists for High School is a great investment!!

This superb book is best given to a student in 9th grade or soon to be in 9th grade to get the full value of the information. I curiously checked it out from my local library hoping it might contain information about applying to graduate school (it doesn't). I read it anyway and seriously wished it was around when I was applying for college because it would have made life a WHOLE LOT EASIER. And seriously, what poor high school kid couldn't benefit from a little bit of assistance on one topic - college - that's going to haunt them for four years and cause unparalleled stress.

Not only does it contain basic to-do lists for each academic year, but it provides a wealth of information on volunteering, scholarships, summer jobs, extracurricular activities, travel opportunities etc etc. It has advice on making the most out of your high school education and keeping things organized so that when it does come time to apply for college it doesn't take 4 months to track down every last scrap of information you need.

Prevent ulcers, migraines and stress-zits in you favorite 14-year-old and give them this book!

I found this book to be very helpfull in planning for the junior year...it gave me alot of insight. i purchased copies for my children...to get them motivated and helpful in planning for the upcomming school years. I like how it was broken down into sections by year. The suggestions/quotes by students/counselors. The time line gives me a starting point...before reading this i was overwhelmed with where to start, when and what i needed.

I have loaned out my second copy and will probably buy 2-3 more because we have lots of friends with kids in high school. Everyone LOVES this. This is another awesome book I stumbled upon on Amazon that we've been referring to a lot for the past two years. Nice affordable gift for a family or a teenager. Great resource to help you keep up with the tests, college applications, finances, scholarships, jobs, visiting schools, and almost every imaginable part of college preparation. No matter what grade your student is in, it is not too late. You will find lots of helpful information to help you get on track and ready for college. Highly recommend this!

This book is a wonderful resource on preparing high-schoolers to move through the college preparation and application process. I wish it had been available when my children went to college.

Countdown To College, gives each reader practical tools and insights on how to effectively plan and prepare for college. I guarantee it will answer every question you might have about the college process. This is a must read for all high school students and their parents.

I picked up a copy of this book for my 10th grade daughter about 2 months ago. This is a phenominal resource for ANYONE with college bound children, especially those just getting started with high school like my daughter. We have already put most of the suggested "to dos" for the sophmore year into action. At this point, I fully expect that we will recieve a 5000% return on investment in this book! In fact, I'm going to buy another one right now so that I can work the program along side my daughter!