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Don't Stalk the Admissions Officer: How to Survive the College Admissions Process without Losing Your Mind

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Don't Stalk the Admissions Officer is a rare "get into college" help book. It gives real life, practical tips that will help both high schoolers and their parents get through the process. But what makes it so awesome is that every page offers laughs at how preposterous the whole affair has become. From lampooning overachievers to slackers, dull-witted high school guidance counselors and helicopter parents, no one gets out unscathed. You might see yourself, too.
But Lewak offers some sage advice that could be life changing for a lot of people. She highlights the benefits of community college. And doing after school activities that really mean something to you, and done not just for impressing a college admissions officer. These might sound like simple ideas, but if many students followed this advice, they and their parents would be a lot happier. And richer! Finally, a college guide that recognizes that kids should enjoy high school and not spend those four years thinking only of the future. A must-read for kids and parents about to take the college admissions plunge...

"The College Admissions process can be overwhelming. Here's some help:
p.31-What to do when you have no idea where to apply
p.80-After the College Tour and Info Session
p.113-Write a strong essay that reflects you
p.136-What Admission Officers Hate
p.140- What Admission Officers Love
p.162-How to Choose the Right School"

I stumbled upon this book in Borders and couldn't put it down. It was absolutely hilarious, and I only wish it had been available when I was applying to college a decade ago. Not only does it provide extremely relevant tips for high school students of all ages, it also provides some levity to an area that is in dire need of it. I work with adolescents and will be recommending that they check it out.

This book is a great choice for students, parents, and anyone interested in--or stressed out over--the college admissions process. The author offers helpful information and guidance, interlaced with witty humor and very funny anecdotes, to help ease the stress from the admissions process. I highly recommend it.Don't Stalk the Admissions Officer: How to Survive the College Admissions Process without Losing Your Mind

Save your money. This women does not know what she is writing about. I encourage you to work with your school who can truly help you. The money you would have used from this book, put in your college fund.

Whether you're planning to go to college or have been out for 20 years, you will love this book. This book will take you through the whole process on a funny and entertaining ride. Those of us who have been out of school for decades will appreciate what students go through today. The author knows that you need to laugh in order to survive being an admissions officer.

I work with students of all ages, and picked up this book so I could learn more about helping them "survive" the college admissions process. Using humor and straight-to-the-point sisterly-like advice, Risa Lewak's book makes all high school students feel special. By mixing humor in with helpful quizzes, sample essays and advice from teens and educators all over the U.S., Risa put together one helpful college guide that reassures students no matter where they end up, they're special, worthy, and not definied by where they went to college. The chapter that stuck out to me the most was the one about how making a decision about college is one of the first 'steps' in becoming an adult. This book should be available for students to read at high schools all over the U.S. It's not dry and monotonous like other college books out there...Risa talks TO the students, not down to them, in a passionate voice that makes the young readers truly feel like she truly 'gets' them...she's BEEN in their shoes before, and it's evident. Thumbs up.

[The following review has been excerpted from The College Whisperer, [...]]

The advice offered Don't Stalk the Admissions Officer: How to Survive the College Admissions Process without Losing Your Mind, while tongue in cheek (and sometimes, in your belly button) is right on, sprinkled with truisms ("the only voice that's important in the college decision-making is your own") and poignantly stating the obvious (to wit, that the college admissions process, with all of its attendant insanities and inanities, is absurd).

This is comic relief (think Robin Williams and Billy Crystal as your college tour guides) at its very best, at a time when you -- students and parents alike -- need it most. Both website and book are gems amidst the coal in the college admissions deep, dark mine. [Gee, I hope The College Whisperer gets quoted on the book's jacket. Do books still have jackets? Uh, not paperbacks. Sorry.]

Perhaps the best advice offered is that which The College Whisperer has been giving to students, parents, and his own daughters all along: Relax. You'll get into college. Maybe not your first choice, or even your second, but a great college, nonetheless. You will survive this tedious and sometimes sophomoric process, to find yourself stronger (if not a bit lighter in the wallet), bound for four spectacular years that you will remember fondly for the rest of your lives.

So, have fun with the admissions process (even stalk your guidance counselor. Heck, you'll never see him again, anyway! j/k). Okay, don't complete the Common App in crayon (is such a thing possible?), but as Risa Lewak so aptly concludes, "laugh at the absurdity of college admissions."

As loathe as The College Whisperer is to encourage college-bound students to buy those college-bound books (especially the ones that say they will tell you how to go to college without going broke, while themselves sucking every last dollar out of your wallet), Risa Lewak's "Don't Stalk the Admissions Officer" is a keeper!