Customer Reviews

Don't Worry, You'll Get In: 100 Winning Tips for Stress-Free College Admissions

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Parents and teenagers who have already read extensively about the college admissions process or worked with professional counselors will not find much new in this book, but this is an excellent choice for the teenager who is procrastinating or feeling overwhelmed by the process. Each page has a short paragraph with a useful tip, including a simple title and phrase to summarize the advice. The format is great for thumbing through or simply referring to the topics where advice is needed at the time - for example, a student preparing for an interview would find about 20 helpful tips in the "Interviews Chapter" - including advice on what to wear, how to prepare, and what to talk about. It would take only a few minutes to review this section - yet it probably covers everything the student is likely to be concerned about.
This book is a great choice for teens who don't have the time to read a lengthy discourse and who tend to tune out anything that sounds like parental advice.

I just received this book and want to kiss the authors myself. My son is a high school junior and the frenzy over at our house has begun. I'm stressed, my husband's stressed, and my son Josh is a mess. I read about this book coming up and preordered a copy. It arrived and Josh disappeared for about an hour and then threw it onto my lap saying, "Well this makes sense Mom you read it."
I did and feel calmer already. It puts things in perspective without telling us to give up. Sure, Josh can do this thing...without losing his mind.

It's been over 30 years since I went through the college application process and things sure have changed. I am now the parent of a high school junior and have been reading everything out there to help my daughter with this procedure. Since I'm not sure if she wants or needs my help, this book is something I can hand her that she actually will read. It is simply written and guides the student through the application and college selection process without stressing them out.

Ms. Doe and Dr. Hernandez,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your newest book.

I've now read your all of Dr. Hernandez's books, "Harvard Schmarvard", and Chuck Hughes' book. The emotional swings I've experienced while reading these have borne a marked similarity to Kubler Ross's 5 stages of accepting a terminal illness...in this case the sickness of applying to elite colleges. I'm now accepting the difficulty of the process and the most likely outcome that my child won't get into her dream school, no matter how smart she is, but was still lingering in the depression stage when I found your new book. It is the ONLY book that 1) addresses the kids (not the parents) and 2) injects the realism about the process that many kids and parents don't want to hear...in a POSITIVE and ACTION-ORIENTED way! For the first time, I felt that, although my kid may ultimately not get into the prestigious school she thinks she desires, she WILL get into the college that's right for her and has the tips she needs to show her best self to the adcoms. I dog-eared several pages and put it on the table next to her backpack. I actually saw her pick it up, start leafing through the pages, and then take it with her to the kitchen table to read while she ate her breakfast this morning. Thank you!

Mimi Doe, a renown parenting expert, and Dr. Michele A. Hernandez, an expert on college admissions (and former assistant director of admissions at Dartmouth College), are perfect authors for this almost perfect book.

As the only high school student to review the book (as of now), I must say I was impressed with the book. One particular part of the book I was pleasantly surprised with was how well the admission tips from Dr. Hernandez blended in with the psychiatric tips from Mimi Doe, which are located side-by-side. The admission tips help with improving your chance of admission to the college that is "right" for you, while the tips from Mimi Doe help you deal with it, as well as providing interesting tips to help you mentally. After reading the book cover-to-cover, I only found one tip that wasn't useful, which was a suggestion bring to a CD player with relaxing music to take College Board tests (the College Board does not permit this). Nonetheless, I found the rest of the stress-fress admission tips useful and inspiring and will follow the tips to help my admission chances.

This is a wonderful book filled with great tips to help high school students ease their worry about getting into college. With practical knowledge, insider information, and a real understanding about the emotional challenges of the college application process, this book really speaks to students themselves, rather than their parents. Perfect for any student preparing for the college admissions process! Kudos to the authors for providing a resource kids will actually WANT to read!

As a parent with a daughter in High School I've read many college admissions books (including 2 others by Dr. Hernandez), and I have to say, this one is really helpful because it breaks down the process into bite-sized pieces. Although the tips are short, they are very helpful and well-organized. The authors break the tips down into 10 chapters, each one on a major theme (essays, college visits, summer plans, etc...) and then give 10 tips each. Dr. Hernandez' tips focus on the college admissions side while Mimi Doe's focus on how to keep yourself "stress free" at the same time. I loved the tone of the book (lighthearted and helpful) and the way the two authors interact in the chapters. Although you'll find yourself whipping through the book in a few hours, I'd bet that like me you'll dog-ear many pages to go back to. Additionally, the book has a very nice layout and I think the resource section at the end really adds a lot of value. I would say this is a worthwhile purchase for parents and students going through the college process.

Some useful information for interviews , otherwise this book has just common sense information. Some of the tips are completely out of date.I am sure the authors are experts in their field , but skip this one. Very disappointing.

This is such a nonthreatening book to give to my son who is right in the middle of this experience. It's full of great tips and he can check them off (hopefully) when he has done them. And, because of the wonderful stress free ideas...he won't feel so pressured.
I love this book and believe me we have them all.

not really hard, solid facts. just a collection of little pick-me-ups and quotes. not worth the price.