Customer Reviews

How to Make Colleges Want You: Insider Secrets for Tipping the Admissions Odds in Your Favor

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book cover is colorful and has illustrations inside and it is not very imposing in terms of size, thus making it more likely that high school students will read it. From the start the author gives proof that he is not a super student as his GPA is below average and his SAT is little above average rounding out to an approximate average student (he also mentions later that he got accepted to Northwestern and the University of Chicago). This is the exact type of student that would be most likely to read this book.



The first section: Understanding Admission -- is short, funny and interesting. In fact it quickly lays out how the admissions process works in terms of how do you decide if you have a good chance of getting into a University? Another interesting point that he makes clear is that colleges are looking to create a diverse body of students, not only those who can perform academically. He then points out that students should make decisions not only based on the rating of a university but based on the university's fit for them. Unfortunately, he does not go into depth to delineate the different types of Universities and what may best fit different types of students.



The second section: Understanding the gatekeeper is not interesting or as humorous as the previous section as it seems disengaged from the Mike Moyers' life and story, in which the previous section was connected. But this section does shed much light on how others can help students gain admittance into college. He also gives an insiders view of the price and cost of each scholarship that colleges extend to students. I feel that the most important part of this section is the realization of the role of the dean of admissions and how important that position is in striking an equilibrium between the various possible groups of students he could have on campus. Other interesting points were the fact that parents should ensure they are not nagging the dean of admissions and that students should take advantage of the high school counselors but not fully depend on them.


The Third section: The best section that is available, the core of the book lies in this chapter. A teenager that read only the third section would have an excellent chance of succeeding in getting into the college of his or her choice. He explains the difference between teenager and non-teenager activities and distinguished this difference by using a story. He also makes recommendations as the sort of activities that would qualify as NTA's to give students an example of activities that they should start to engage in.



The Fourth and the Fifth section: The fourth section is the most original section in the book and is indeed a smart way of increasing one odds of getting into a college. This strategy works by applying outside of your zone or geographic areas thus making you more unique since less students similar to you would be found in that area. This is a way of competing without having to "break" a sweat, but he does not give the very important warning that although it may be a successful strategy, it can have important ramifications. For example, a student may find him/herself so out of his/her zone that you may not know how to cope in such an environment, where there is a drastic weather changes or an entirely different culture.

The fifth section focuses on finding the nerve of the institution that you are applying for. This is an interesting concept as he encourages the student to do more research to find at the core what the institution is about and focuses on hitting that point. It's not a new concept, but he provides great questions to help students to dig deep to find out the heart of the institution that they are trying to get in.



Sections 6, 7, 8: Make interesting points that some students would not think about on their own such as coaching their reference how to respond when they are called upon. Although this is a good suggestion, many high school teens will not take this advice very seriously. His stuffing the ballot box idea is also very interesting and helps to distinguish the students from others since "impartial" parties are calling on that students behalf. He counsel that students should never give up is well taken, as he points out that students have nothing to lose in "breaking the rules" (re-applying again) if have already been rejected. He further instructs students to analyze their grade patterns and have an adequate story to explain any (negative) fluctuations.

Section 9 and MY Conclusion: Chapter 9 wraps things up and summarizes that good students can get rejected and getting accepted does not mean that you have to attend. Although these chapters add interesting dimensions to this book I feel that it was too late in the book to adequately develop the themes, since the book is about getting into college not necessarily how to choose the best college out of many. I feel that a good conclusion to the book was missing as there was no summation of the main points discussed. But overall I feel that the book is great (8/10) and would recommend it to any student interested in making colleges want them.

Whether you are a freshman or a senior in high school, this book is an eye-opener for you! Mike Moyer tells you the way to dramatically increase your chances of getting into the college of your choice. In How to Make Colleges Want You, he provides fresh approaches to getting your college application out of the maybe or no stacks, to the yes we want you stack. The book also contains references to Mike's website: http://www.collegepeas.com where additional information and additions to the chapters are contained.

Mike tells you what he did to get accepted to the college of his choice by describing his unusual activity of raising homing pigeons while in high school. He took a homing pigeon to his first interview with the admissions counselor and sent a message to himself from the counselor! This NTA (non-teenage activity) got him recognized as special.

Getting into a competitive college requires a lot more than grades or regular school activities; it is a question of planning. Moyer makes suggestions to accomplish the goal of getting into a prestigious college with his inside secrets. A few are, attending a community college for a year or two to obtain better grades, transfer in to fill one of the vacancies left by someone who has moved on, and start in mid-year instead of competing with the freshman entry class.

Consider there are 43,000 high schools and an equal number of valedictorians who apply to highly competitive colleges. Their applications are your competition for admission to these colleges and even with good grades, you still are not in their strata. The techniques in this book are designed to raise your chances for admission by 10 to 20 per cent. When you apply Mike's ideas during your high school years, the odds are even better.

Mike Moyer is unique, as he not only provides this fairly inexpensive blue print for success, he lectures at high schools giving students a great heads-up on obtaining admission to choice schools. He has a highly informative lecture on CD.

Clark Isaacs
Reviewer

My wife and I must have read at least 50 college admission books between us, and this is the first one with practical advice we can put to work for our daughter. I highly recommend this book if your goal is to empower your child through a daunting and sometimes nonsensical process.

Clearly, this author has "stuffed the ballot box" in the reviews department - just as he advises students do when applying to college! There are a couple of decent nuggets in this book, such as thinking about what makes a student unique and interesting to a college admissions department, but certainly nothing that would fill more than even a small brochure (and yes, I read the ENTIRE book), or that is novel advice in any form. It's really all about Mike Moyer, Mike Moyer, Mike Moyer...

After reading multiple books on this subject, I would recommend "Admission Matters" by Sally Springer as a good primer for most students and parents.

Getting into colleges has become incredibly competitive. My daughter has great grades and is involved in many after school activities. We are finding out that there are tens of thousands of 4.0's and student leaders. I never thought I would have to script a strategic marketing plan for my own daughter in order to get college admissions to consider her. This book has improved our chances of "going IVY" by giving us a closer look at the admission process through their eyes. After reading this book we are changing our approach to the entire admission process.

This book tells of a side of college admissions that most people don't think about. I know I didn't. Grades are important but for the majority of us who aren't valedictorians, this book offers hope of how to use your current skills to greatly increase your chances of getting into the school of your choice. Highly recommended.

Never fear. This book helps students and parents take control of the application process and showcase the applicant's unique experiences and hidden talents in a fashion that stands out during the college application process. I recommend this as reading for parents and their high schoolers alike. Equipped with the insights from this book, you'll transform the college application experience from an overwhelming and intimidating one to a focused and informed one!

This book is a must-read for any high school student who wants to go to a top college. It presents a stunning observation: that you can make the college application process work in your favor. All too often, high school students and their families believe that college admissions is a "one way street" -- that colleges have all the say in the admissions equation. Mike Moyer shows that this couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that colleges are desperate to find and recruit qualified students. This book teaches high school students who are trying to get into college how to make the college application process work for them.

There are definitely 4 great tips and they're given in the book description above. I'll share them here as well,in case you missed them:

1. The Secret of NTAs (non-teenage activities): Unusual activities that make you stand out
2. Breaking the Zone: Take advantage of where you're from and who you are
3. Striking the Nerve: Decode what colleges believe in, then match those values
4. Your Application Team: Getting references, teachers, and counselors to boost your odd

As to the "And much more" I'm afraid that would be where he continually tries to drive you to his website so you can supposedly glean more in-depth information. Okay, so I bit and checked out his site. I don't object to self-promotion under the guise of providing helpful content. But if you're going to do that, then provide the helpful content! The site is poorly organized for finding information referenced in the book. You have to use the search box. When I typed in the book-suggested keywords more often than not nothing came up.

Hey Mike, it would be way more useful for you to have articles available on the site, or even a blog. Ditch the search box; it's not workin' for ya.

I liked this. In a world full of doom and gloom about how hard it is to get into college, the author offered a different and creative approach. I think many of his examples are those that might help an extremely small minority (such as a rejected student showing up the first day of classes and being admitted) but his insight and optimism might spark one's imagination and keep the process light. Worth reading.