Customer Reviews

Not Just Any College: The Guide to a College Search

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Not Just Any College: The Guide to a College Search is a witty written little book written from a parent's perspective of selecting a college for her graduating senior. The book is divided into twenty-one, sometimes a paragraph long, chapters with advice on how to go about the selection process. Some of the topics in the book include: how to evaluate colleges, when to visit the colleges, how to match your child to the college, what to bring or not to bring when taking your child to college, and others. The book can be easily read in about 10 to 15 minutes.
Some of the valuable advice provided included: matching your child to a college based on SAT scores so that he/she will fit well, applying to a wide range of colleges and not the very top colleges only, and the value of a liberal arts education. The book also includes a resourceful reference template to use when a parent visits a college; this will give the family an opportunity to rate colleges visited and match them to the future college student.
As an educator, I found some things that need revising. One of the things that were found to be a problem is that this book should be more credible if research was conducted and referred to in some instances. Another problem found with the book is that it puts emphasis on the college to be selected as having too much emphasis on faculty having doctorates. Having been in higher education for over 20 years, I have experienced that having a doctorate doesn't make a good instructor. In fact, if instructors have not taken any education classes such as methodology, for example, he/she may not be able to reach his/her students in the classroom. The author seems not to be aware of the emphasis placed on research by faculty holding a PhD. As also noted by the author, many professors have student assistants teach their classes; this is due to having to continue to do research during their careers.
All in all, with some revision, this book can become a good guide for parents who are in search of a college for their sons and daughters.