Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert's Advice for Getting into College [Paperback]

Joyce Slayton Mitchell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Applying to college is the culmination of years of hard work late-night study sessions, grueling SAT preparation, and hours of dedication to extracurricular activities. It’s also a process that often overwhelms both students and parents. In this collection of insightful, candid advice from college-counseling guru Joyce Slayton Mitchell, students and parents will find the core information they need to confidently research colleges, write essays, fill out applications, make sense of financial aid and interviews, and, most important, win the heart of many a college admissions dean. Completely revised and updated with thorough coverage of the new SATs, a new chapter on April decisions, and attention to institutional priorities, WINNING THE HEART OF THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS DEAN is your guide to navigating the college selection and application process with sanity and hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Americans spend millions of dollars each year trying to give their children an edge in the college admissions process. In Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert's Advice for Getting into College, Joyce Slayton Mitchell packs 35 years of college counseling experience into one concise admission guidebook, providing practical advice on such topics as researching colleges, improving standardized testing scores, writing essays and interviewing. With intelligence, ease and a sense of humor, Mitchell helps students get through the stressful college admissions process.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-While many students believe a stellar academic performance may be needed to charm the admissions dean, the message of this straightforward guide is actually to "personalize the process" as much as possible. Deans are interested in "the numbers," meaning test scores, but second to that is "character and strength of person." Special interests are taken into account. Myths about the importance of test scores are dispelled, or at least put into perspective. Parents are advised not to spend money on expensive private consultants but rather to continue to let their child "practice the cello or collect model World War II tanks." Self-assessment is stressed, and a beginning chapter poses frank questions for readers to ask themselves. The author's strength is in communicating with teenagers in a friendly, conversational style, with anecdotal commentary based on experience. Nitty-gritty details about the application process are included, and there are sections for Americans abroad and international, transfer, and gay students.

Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580083005
• ISBN-13: 978-1580083003
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,038,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good college selection strategy guide, February 5, 2002

By 

traseru (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert's Advice for Getting into College (Paperback)

Having read many college admissions tips with admonitions of how I wasn't going to get into college because I didn't do this and I didn't do that... this book was a step in the right direction.

"Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean" recommends choosing eight first choice schools. What you know best, you like best, says Joyce Slayton Mitchell. If you aren't obsessed with one school, are looking equally at all eight, then when you get into three or four of them you'll be guaranteed to have a school you enjoy.

I liked the strategies in this book, such as the SAT: no SAT score will get you into a college. It may keep you out, but not likely.

For any parent of a teenager or junior needing advice on how to pick the perfect school, "Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean" is the way to go.

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite After Reading Many of These Types of Books, August 30, 2008

By 

Andrea Wood "Andrea Wood" (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert's Advice for Getting Into College (Paperback)

I read about a dozen of these books and most I can't even remember. The ones that were the most helpful were A is for Admission, Acing the College Application, the Gatekeepers and a couple from Princeton Review.

The one I found most helpful was this one. It gave specific suggestions and information that were not in any of the others.

I tried reading the College Mystique and Getting in Without Freaking Out but were bored by them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding how college admissions work, and why you should have 8 first choices, September 27, 2007

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert's Advice for Getting Into College (Paperback)

The competition for admission to the elite universities becomes more fierce with each passing year. An industry has grown around helping students get an edge in gaining admission to the college of their (and their parents') dreams. Is it all worth it? Doe all the test preparation, essay practice, extracurricular activity for show, scholarship search for dough, even work?

Joyce Slayton Mitchell knows about this process because she has been on the admitting end of this process. She knows what admissions folks look for, what the students do to stand apart, and what it actually takes to get into college. While the whole book is quite worthwhile, the 15 page introduction is worth the price of the whole book. It is really a letter to the student setting out the framework and timetable of how the four years of high school need to be informed by the college selection and admissions process. However, the best three pages are those with what she calls the "Seven Basic Assumptions".

They are: "1) You are in charge. 2) Make a friend of your advocates (your HS guidance counselor, the admissions dean from your target college that visits your school, anyone writing you a letter of recommendations, etc.). 3) Choose eight first choices (you really set yourself up for disappointment by putting all your eggs in one highly competitive basket). 4) SATs and ACTs don't get you \in (no matter what the test score improvement center warns you). 5) The college market is a tight market. 6) Personalize the process. 7) Be authentically and specifically you.

The rest of the book consists of fourteen chapters and three appendices. The chapters are grouped in three parts. Part I (chapters 1-7) Developing Your College List. Part II (chapters 8-13) Applying to College. Part III (chapter 14) A Word to the Wise Parents (basically to relax, let your kid grow up by doing this pretty much on their won with your support, and don't get all fired up about consultants and test score improvement).

The appendices are A) a glossary of college-admissions-speak, B) Books and websites you can use to get better informed, and C) a list of Top 101 American Colleges. There is also a useful index.

Considering how much you will spend chasing a few more points on your test scores and the anxiety of wondering about the process induces, this book is terrific and well worth the few dollars it will cost you. Get it, read it, relax, and work the process.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI