Table of Contents
In(tro)duction 3
Welcome to Anyone Navigating the College Admissions Process (Now or Ever)
I Fall of Junior Year: Five Things You Really Need to Hear Right Now
Chapter 1 The College Search Prequel 7
Survival (Whether or Not You're Feeling the Fittest)
Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Parent Involvement: Reality Checks
Broaching the "College Shopping" Topic with Your Teen
Becoming an Educated Consumer
Considering Outside Intervention: Options from Flyweight to Heavyweight
Translating Your Kid's High School Life So Far into College Admissions Data
To-Do List
II Winter of Junior Year: Five Helpful Mantras for the Winter of Our Discontent
Chapter 2 January 39
Everything My Clients Ever Wanted to Know (Though Perhaps More Than You Ever Wanted to Know) About Standardized Testing
SAT vs. ACT
The Ins and Outs of Athletic Recruiting
To-Do List
Chapter 3 February 65
Planning When and Where to Visit
How to Visit: Dos and Don'ts
Signing Up for Senior Classes: Rigor vs. Grades
To-Do List
III Spring of Junior Year: Five Fantasy Responses to "Where's Your Kid Applying to College?"
Chapter 4 March 93
March Winds Blow
Type-A Parents, This Is Your Moment to Organize!
Guesstimating Your Kid's Chances
Spring Meetings: When College Talk Is Released into the Open Air
To-Do List
Chapter 5 April 111
Surviving April Showers of Constant Interrogations
The Spring Break College Tour Extravaganza
Interview Tips for Introverts, Extroverts, and Everyone in Between
The Skinny on Recommendations
To-Do List
Chapter 6 May 132
Your Junior's Spring Fever and Stressors
Who Will Help My Kid with the Infamous College Essay and Everything Else?
Summer Activities That Look Impressive vs. Just Doing Life
To-Do List
IV Summer Vacation: Five Ways to Sneak in College Visits Without Letting Them Consume Your Summer
Chapter 7 June and July 143
Summer Campus Visits: A Cautionary Tale
Testing Your Patience
Time to Write (or Plan to Write, or Think About Writing) the Personal Essay
A Gap Year, or No Gap Year? That Is the Question
To-Do List
Chapter 8 August 161
Application Intel
Answers to My Clients' FAQs About the Common Application
Summer's End
To-Do List
V Fall of Senior Year: Five Dinner Table Topics Other Than College
Chapter 9 September 185
'Tis the Application Season
ED or EA or RD, Oh My!
Fall Meetings
Fall College Visit and Revisit FAQs
Finalizing the College List
To-Do List
Chapter 10 October 205
Submitting Applications
Facing the Dark Side: The Financial Aid Forms
To-Do List
Chapter 11 November 220
The Thanksgiving Challenge
To-Do List
Chapter 12 December 223
Early Notifications Coming In
Submitting RD Applications
To-Do List
VI Second Semester Senior Year and Beyond: Five Necessities for Your Kick-to-the-Finish Survival Kit
Chapter 13 Winter of Senior Year 241
And So We Wait
FAQs About What the *%$! Is Going On in Admissions Offices
To-Do List
Chapter 14 Spring of Senior Year 253
The Wait Is Over: RD Notifications Arrive
Making the Decision
To-Do List
Chapter 15 Graduation Through College Drop-Off Day 267
Emotional Pyrotechnics
And Then They're Off
To-Do List
Epilogue 278
Five Lessons from the College Admissions Process to Apply to Your Life
The Chill Parents' Revolution
To-Do List
Resources 281
Acknowledgments 287
Glossary of College Admissions-Related Terms You Can Never Un-Know 289
Index 299