The Dirty Little Secrets of Getting Into a Top College (1)

“Dirty Little Secrets to get into a top college”: the title already resumes really well the content of this book, which is nothing less than the best explained guide to the application process you can get.The characteristics that I think make stand out this book out of all the - many - others about this fairly common topic, are its clearness and actuality.In particular, I really appreciated how the author - Pria Chatterjee - gives all her tips and suggestions to her readers in a very frank and clear way. Knowing the process with a first-hand exposure, she not only explains how the application process works on a general note, but also includes many interesting details and facts that I personally was not able to find elsewhere.For example, I thought that particularly well done were the sections about legacy and when to start building the candidate’s profile, much earlier than I could imagine according to the author.Furthermore, even thought this book was written a few years ago if compared to new ones, I still found it extremely accurate and up to date. Whereas the competitiveness of top colleges has been getting tougher and tougher in the last years, in fact, the application process has not changed at all.Sometimes we are used to think that top colleges’ acceptance percentages are so low that the whole application process might not be that important, and that admission is somewhat random.After reading such a book, however, you understand that each and every piece of the application matters, and that top colleges in the US look for a very specific type of candidate.Getting into a competitive school could already be very hard by itself, at least have people like Mrs. Chatterjee instruct you on everything you need to know to give yourself your best chances in a very delicate and important process.PS: I found really helpful the attitudinal quiz in the middle of the book about the criteria to use when deciding what type of school could be a good fit for you. Make sure to take it!

Pria Chatterjee's guide is an insightful, incredibly helpful resource to understand what it takes to be admitted to a top college. As an insider who knows how top colleges and universities form their freshman class, Pria identifies the key factors that are used by colleges to evaluate applicants. Her guide is incredibly helpful, and I highly recommend it as both practical and inspiring to help motivate students to show colleges their "best self" and maximize their chances of getting into the best school for them. I highly recommend this unique behind-the-scenes guide to college admissions. By demystifying the process, this guide helps students to take control of the process of applying to and being admitted to the college of their choice.

Great little book . Good read and easy comprehension

Of many admission books I've read, this one is certainly one of the more well-informed and inspiring books. The author is exmtdrely knowledgeable and offers very specific and actionable plans to work on while also analyzing the different archetypes of students. The detailedness coupled with its comprehensiveness make this book truly exceptional.

Lots of useful advice. What I liked best are the examples of students who made the necessary changes to transform from a Standard Strong candidate to a Combo or SuperCombo. The best advice I took from it is to start early (middle school) . The statistics are also very useful. I'll repost next spring to let you know if it works!

I absolutely LOVE this book. I bought it for my college bound teen, during our college application period. I love its plain spoken nature. It doesn't mince words about how the college application process works. I loved it so much I bought another for a friend. There are many helpful books that give advice on how to get into college. If you want the unvarnished truth, get this book.

This book is very informative and the author knew exactly what she was talking about. Excellent advise and doable solutions. This is an ideal book for parents/students in 9th grade and not just for juniors. Personally, one can not properly begin to prepare for college planning without reading this book first.

Although the book has some alarming facts, like American citizenship is considered lowest of the rankings... It was interesting. Sadly there are misspellings and grammatical errors.

The book explains the Application path, starting from Freshman. It's a good guide, but only if you're willing to prepare for your apps since the beginning of High School.

Der Anfang ist nur für in USA lebende "zukünftige Studenten" sinnvoll. Aber alles in allem sehr gut.Praktische Tipps, wenn man sie frühzeitig befolgt.Zusammenfassung: Sich von der Masse abheben.

住友進さんが訳されたタイトル「アメリカ　超一流大学　完全　入試マニュアル」の原著です。本気でアメリカの大学への進学を目指している方は、この原著を読んで、アメリカの大学の「入試」の制度をよく理解されることをお勧めします。Good Luck!

Excellent detailed guide to understand complete process and derive immense benefits. Good one.

This book is a great starting point for anyone interested in admissions to the US university system. Too often we are victims of "over information" in the application process as various schools/universities pitch their own angle, and applicants may feel like there is nobody informed in their corner. This is the book you want in your corner.