What Selective Colleges Really Want From Applicants | p. 1 |
Getting Into Your Dream School | |
How this Book Is Superior to All Others: A Shameless (But True) Testimonial | |
A Sneak Preview to What's Inside | |
What Colleges Consider in Deciding Whom to Admit | |
How Colleges Make Their Decisions: Behind the Closed Doors of the Admissions Office | |
The Admissions Gamble and the Role of Luck | |
Who We Are and How We Will Help | |
Howto Pick the Perfect College For You | p. 21 |
Your First Challenge: Deciding Where to Apply | |
The Neapolitan Ice Cream Approach to Picking the "Right" Colleges | |
Which School Has the Best Parties and Other Important Questions You Need to Ask | |
Applying Early...or Should I Sign My Life Away? | |
The Dreaded Deferment | |
Don't Worry About Money (Yet) | |
Create A Compelling Admission Application | p. 33 |
How to Write a Killer Application | |
Get Your Very Own Applications | |
Save Time With the Common Application | |
Get Ready to Be a Neat Freak-Even if You're Not | |
Your Online Personality | |
Beef up Your Extracurricular and Academic Life | |
Prioritize Your Activities | |
Leadership is Always Better Than Membership | |
Tastefully Bragging about Your Honors and Awards | |
When to Leave It Blank | |
Nip and Tuck in All the Right Places | |
Leave No Question Unanswered | |
Zap! Tips for Applying Online | |
Finally...Don't Forget to Sign | |
An Example Application That Worked | |
Howto Guarantee Excellent Evaluations | p. 51 |
Find Someone to Brag About You | |
Start Early | |
How to Hunt Down the Best Recommenders | |
The Bonus Evaluation | |
Get Recommenders Who Can Write About the Intimate Details of Your Life | |
The Name Game: Bigger Isn't Always Better | |
A Warning About Numbers | |
Avoid Crunch Time | |
Do the Grunt Work for Your Recommenders | |
The Perfect Cover Letter | |
Be a Frequent Visitor to Your Recommenders | |
Make Your Recommenders Feel Warm and Fuzzy | |
Secret Fail-Safe Weapon for Excellent Evaluations | |
Howto Write an Irresistible Essay | p. 67 |
The Essay: King of the Application | |
The Essay in the Eyes of the Admissions Officer | |
Typical Essay Questions | |
All Questions Can Be Answered Exactly the Same | |
Five Step Essay-Writing Workshop | |
Brainstorm Topics | |
Narrow the List of Possible Topics | |
Razzle and Dazzle! Answer the Question Uniquely | |
Write for Perfection: Rewrite, Edit, Rewrite and Edit Again, with Help from Editors | |
Polish Your Essay | |
The Essay-Writing Absolute Don'ts | |
Totally Dumb Topics to Avoid | |
Specific Tips for Specific Questions | |
Next Up: The Magic of Recycling and Examples of the Good, Bad and Ugly...Essays that Is | |
Recycle Your Essays When Applying to Many Colleges | p. 103 |
Presto-Chango! Turn One Essay Into Two | |
The Common Application: The Easiest Way to Recycle | |
How to Answer Any Question With Only One Essay | |
Recycling in Action: A Case Study | |
How to Shorten a Long Essay | |
How to Build a Longer Essay | |
A Final Warning About Recycling | |
Example Essays: The Good, Bad And Ugly | p. 117 |
The College Essay in the Real World | |
Magnum Opuses: Essays that Opened College Doors | |
Seven Disastrous Essays That Spelled Rejection | |
A Final Note on the Essays That Bombed | |
Do You Have a Good Essay? | |
The Secrets to Crushing the Interview | p. 151 |
The Interview Nightmare | |
Secrets of the Interview | |
Make the Most of Your Sweaty Palms | |
Interviewers Are Real People Too | |
Don't just Talk About You | |
Creative Digressions and Connecting: How to Become Bosom Buddies With Your Interviewers | |
Listen, Too | |
Your Interview Homework | |
Cheat Sheet of the Most Commonly Asked Questions | |
The "No-No" Topics | |
Know the World Around You | |
Is Religion a Taboo Topic? | |
No Snoozing Allowed | |
The Mode Interview | |
Leave the Halter Top and Short Shorts Behind | |
Nail Polish, Aspirin and Other Emergency Supplies | |
Show Time! Psyche Yourself Up for the Real Thing | |
Why Blowing It Is Not Blowing It | |
Critical Final Steps Before Submitting the Application | p. 165 |
You Are Done! (Well Almost...) | |
Do a Once, Twice and Thrice Over | |
The Big Send-Off | |
Thank All of Your Helpers | |
How to Ace the Sat and Act | p. 169 |
How to Survive the SAT and ACT | |
Standardized tests make or break your chances. | |
You have co score in the top 90 percent to get into a selective college. | |
There is nothing you can do to prepare for the tests. | |
The Ingredients of the Alphabet Soup of Tests | |
The SAT | |
The PSAT | |
The SAT Subject Tests | |
The ACT | |
Duel of the Three-Letter Acronyms: The SAT vs. ACT | |
Advanced Placement Tests (APs) | |
International Baccalaureate Program | |
TOEFL, TWE and TSE | |
How to Increase Your Scores | |
How to Master English and Reading Tests | |
Number Hunching and Crunching: How to Be a Math Whiz | |
The Day Before the Big Event | |
Test Time Tips | |
A Timeline for Testing | |
A Second Chance | |
How to Deal With a Bombed Test | |
How to Win Free Cash For College | p. 193 |
Money Is Everything | |
Financial Aid Mumbo Jumbo Explained | |
Money From Uncle Sam: Federal Financial Aid | |
All the Forms You Need to Fill Out | |
Tips for Filling Out the Forms | |
What Happens Next? | |
Scholarships: The Best Free Cash in the World | |
Map to the Financial Aid Jackpots | |
Strategies for Winning Scholarships | |
How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay | |
Strategies to Get More Money | |
How to Write a Letter to Ask for More | |
Letter to Harvard | |
Get the Latest Scholarship Information | |
Admissions For Special Groups | p. 209 |
Special Considerations for Special Groups | |
Student Athletes | |
Transfer Students | |
International Students: Coming to America | |
Students With Disabilities | |
Home-Schooled Students | |
Get Started Before Your Senior Year | p. 221 |
Catch the Early Bird Worms | |
Everything an Underclassman Needs to Know About College Admissions (But Is Afraid to Ask) | |
Visit College Campuses | |
The Application? What's That? | |
Challenge Your Brain | |
Practice for and Take the Alphabet Soup of Tests | |
The Importance of Extracurricular Activities | |
Compete to Stand Out | |
Keep a Record of All Your Accomplishments | |
Kiss Up To Teachers, Employers and Advisors | |
Avoid Appliphobia by Previewing Applications | |
Get Your Child Ready For College | p. 231 |
The Difficult Role of Being a Parent | |
A Galloping Overview of the Admissions Process and How You Can Help | |
How to Pay for College Without Filing for Chapter 11 | |
100 Percent Freedom for Your Child | |
Get an Early Start With Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors | |
Decide Which College to Enter | p. 241 |
The Waiting Game | |
The Quality of Parries and Other Important Criteria for Making Your Final Decision | |
The Campus Visit: A Crash Course on College Life | |
Don't Wait for the Wait List | |
Your Last Letter to the Admissions Office | |
Resources | p. 247 |
College Search Worksheet | p. 249 |
Evaluation/Recommendation Worksheet | p. 252 |
College Cost of Attendance Worksheet | p. 255 |
Financial Aid Worksheet | p. 256 |
Index | p. 257 |
About the Authors | p. 260 |
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