My editor and I just finished all the content revisions for my next book, still tentatively titled, "The Collegewise Way." It's currently 262 pages and covers everything we teach at Collegewise about finding, applying to, and paying for college. We're on track to release it both in print and electronically in July. If you'd like to be notified when it's available, you can sign up here.
Here's the current table of contents. I'm excited about it and will share more updates about the release as we get closer.
Introduction
Basic Retraining
- Focus on the good news
- Worry less about college
- Put yourself in charge
- Effort is the great equalizer
- Mercenaries miss the big picture
- Don’t forget to be a kid
- Don’t try to game the system
- It’s what you do in college, not where you do it
Finding the Right Colleges
- How to cure namebranditis
- Popular opinions mislead
- Do a success search
- Have swagger—it’ll serve you
- Start with "why college?"
How to determine what you want in a college
- Look for your fit
- Start your search by junior year
- Evaluate yourself, too
- Start with these ten questions
How to learn more about colleges
- Beware of common search derailers
- Use the right college search tools
- How to navigate a college’s website
- Evaluate your admissions chances
- Have fun visiting
- Connect the dots later
- How to finalize your list
- Strive for balance
- You’re not committing yet
- Get your counselor’s approval
- Love your list
Prove your Academic Potential
- How to plan a college-prep schedule
- Challenge yourself sanely
- Ask if your high school has a “drop option”
- Follow your favorite subjects
- How to get better grades (and study less)
- Make class time study time
- Start before you need to
- Eliminate study-time interruptions
- Make academic workouts intense
- Ask for help
- Use old tests as study guides
- Teach it back
How to show you’re college-ready
- Transcripts don’t tell the whole academic story
- Take charge of your high school education
- Get to know your counselor
- Learning beats grade grubbing
- Maximize strengths over fixing weaknesses
- Great classes deserve your best performances
- Solutions beat complaints
Extra-Curricular Activities
- Choose what you enjoy
- Real commitments beat long lists
- Don’t follow the crowd
- Make an impact
- If it doesn’t fit, quit
- Get a job
Standardized Tests
- Learn your testing ABCs
- Don’t panic over PSAT scores
- Keep tests in perspective
- Don’t take test scores personally
- Plan your testing calendar
- Pick a test and go with it
- Prep smarter
- How to prepare for the SAT or ACT for under $50
- Know when to say when
- Remember that your test scores soon won’t matter
Applying
Part I: It can get personal
- Peek inside the admissions office
Part II: How and When to Apply
- Make sense of application plans
- Be wary of the early decision boost
- Apply strategically
Part III: Completing Applications
- Start early
- Get requirements from the source
- Manage your parents
- Don’t look for a better way
- Get the basics right
- Make it easy to understand your activities
- Avoid sending gifts, baked goods, live animals, etc.
- Avoid these common mistakes
- Resist letting fear hijack your applications
Part IV: Writing Great Essays
- Give yourself a boost
- Help readers know you
- Keep the focus on you
- Honest beats impressive
- Share the details
- Keep it fresh
- Avoid clichés
- Sound like a teenager
- Admit when you’re not perfect
- Seek feedback outside the family circle
- Rewrite before you reuse
Part V: Letters of Recommendation
- Send only what they ask you to send
- Choose the right teachers
- Ask the right way
- Waive your right
Part VI: What to do after you submit
- Bang a gong
- Make follow-up calls
- Give thanks
- Resist the worries
- Keep up the good work
- Update accordingly but sparingly
- Resend missing information
Interviewing
- Relax and be yourself
- Know what’s preferred
- Good conversation is more important than good answers
- When contacted, respond promptly
- Be ready for common topics
- Find your stories
- Drawing a blank is a great opportunity
- Consider questions you’d like to ask
- Leave your parents at home
- Dress for Thanksgiving
- Work the waiting room
- Make a good first impression
- Make a good last impression
Paying for College
- Saving is your best strategy
- Don’t make aid assumptions
- Know the cost of attendance
- Meet the Net-Price Calculator
- Look beyond sticker price
- Apply the advice for admissions
- Talk to your parents about costs
- Apply where they may pay
- Update schools if circumstances change
- Compare awards
- Tell colleges about better offers
- Answer the $2,800 question
Handling Decisions
- Celebrate every offer of admission
- Make rejection pain temporary
- Resist the urge to appeal
- Consider declining the waitlist spot
- Trust your instincts
Advice for Parents
- Focus on what’s really important
- Think long-term
- Set good examples
- Don’t hover
- Help with the balance
- Run with the right crowd
- Ignore bad advice
- Find the fun
- Treat rejections like high school break-ups
- Celebrate every admission
- Buy the sweatshirt
Ten Secrets of “Great Kids”
- Meet people well
- Write good emails
- Remember peoples’ names the first time
- Learn from failure and move on
- Don’t make excuses—accept responsibility
- Learn to apologize well
- Laugh at yourself regularly
- Give out positivity
- Rise above the drama
- Nice is underrated
Parting Words
- Go find your moment