In August 2012, I self-published my college admissions book, If the U Fits. It sold steadily for almost two years (and not just to my own mother who purchased approximately 20 copies). Jay Mathews of the Washington Post wrote a column about it. The self-published If the U Fits had a good run. Now I hope that it will reach a much larger audience.
Today, the updated edition of If the U Fits, published by Random House, is officially on sale.
Two friends and colleagues contributed to this new-and-improved version. Rob Franek, the mind behind the best-selling college guidebook on the market, is now a co-author. And Kirk Brennan, Director of Undergraduate Admission at USC, wrote the book's forward.
Who’s this book for?
Students, parents, counselors and anyone else who wants to enjoy—or help someone else enjoy—a more successful, less stressful college process will benefit from this book.
How is this different from other college admissions books?
We found that many of the admissions books on the market share how the admissions process works, but they don't necessarily tell students what to do with that information. Our book doesn't just give you admissions insight; it also gives you specific advice about what to do next.
Here’s an example. Most college admissions books will tell you that it's important to take challenging classes and to get good grades. That’s good advice. But we also tell you how to plan a course schedule, how to develop a relationship with your high school counselor, how to get better grades while studying less, and how to get great letters of recommendation from your teachers.
We don’t just advise that you should find the right colleges for you. We tell you how to identify what you’re looking for in a college, how to navigate a college website, and how to plan a college visit.
We don't just advise that you should write your college essays about something important to you. We tell you how to choose good stories, how to tell them in a way that will stand out, and how to avoid the cliché topics so many other students will write about.
We don’t just tell you that there’s financial aid available. We also tell you how to save for college, how to consider finances while shopping for colleges, and how to get more financial aid and scholarships.
Here’s what to do, why to do it, and exactly how to do it. That's If the U Fits.
Should you buy this if you’ve read the previous version?
With the exception of the standardized testing chapter which benefitted a lot from Rob’s revisions, the approaches and methods we share are largely unchanged. What’s been updated are the statistics and relevant facts to support our arguments (it doesn’t carry as much oomph today if we reference data from 2010 as it does if we move to more current examples). If you enjoyed what you learned in the prior version and plan on putting those methods to good use, you probably don’t need to buy this. But if you like to geek out on the latest statistics and studies, too, you’ll enjoy the new information in this version.
It’s come a long way
At Collegewise, we’ve got big dreams to fundamentally change the way that families can approach college admissions. But as fast as we’re growing and hiring counselors to work with families one-on-one, this book will hopefully let us reach and help a lot more people. I’m really proud of it and hope that you enjoy it. You can buy your copy here.
Thanks for reading and for all your support.