The Princeton Review - If the U Fits: Expert Advice on Finding the Right College and Getting Accepted

Editorial
Robert Franek, VP Test Prep Books, Publisher
Selena Coppock, Senior Editor
Calvin Cato, Editor
Meave Shelton, Editor
Kristen OToole, Editor
Alyssa Wolff, Editorial Assistant

Random House Publishing Team
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Alison Stoltzfus, Publishing Manager
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2014 by TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC.
Cover art Gabe Berlin, Ana Nanavty, and Craig Patches

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eBook ISBN: 978-0-8041-2472-0
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8041-2471-3

Senior VPPublisher: Robert Franek
Editor: Kristen OToole
Production: Best Content Solutions, LLC

2014 Edition

v3.1

For Rosie

The consummate Collegewise fan

1. An institution of higher learning offering undergraduate studies that lead to a bachelors degree (also university or U).

2. An academic superstore offering undergraduate students four years of learning, growth and self-discovery.

3. Move-in day, professors, rush week, lectures, road trips, rallies, the big game, debates, concerts, majors, minors, turning 21, all-nighters, spring break, graduation day, proud parents, next steps and fond memories.

After 20-plus years of working in college admission, my daughter received her PSAT results and I found myself in a situation I never imagined: I was consulted on standardized tests while at home, brushing my teeth (and yes, it is difficult to respond with authority while doing so). I thought my work experience would grant my family immunity from the crazy pressures of the college admission process, but wow, was I ever mistaken. Even in our house, fear would creep into every spare moment between the release of those scores and the day my daughter decided on her school. I now know that it does not have to be this way.

One of the perks of working in an admission office is that I am surrounded by truly good people every day. My colleagues, at my own institution and throughout the higher education community, care deeply for kids and their dreams and about improving the world through education. I came to meet the founders of Collegewise through a colleague at The Princeton Review, and I think their blog, www.wiselikeus.com helped me and my wife survive the college admission process. The blog is free, and its a delight to read, just like If the U Fits. We found it to be a powerful antidote to the anxiety.

I often reflect on a conversation from my final days of high school. I was cleaning out my locker and I bumped into a former teacher who asked the question that seniors hear all too often: Where are you headed to college? I answered, and he was obviously disappointed. Oh, anyone can get in there, he said, as if the chances of admission somehow indicated the quality of the institution. I went on to have a wonderful experience: I met amazing people (including the wicked-smart, beautiful, incredible mother of my PSAT recipient), I received an excellent education, and I am a part of a worldwide community of which I am very proud. I am happy in my life, and I know my college choice is a big reason why. Yet even with all this, many are still baffled about why I turned down schools they see as better choices. I am so glad I ignored them all, and my wish for any student is to feel just as good about their choice, wherever that is.

This book will bring peace to the process. You will learn how to maintain a sense of control. You will better understand how college admission officers think about candidates. You will learn how to build a list of colleges that focuses on real qualities that will benefit the student, not on the perception of prestige held by others. In the end you will likely have several options, and you might even have a hard time choosing a school to attend. If you do it right, your family will grow closer together, your child will leap toward adulthood in a healthy way, and you might even be surprised to discover new things about the student you have raised. You have the power to take on one of lifes major transitions, a transition that will affect your whole family, gracefully. Enjoy the ride, for it is indeed a thrill.

Kirk Brennan
Associate Dean, Director
Office of Undergraduate Admission
University of Southern California

The views expressed here are Mr. Brennans alone and do not represent those of the University of California.

Before coming to Northeastern , I wouldnt have even been able to dream of the opportunities it has created for me. I would have never known what I wanted to do, I would have never known what its like to live in a city, and Id definitely never have gained the life experiences that will inevitably help me in the future. This college changed my life.

Wes F.
Former Collegewise student, Class of 2006
Northeastern University

Two weeks before I left for college, I wrote a 10-page instruction guide that I boldly told my 15-year-old brother had everything he needed to know about getting into college. Most of the promised wisdom came from hindsight, things Id have done differently if somebody had told me (or if Id ever bothered to visit my high school counselor to ask for advice). At the time, even take the SAT Subject Test in biology right after you finish taking the class in 10th grade felt like sage college counseling advice.

Three years later, my brother got into Harvard.

Granted, he was class valedictorian and a state champion rower. Im sure his credentials influenced his admission more so than the printout from my Apple IIC did. But the guide was my first foray into what would eventually become my career. Today, my brother is a Harvard graduate, my mother keeps that guide in a box of family mementos and I run a college counseling company, Collegewise. As of this writing, my team of counselors and I have helped more than 5,000 students get into colleges theyre absolutely thrilled to attend.