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College Admissions consultants Allison Cooper Chisholm and Anna Ivey have collaborated on a new book that will help any college-bound student prepare for and successfully apply for the college of their choice. How to Prepare a Standout College Application is a comprehensive and easy to follow guide for parents and students in putting together college applications that will be a step above the rest.

For fathers that are working with their sons or daughters on the college and scholarship application process, How to Prepare a Standout College Application is a how-to manual that will make the process more understandable and easier to follow than any other such book that I have read.

Understanding the Process for College Applications

The authors of How to Prepare a Standout College Application are both admissions coaches and work for a college consulting firm, and together they have helped applicants all over the world submit successful college applications. In the book, Allison Cooper Chisholm and Anna Ivey demystify the world of college entrance processes and help students and parents learn everything they need to know to effectively work these processes to their advantage.

The book begins by setting some key expectations that parents and students should have about the college application process and even outlines a one-year master plan for the college application process that starts in earnest in a student's junior year in high school.

But in truth, the process of preparing for the process begins much earlier as students build their portfolio of experiences that can be used in the application process later.

The authors also remind us that top flight college applications are about telling a story. This story of the college-bound student's life, experiences, education and potential has to be effectively thought-out and written early in the process. Both the story and the applicant's resume of experiences must communicate passion, talent, initiative and impact, and the early chapters of the book focus on this process.

Preparing for the Application

How to Prepare a Standout College Application details in the later chapters how a student and her parents should attack the formal application processes for the colleges of their choice. There is specific counsel on answering short questions on the application (such as showcasing the student's vocabulary) as well as on answering longer essay questions. In addition, they offer solid advice about the process of gathering letters of recommendation and in preparing for video or face to face interviews.

One of the things I liked the best, and that would have helped with my own children's college applications was specific worksheet for building the list of activities of students that help prepare for the application process. Listing elements of these activities such as timing, positions held and specific accomplishments would have saved us a lot of time trying to remember details along the way. Helps and ideas like these are frequent throughout How to Prepare a Standout College Application.

The Bottom Line

Having been through the college application process with five children, I know enough about the process to know when I see or hear good advice. How to Prepare a Standout College Application is chock full of great advice. The process outlined in the book is straightforward and helps parents and students get inside the mind of college admissions professionals. The recommendations are solid and when followed will greatly enhance the opportunity of any student to get into his or her preferred college or university.

I highly recommend How to Prepare a Standout College Application as a great guide for any dad hoping to help his son or daughter navigate the college application process successfully from start to finish.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.