Admissions bookshelf: guides and organizers to keep you on track

What to do When for College (4^th edition), Edward B. Fiske and Bruce G. Hammond. This book is so good I’m including it even though they didn’t publish a 5^th edition. While the dates are a little off (it follows Jan. 2007-May 2008), it’s not hard to transpose the correct ones. It’s oriented to both parents and students, and the first section on Perspective is worth the price of the book ($12.95). “Take a chill pill, Mom and Dad” and “Let your child make choices” are particularly valuable. Advice is sprinkled through the calendar, which provides weekly reminders to keep you on schedule.

Get it Together for College, The College Board. From the folks who bring you the SAT, this book contains a calendar for the full junior and senior school years. It also has room for managing your contacts at up to 16 schools, a scholarship application tracker, and step-by-step instructions for filling out aid forms. Here’s some sound advice on how to show colleges you’re serious about attending (read my column here about “demonstrated interest” as an admittance decision factor): “Is your application essay specific to their college? Did you contact the college? Have you talked to someone from the college at a college fair or on a campus visit?

From Here to Freshman Year, Kaplan. Want to start earlier that junior year? This book for over-achievers and their parents begins with the summer before ninth grade. It’s slim, but covers some good information, divided by grade level. The chapters for 11^th and 12^th grade are beefier, although it’s not meant to be used as a complete calendar as the Fiske and College Board books are. Here’s what they have to say to freshmen about extracurriculars: “Deep, consistent involvement in school and communities is a must. Colleges look to see how you spend your time outside the classroom. Try for a leadership role.”

Seventeen’s Guide to Getting into College, Jaye J. Fenderson. OMG! Stressing about, like, applying to college? Seventeen’s new Guide just might help you out! On the other hand, if you’d rather get your advice from someone who doesn’t sound like a texting buddy, you might want to keep the $16.95. But tone aside, it’s words of wisdom like this that make me wary of this book: “Instead of just looking at your overall [SAT] scores, many schools will separate out the sections and take your highest reading, highest math and highest writing scores. So taking the SAT more than once can work to your advantage, because you might be able to improve one of your individual scores.” Oops! The College Board announced early last year that they were changing the way they report scores (read about the change here), making this advice virtually irrelevant (the Guide was published in September).