Books on Admissions
General books covering the admissions process, most include some reference to college visits.
| Valedictorians at the Gate Great book covering multiple aspects of college applications including a chapter on the college visit. Written by a former college admissions officer. |
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| Get Real, Get In Written by Ivy League admissions expert Dr. Aviva Legatt, this book challenges conventional college prep advice and encourages students to embrace authenticity. It offers practical exercises, real-life stories, and a mindset shift—from trying to impress admissions officers to discovering and pursuing one’s true passions. |
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| Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be Frank Bruni’s antidote to college admissions mania, emphasizing that success isn’t defined by elite school acceptance. |
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| Who Gets In and Why Jeffrey Selingo takes readers inside college admissions offices to reveal how decisions are really made. |
Books on general stress
The list below is not explicitly about colledge admissions, but instead about the very real, increased stress facing this generation.
| The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt explores how smartphones and social media have reshaped childhood and contributed to youth mental health crises. |
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| Never Enough Jennifer Breheny Wallace investigates toxic achievement culture and offers a framework for helping kids feel they matter. |
Books to avoid
Generally, speaking, I believe people should read multiple perspectives an make up their own minds. That said, I do not recommend the books below as I believe they feed into an already unnecessarily stressful time and perpetuate the myth success is only through an elite school. I'm including them (though I won't link to them) and encourage you to form your own opinion.
| Accepted! Insider strategies from Crimson Education CEO Jamie Beaton on gaining admission to top universities. |
Websites and Articles
BigFuture
From the CollegeBoard, this is probably the most solid starting point for reliable and trustworthy information.
- BigFuture has some good articles about college visits. I recommend checking out the Find your fit section.
- BigFuture has a great college tour checklist. I encourage you to use it when planning your visit and use My College Visit to refine your criteria and take notes.
- Though not easily discoverable, BigFuture used to have a College Visit Scorecard on the site. It's a great starting point with some general criteria, but doesn't allow you to define your own criteria like My College Visit.
Colleges That Change Lives
Started as a book and now an organization with member institutions that have some fascinating outcomes. This site used to have more resources but went through a redesign and has far fewer articles.
Grown and Flown
Mostly focused on parents, but has a huge number of articles across many topics - particular associated with college.
Have a Suggestion?
Know of another resource that you just have to share? Drop us a note at hello[at]mycollegevisit.com