The Truth About Getting In: A Top College Advisor Tells You Everything You Need to Know

 (28 customer reviews)

Despite claims of showing students her "inside program," this book is an amalgam of other more pioneering books on college admissions. Don't get me wrong. It is a lot better than Rachel Toor's Admissions Confidential which hit a new low for the genre, but it has no real inside information like others by Paul (not very original - her title was identical to Paul's) or by Michelle Hernandez (A is for Admission). The latter is still the Ivy standard. The lack of inside information is not a surprise considering that Cohen is somewhat of an imposter in the Ivy crowd. Unlike other insider admissions guide authors (even Allen, Greene and Hernandez were all actual admissions officers), Cohen was only a "volunteer reader" at the Yale office while she was studying for her PhD. As such, she was not actually privy to anything that your grandmother wouldn't be if she volunteered to read essays (open to the public). Her only qualification is her online correspondence course with UCLA and the...Read more

This book is a laugh-a-minute. You can't judge a book by its cover, but let's face it, the cover says a lot: sassy, Cosmo-worthy looking author, cleavage and all, purports to tell the "truth" about getting in. Once you start reading, you realize that Cohen has almost nothing of substance to say. She offers advice for doing well in high school: sit in the front row and nod your head in agreement with the teacher. No kidding. She offers up stories from her own process of applying to college (doesn't she realize that things may have changed a little?). She says she has a 100% success rate with the students who employ her, but doesn't she realize that people who can afford to pay her $29,000 to help their kid may also be targeted by fund-raisers at the colleges? In fact, one wonders, after reading clunky writing and suffering through fuzzy and condescending thinking, whether the cashmere-clad, diamond-studded Cohen had a little development push of her own to get accepted early...Read more

A recent article in Atlantic Monthly indicated that the author is probably the highest paid private admissions counselor. She charges $32,995 for a special counseling package that lasts two years to assure the best chance that students do get in into the Ivy league. She states that she has a success rate of 75%. She also indicates that for anyone who does not have that type of money, all her strategies are disclosed within this book.This is an excellent book on the subject. The author has a rich and diverse background on the topic, and it shows. She approaches the subject from many different angles. There are a lot of good books on college admissions. They typically cover all the basics well, including the quantitative factors (GPAs, tests) and the qualitative ones (extra curricular activities, essays, letters of recommendations, interviews). But, with this book the author went the extra mile on every aspects. For instance, on GPAs, she gives you so many interesting...Read more