Valedictorians at the gate Standing out, getting in, and staying sane while applying to college

Sabky provides an insider's perspective on the admissions process at Dartmouth College and other highly selective U.S. colleges and universities. As a high schooler, she herself applied to Dartmouth but wasn't admitted; she describes this as a humbling experience that spurred her to excel at Colby College, thrive as an eventual Dartmouth graduate student, and become "a more sympathetic admissions officer" later at Dartmouth, where she worked for more than 10 years. Her book is organized into sections on choosing a school, applying, attending campus events after being admitted, and more--though she doesn't discuss financial aid. Sabky also covers early decision, international applications, and athletic recruitment. The emphasis is on applying rather than competing, and Sabky encourages students to consider "learning for the sake of learning" rather than to bolster an application. She offers valuable insight into how colleges try to build competitive pools of future students by focusing on diversity, selectivity, and college needs. Her work is engaging, edifying, and even humorous at times. VERDICT Recommended for students interested in applying to highly selective institutions.--Elizabeth Connor, Daniel Lib., The Citadel, Military Coll. of South Carolina, Charleston

A look at the complex process of college admissions. Drawing on 13 years of experience as an admissions officer, most spent at Dartmouth, Sabky offers practical, down-to-earth advice about choosing a college, navigating the application process, and deciding which college to attend. Like Frank Bruni's Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be, this book emphasizes that an Ivy League school may not be the best choice for everyone, nor does rejection stamp a student as unworthy. College admission, writes Sabky, "is a business at nearly every institution," with decisions "based on the whole of each candidacy, the depth of the pool, and the desires of the institution." Highly selective schools actively recruit as many students as possible in order to keep their admissions rate low, with the result that many outstanding students are rejected. Nevertheless, to help students be as competitive as possible, Sabky gives tips on "self-marketing" in a process that "has become one of the most complicated hurdles of the American education system." That process often begins with a campus visit (or online visit for students unable to travel), during which the author advises that students range off the prescribed path to see parts of the campus that really interest them. For the application--which she typically would spend about 12 minutes reading--she has thoughts on the transcript, recommendations, extracurricular activities, test scores, alumni interviews, and especially the importance of authenticity in the personal statement. That essay, she writes, should "share a story, a vision, a thought. The purpose of an essay was never to win an award." Sabky regrets that the admission process turns students "into laser-focused robots for a chance at the college dream" and glorifies the Ivy Leagues. "There's no need to turn into an Ivy clinger," she writes reassuringly, "when there are thousands of wonderful colleges and universities in the United States." Sound advice for prospective college students and their families. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.