I was drawn to this book because of the essay work Ethan Sawyer does on social media and through various schools, including my sons school. The advice and information offers in the book is straightforward, interesting and more detailed than so many other books I've read. As a parent with kids approaching college age, it's critical to find timely, accurate information and Ethan Sawyer offers this and so much more in College Admission Essentials!

As a high school counselor, I signed up for Ethan Sawyer's emails and actually read them. I'm very happy he decided to write a book. This is such a great resource! There is just so much to this process so I'm very happy to have a book I can check out when I need the extra help and from someone I trust to give me accurate information!

I appreciate Ethan’s willingness to help students and parents of all backgrounds, interests, of all abilities to pay, and he shares a wealth of info with counselors as well. He shares all this experience and insight in this book. It is a good companion for any college counseling office, and combined with Ethan’s generous website and free materials, the owner of this book should have all the resources they need! He is outstanding!

Ethan Sawyer is the go-to-guy, for college application essays - from brainstorming ideas to authentic writing in the student's own voice. A great reference for anyone looking to help their high schools students create and submit applications and essays that stand out in the best way possible.

Anything that's written by Ethan Sawyer, The College Essay Guy should be on your to-read/buy list. He has made me a better essay editor and a better application reader. I've been in the college business for decades, and The College Essay Guy's books, website are not to be missed. I learn something new all the time.

This was a FANTASTIC look at the college admissions process. As an educator and a mother to high school juniors, I was intrigued with all the tips and tricks.

This author also has a fantastic website with a plethora of resources - A one stop shop for so many things. He has even created google tracker documents, templates for letters, resumes, etc. This book is worth its weight in gold. I have his book on college essays that I will read (along with my girls) a little later this Spring.

Although this book does not specially address the new college admission landscape (during the covid era), the author provides up to date information on his website as well as regular podcasts and facebook live events.

#NetGalley
#CollegeAdmissionEssentials

Great book for anyone that is going to college. It gives you good information on what to do, and it's also very readable.

COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSENTIALS by Ethan Sawyer does an excellent job of providing its promised "Step-by-Step Guide to Showing Colleges Who You Are and What Matters to You." Sawyer encourages learning by doing; he begins with a chapter focused on Essence Objects, Values, and Core Memories Exercises. I was struck by his conversational voice and students will likely appreciate the "you can do this - let's get to work tone" tone. Throughout the book Sawyer refers to the Treasure Trove of resources on his website which is indeed full of valuable information. In addition, he provides student samples in the book and often defers to another college admissions or counseling expert such as when discussing financial aid, completing the FAFSA, and analyzing award letters. The information in this text is well-organized, with specific chapters on topics like Early Decision and Early Action, Artists and Athletes, First Generation and Low Income students (see his Matchlighters mentoring program), LGBTQ+ students, Transfers and Veterans, plus an appendix with a detailed College Planning Timeline, beginning in 9th grade.

Obviously, this book was written prior to the pandemic’s impact with its shifts towards remote learning, fewer opportunities for traditional extracurricular activities, and restrictions on college visits. However, Sawyer does encourage students to find their passion and that clearly parallels the Making Caring Common Project where in June 2020 College Deans offered suggestions on admissions in response to COVID-19. Overall, Sawyer understands students, speaks to them effectively, and truly seems to be concerned about them, as when he writes, "I told you at the start of this book my goal was to make this process easier, more fun, and more meaningful. I hope I've done that. I also hope this book has helped you discover more about who you are and what you care about." COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSENTIALS is an exceptionally useful tool that I encourage all of our students to investigate.

Links in post:
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/treasuretrove
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/matchlighters
https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/resources-for-colleges/endorse-care-counts-in-crisis-college-admissions-deans-respond-to-covid-19

Need to get a handle of what to do to get into college? This book can help. It breaks down an overwhelming system and helps the reader process the admission maze. This book offers a great insight and help for any high schooler looking at colleges.

This book is an interesting mix of way too detailed information and way too general information. It is good information, but potential buyers should consider what purpose they are using the book. There is much to like here. Discussions regarding the information actually put on the application are really good. There are seriously in depth discussions regarding activities and essays that are particularly useful. Besides those sections, however, there are a lot of pages regarding special circumstances (low income students, women, first gen, home schooled students, etc.) that take up a lot of pages but which are pretty general. Forty percent of the book is really specialized. If you don't fall into one of these categories, that is a lot pages you are paying for that don't apply to you. Even the information for these groups is pretty generalized and will require followup to get more specific.

I recommend this book for the application completion, but be prepared to supplement the other sections.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. While I typically don't request non-fiction books, I am so glad I did. (On a bit of a selfish note, I have a child who is a junior in high school so this info was especially relevant). Loved the style of writing - this will be very readable for high school students. On point and funny as well. Full of amazing information and additional resources to help both students and parents get ready for the college admissions process.

This book was very informative and concise. Although I have already started my university career this book still provided me even more insight during college admissions. The exercises helped me learn and the advice was very helpful. I will recommend this book to my sister and other people who haven’t gone through the college admissions process yet.

This book has given me a new perspective on the college admission process. I feel better prepared after reading this and will share this with my friends going through the process, as well.

For a mom of a sophomore, I found this book very helpful. I believe I will return to it often as we progress closer to colleges. We are already using the book for our college planning.

I voluntarily read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I recently began working as a National Careers Service Advisor and this area will form part of my job role so thought this would be helpful

I found this very informative and helpful. An easy, step by step guide that is very clear - will certainly use my knowledge gained from this in my day to day role

As the mom of a high school student, I find the process of College applications, admissions, to be COMPLETELY stressful and overwhelming. I want to make sure we don't miss anything, but at the same time, how do I know what I'm missing or not? I found this book to be incredibly reader-friendly and helpful without making this process seem more stressful overall. I felt like I came away with a better understanding of the process from the viewpoint of a student and parent, but also from the side of the colleges as well. I feel like this book should be a MUST READ for any parent and student who is getting ready to start the college admissions process.

5 out of 5 stars for College Admission Essentials by Ethan Sawyer. A huge thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley to read and provide my review for this incredibly useful book. All opinions are completely my own.