Valedictorians at the Gate
Standing Out, Getting In, and Staying Sane While Applying to College
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ISBN10: 125061905X
ISBN13: 9781250619051
Trade Paperback
240 Pages
$18.99
CA$24.99
After spending years as a college admissions director at Dartmouth, Becky Munsterer Sabky had seen it all. The perfect grades, the perfect scores, and the perfect extracurriculars. Valedictorians were knocking at the gate, but Becky realized that in their quest for admission many of these students were missing something. Their transcripts were golden, their interviews polished, but they weren’t applying for college, they were competing for it—and in the end they didn’t know what prize they were really striving for.
In Valedictorians at the Gate, Sabky looks beyond the smoke and mirrors of the intimidating admissions gauntlet and places the power firmly where it should be: in the hands of the students themselves. Offering prescriptive, actionable advice for students and their (hopefully not helicoptering) parents, Sabky illuminates the pathway to finding the school that is the ideal match.
Witty and warm, informative and inspiring, Valedictorians at the Gate is the needed tonic for overstressed, overworked, and overwhelmed students on their way to the perfect college for them.
Reviews
Praise for Valedictorians at the Gate
“Sabky share[s] helpful college tips for those navigating the process without pricey consultants.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“The most honest, most helpful book I've ever read on applying to college.”—Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Originals
“This book is incredible. I have read dozens of books about college admissions and this one is exceptional in its honesty and insight. It both answers the questions that parents and students truly have and reminds us all of what is really important.”—Lisa Heffernan, New York Times bestselling author and coauthor of Grown & Flown
“Becky Munsterer Sabky is an expert on college admissions—an insider generous enough to share her experiences behind the closed doors of ivy league college admissions. Valedictorians at the Gate is the perfect combination of story, information, and advice, offering a much-needed dose of sanity around the process of college admissions.”—Jessica Lahey, New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure
“Valedictorians at the Gate isn’t just an unmissable guide for every budding college applicant (and anxious parent), it is essential reading for all of us. Ms. Sabky draws upon her rich experience as an Ivy League admissions director to illuminate the strange and shadowed world of admits, denies, and defers. With humor, empathy, and keen insight, she shows us what matters, and what doesn’t, at the threshold of higher education.”—Adam Benforado, professor of law, Drexel University, and New York Times bestselling author of Unfair
“Drawing on 13 years of experience as an admissions officer, Sabky offers practical, down-to-earth advice about choosing a college, navigating the application process, and deciding which college to attend.”—Kirkus Reviews
“[Sabky] 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.”—Library Journal
Reviews from Goodreads
BOOK EXCERPTS
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CHAPTER ONE
THE BIG PICTURE
“So, what really happens in there?”
It’s a question I’m regularly asked when folks find out I was an admissions director. They want to know what happens behind closed...
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Becky Munsterer Sabky
