Questions and Admissions: Reflections on 100,000 Admissions Decisions at Stanford

Rating:
Summary: great background
Review: a good book for those who want an understanding from the other side of the table about how the process works. If you're looking for a guidebook on how to apply (to Stanford or any other very selective school) this isn't the book for you because it doesn't talk about the nuts and bolts of your application. But if you want an overall understanding of how the top colleges approach the task of winnowing out the 20% of students who will be offered admission from the deluge of applicants, and have the intelligence to then apply what you've learned to your own situation this is the best book you'll find. Clearly some people are incapable of making the jump from the global to the specific; if the book doesn't apply directly to them or mentions a detail that has changed since the book was written they are disappointed (or see the book as rife with "errors"). If you fall in this group, don't get the book. But if you want to know what conversations amongst the admission staff cover and what they feel is important, this opens up a world seen by few.

Rating:
Summary: Dated material
Review: This book was recommended by my son's college counselor as being very informative. I purchased the book and found it to be incredibly verbose instead. In addition, the information provided is dated. Since Ms. Fedder is no longer at Stanford, the information she gives is no longer accurate. Specifically, she stated that they have a special catagory for those gifted in math (as for those gifted in the arts and sports) and they rely upon the recommendations of the math department to select the most gifted math student. Upon calling Stanford I was informed that that was no longer in effect.

She also speaks of her low opinion of early admission/early action programs. However Stanford has had them for several years now.

If I, a novice to the world of college admissions, could easily spot two significant errors, how accurate could this book be to a reader seeking information.

It is also manages to say in a thousand words what couls have been said in a hundred.