College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family

by Steven Roy Goodman Ph.D., Andrea Leiman

Overview

College Admissions Together is more than a practical how to get into college book, though it does explain key aspects of today’s college admissions process for both parents and students. It is also a guide to healthy family relationships during the college admissions process. This invaluable book looks at the often stressful process of finding the right college for your child not as an ordeal but as an opportunity to bond as a family and to give your child safe passage to adulthood as he or she determines which colleges are the best fit.

In College Admissions Together, educational consultant Steve Goodman and family psychologist Andrea Leiman help parents recognize that what makes the college admissions process a potential danger zone for families is the combination of the teen’s growing independence and the parent’s need to help him or her make critical decisions for the future. They answer difficult questions like how to stay involved in the process while allowing your child to make more choices. They help you put the college admissions process into the context of your child’s passage to adulthood and understand what he or she is feeling and facing as your child makes the decision of where to go next.

Using Goodman and Leiman’s advice, tips, and exercises, the college admissions process will lead to a greater appreciation of each other and mutually rewarding family relationships that last a lifetime. College Admissions Together serves families, counselors, teachers, and others as an essential resource during a stressful time in most families’ lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933102542
Publisher:	Capital Books, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/01/2007
Series:	Capital Ideas Series
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Steven Roy Goodman, MS, JD, is an international authority on college and graduate school admissions. Over the past eighteen years, he has designed admissions strategies for more than 1,500 applicants to colleges, graduate programs, and business, law, and medical schools. Steve Goodman has spoken at the White House, the 92nd Street Y, and the World Bank and has been cited in many national and regional media outlets including the annual college editions of the Atlantic and U.S. News and World Report, as well as on ABC, CNN, and even TV Asahi in Japan. Steve lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and daughter.

Table of Contents

Foreword     ix
Preface     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Introduction     xv
A Safe Passage to Adulthood     1
Shifts in Family Control     19
Peer and Social Pressure     35
Objectively Assessing Your Child     51
Establishing Realistic Expectations     67
Fear of Failure     85
Enhancing Your Family's Communication     93
Family Member Responsibilities     105
Teamwork Every Step of the Way     117
Making a Match     127
Key Aspects of College Applications     141
The Long Wait for Decisions     149
Making a Wise Choice     155
Moving On: The Big Transition     165
Index     175
About the Authors     181

Editorial Reviews

Depth beats breadth. While it might seem impressive to join six clubs and volunteer at a soup kitchen in your senior year, admissions officers can see through such a ploy. Besides, it’s unnecessary, says Steven Roy Goodman, a Washington, DC educational consultant and the coauthor of College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family. ‘It’s important to be well lopsided rather than well rounded. That enables you to focus on what you’re good at.’”

"Aimed at parents, but clearly for the entire family, the book presents the journey through high school and the trainsition to college as a family matter to be shared...In each chapter the embedded strategies are well interwoven with the discussion about college admission. One could almos approach the book as an extended interactional 'game' designed to promote family harmony, with college admission being merely the topic that gives the exercise meaning!"

"Getting your daughter engaged in the process is crucial, not only to selecting a college but to her success thereafter. Take time to reflect on your objectives, says Steven Roy Goodman, a Washington, D.C., educational consultant and co-author of College Admissions Together, a book on the family dynamics of this process. Are you focused on her attending a well-known school, or one that's the best fit? Your daughter may fear being less successful than her brother, taking 'the path of the underachiever,' says Mr. Goodman's co-author, Andrea Leiman, a clinical psychologist. 'That is, if I don't try and I fail, I don't have to feel bad -- where if I try and then don't succeed, I will feel like a failure,' Dr. Leiman says. Try gently to engage her in a discussion about 'what interests her. Does she have any idea of a possible career path?'

“How to bear stresses of college admissions … College Admissions Together examines the college-hunting process not as an ordeal––but rather as anunexpected opportunity to bond as a family. At a recent book signing at Politics & Prose, Goodman and Leiman shared nuggets of wisdom from their book to an audience comprised of anxious parents and a smattering of curious educators.”

“Any family that has experienced the college application process knows how stressful and nerve-wracking this time can be. …Goodman, an educational consultant, and Leiman, a clinical psychologist and professor, offer advice on connecting as a family and involving parents, while at the same time allowing each student to make independent decisions.”

“New Guide Eases Families through College Admissions - Perhaps no change in the family dynamic is more dramatic than sending a child out into the world. To help ease the passage of families with high school students seeking entry to higher education, Bethesda clinical psychologist Andrea Leiman co-wrote the new book College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family. …What sets College Admissions Together apart from some college entrance guides is its discussion of family conflicts and how to avoid them. ‘This book really addresses the emotional and family dynamic issues,’ Leiman says. ‘This tells how to launch children happily.’”

“Getting into college with a minimum of family fuss is hard––unless you know how to manage the tensions that surface along the way. Goodman and Leiman provide the tools you need to help your child gain admission to appropriate schools and to permanently enrich your family relationships at the same time.”

"College Admissions Together is such an outstanding contribution to the field that it should be entitled Read Me First. Before you visit any admissions office, take any campus tour, or do any college investigations at all, make sure you follow the pragmatic advice in this book.”

“Leaving home is a big deal. The authors draw on their expertise to teach us how to approach this dynamic process with a clear plan instead of just hoping that it will all work out somehow.”

“Steve Goodman and Andrea Leiman confront the transition to college intelligently, aiming to help families grow up without growing apart and setting the tone for sharing family challenges in a productive way.”

“College Admissions Together is a solid and sensible guide, full of excellent information to help you––and your teen––navigate a crucial transition.”

“This valuable book illuminates the family dynamics that can often get in the way of choosing a college successfully––and offers useful tips on how to proceed thoughtfully through the admissions process.”

From the Publisher

New Guide Eases Families through College Admissions - Perhaps no change in the family dynamic is more dramatic than sending a child out into the world. To help ease the passage of families with high school students seeking entry to higher education, Bethesda clinical psychologist Andrea Leiman co-wrote the new book College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family. …What sets College Admissions Together apart from some college entrance guides is its discussion of family conflicts and how to avoid them. ‘This book really addresses the emotional and family dynamic issues,’ Leiman says. ‘This tells how to launch children happily.’

Gazette.net (Maryland Community Newspapers online)

Getting your daughter engaged in the process is crucial, not only to selecting a college but to her success thereafter. Take time to reflect on your objectives, says Steven Roy Goodman, a Washington, D.C., educational consultant and co-author of College Admissions Together, a book on the family dynamics of this process. Are you focused on her attending a well-known school, or one that's the best fit? Your daughter may fear being less successful than her brother, taking 'the path of the underachiever,' says Mr. Goodman's co-author, Andrea Leiman, a clinical psychologist. 'That is, if I don't try and I fail, I don't have to feel bad -- where if I try and then don't succeed, I will feel like a failure,' Dr. Leiman says. Try gently to engage her in a discussion about 'what interests her. Does she have any idea of a possible career path?

Wall Street Journal Sue Shellenbargr

Aimed at parents, but clearly for the entire family, the book presents the journey through high school and the trainsition to college as a family matter to be shared...In each chapter the embedded strategies are well interwoven with the discussion about college admission. One could almos approach the book as an extended interactional 'game' designed to promote family harmony, with college admission being merely the topic that gives the exercise meaning!

Midwest Book Review David Denman

"How to bear stresses of college admissions … College Admissions Together examines the college-hunting process not as an ordeal––but rather as anunexpected opportunity to bond as a family. At a recent book signing at Politics & Prose, Goodman and Leiman shared nuggets of wisdom from their book to an audience comprised of anxious parents and a smattering of curious educators."

Northwest Current

"Any family that has experienced the college application process knows how stressful and nerve-wracking this time can be. …Goodman, an educational consultant, and Leiman, a clinical psychologist and professor, offer advice on connecting as a family and involving parents, while at the same time allowing each student to make independent decisions."

Duke Magazine

"Depth beats breadth. While it might seem impressive to join six clubs and volunteer at a soup kitchen in your senior year, admissions officers can see through such a ploy. Besides, it’s unnecessary, says Steven Roy Goodman, a Washington, DC educational consultant and the coauthor of College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family. ‘It’s important to be well lopsided rather than well rounded. That enables you to focus on what you’re good at.'"

US News & World Report

"New Guide Eases Families through College Admissions - Perhaps no change in the family dynamic is more dramatic than sending a child out into the world. To help ease the passage of families with high school students seeking entry to higher education, Bethesda clinical psychologist Andrea Leiman co-wrote the new book College Admissions Together: It Takes a Family. …What sets College Admissions Together apart from some college entrance guides is its discussion of family conflicts and how to avoid them. ‘This book really addresses the emotional and family dynamic issues,’ Leiman says. ‘This tells how to launch children happily.’"

Gazette.net

"Getting your daughter engaged in the process is crucial, not only to selecting a college but to her success thereafter. Take time to reflect on your objectives, says Steven Roy Goodman, a Washington, D.C., educational consultant and co-author of College Admissions Together, a book on the family dynamics of this process. Are you focused on her attending a well-known school, or one that's the best fit? Your daughter may fear being less successful than her brother, taking 'the path of the underachiever,' says Mr. Goodman's co-author, Andrea Leiman, a clinical psychologist. 'That is, if I don't try and I fail, I don't have to feel bad — where if I try and then don't succeed, I will feel like a failure,' Dr. Leiman says. Try gently to engage her in a discussion about 'what interests her. Does she have any idea of a possible career path?"

The Wall Street Journal - Sue Shellenbargr

"Aimed at parents, but clearly for the entire family, the book presents the journey through high school and the trainsition to college as a family matter to be shared...In each chapter the embedded strategies are well interwoven with the discussion about college admission. One could almos approach the book as an extended interactional 'game' designed to promote family harmony, with college admission being merely the topic that gives the exercise meaning!"

Midwest Book Review

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