Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter

Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter

Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter

Overview

Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter by Jill Madenberg, Amanda Madenberg

Are you dreading the college application process? Have no fear. An experienced college counselor and her daughter show you how to make the journey manageable—and fun!

Jill Madenberg draws upon her 20-plus years of counseling experience while her daughter Amanda—a student who just recently went off to college—adds tips and personal stories. Whether you are wondering how to choose high school classes and activities, create a realistic college list, get the most out of a campus visit, or maintain a positive and healthy attitude, Love the Journey to College will help you make educated decisions throughout the process—and show you how to do it with a smile.

As the daughter of an experienced college counselor, Amanda Madenberg has been visiting colleges for as long as she can remember—on family vacations, weekend road trips, and school holidays. Even at a young age, she took interest as her mom spoke with tour guides, admissions counselors, and students on campus to get a feel for life at a particular school. Most importantly, Amanda greatly enjoyed her own college application process—from visiting campuses to writing supplemental essays. Writing as both a typical high school student and as the daughter of a college counselor, Amanda lends a unique and entertaining perspective to Love the Journey to College.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781682613498
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Publication date: 08/01/2017
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 226,580
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jill Madenberg has been a college admissions professional in New York since 1993, serving as a certified high school guidance counselor and independent college consultant in Long Island, near New York City. She has visited hundreds of college campuses and has worked as a regional recruiter for two specialized colleges in the Northeast. Jill earned her bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University and master’s degree Summa Cum Laude in counseling and guidance from New York University.

Jill is a longtime member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), Higher Educational Consultants Association (HECA), and the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC). She speaks regularly to students and their families about the college admissions process and has conducted webinars and seminars to other professionals learning about the college process. Jill has been interviewed for articles in The New York Times and USA Today, as well as for features on National Public Radio and Fox News.

Amanda Madenberg has had a passion for writing since elementary school, and being a published author has been a dream from an early age. Nurturing her love for journalism, and inspired by her high school English teacher’s passion for all things oriented to writing, Amanda held several editorial positions on her high school newspaper. She's contributed feature articles to her local weekly paper, and wrote for the online magazine Teenink.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

How to Use This Book xvi

Part I High School Résumé

Chapter 1 Knowing Where and When to Start 3

Chapter 2 Choosing High School Classes 9

Chapter 3 Choosing High School Extracurricular Activities 16

Chapter 4 Preparing During the Summer 23

Chapter 5 Understanding Standardized Testing 27

Part II Logistics of Applying to College

Chapter 8 Staying Proactive and Starting Early 41

Chapter 7 Organizing Everything 47

Chapter 8 Demonstrating Interest and "Playing the Game" 52

Chapter 9 Visiting Colleges 58

Chapter 10 Making a College List 71

Chapter 11 Recognizing College Criteria: What Do Colleges Consider? 84

Chapter 12 Hooks and Ways of Enhancing Your Application 94

Chapter 13 Getting Letters of Recommendation 104

Chapter 14 Using Common Application, Naviance, Universal Application, Coalition for Access, and More 111

Chapter 15 Interviewing 118

Chapter 16 Writing Essays and Supplements 123

Chapter 17 Assessing Types of Applications and Responses 130

Chapter 18 Procuring Financial Aid 148

Part III Mental Health

Chapter 19 Maintaining Positivity and Optimism 161

Chapter 20 Keeping Your Mouth Shut! 164

Chapter 21 Parenting Throughout the Process 173

Chapter 22 Mulling the Future 180

Chapter 23 Keeping the Proper Perspective 187

Chapter 24 Knowing What I Did Right 191

Chapter 25 What I Wish I Had Done Differently 194

Chapter 26 Tips for Incoming First-Year College Students 197

Chapter 27 Amanda's Archive (Amanda's Common App Essay and Sample "Why" Supplement) 203

Epilogue 207

About the Authors 210

Index 212

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Love the Journey to College: Guidance from an Admissions Consultant and Her Daughter 5 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 7 reviews.
Anonymous 3 months ago
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book.... any family going thru the college process (parent and student) could benefit from this book. Jill and her daughter Amanda, have created an incredible resource book. Jill's suggestions and insight in combination with Amanda's perspective as a teenager makes what could be a very stressful period of time actually more enjoyable. I would 100% recommend every family with teenagers in high school to have a copy of this book.
Anonymous 9 days ago
So grateful for this book! Love the Journey to College was instrumental in getting my daughter into the college of her dreams. She is so happy at the college that she chose and we would not have found this institution without this guide. We so much enjoyed the journey to college because of the helpful advice from the author and her daughter. I can't wait to use the book again when my son is ready to look at colleges and until then I am sending it to all of my friends who have children about to embark on their own college journeys. This book is a must-read for both parens and students!
SB2018 24 days ago
This book is exactly what I needed. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with the college process and found this book to be extremely informative, easy to read, and filled with useful tips for both parents and students. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the perspective of both a counselor and student, both who present clear facts and useful information to make the journey toward college more manageable and fun! My high schooler found it enjoyable and easy to read as well. I have come across many books on the college process and found this one to be the most useful by far.
Anonymous 25 days ago
This book has been by far the most helpful of all the college guides I have read. It is full of insider tips and the format is easy to follow. When I started by college search with my twins, the process seemed overwhelming. But since reading this book, we are so much more organized and focused. This is not your typical cookie cutter advice, but rather a book that helps make the search personal to each student. We also really enjoyed the unique mother daughter perspectives. LOVE this book and highly recommend to anyone no matter what stage you are at in the college search process.
Anonymous 26 days ago
The best college guide we read. Easy to read from both parent and student perspectives. This book was our main tool during the college search process. Amazing hints and tips on college visits, applications and the difficult world of college finance. We loved the mother/daughter format which helped the whole family.
Anonymous 28 days ago
As a junior in high school who is beginning the college search process, I highly recommend this book. Since freshman year of high school when everyone started talking about college, I've been stressed about the process. My mom bought this book for me, and it made me feel so much more confident. The book lays out the application process in detail and in language that is easy to read and understand. It is clear that Jill has so much experience and knowledge on the topic, and it was great to get Amanda's perspective as a student who had just gone through it. Both Jill and Amanda provide great advice on how to visit colleges, create your college list, and make your applications stand out. I highly recommend this book!
Anonymous 28 days ago
This book has become of a BIBLE in our house. We bought it last year, when our son (then starting Junior year) was talking more about college. With all the decisions and steps along the way, we’ve used Love the Journey to get the quick insights that have helped us be supportive but not overbearing. Part 2 has been an amazing resource for our son, in identifying schools, planning some visits, and thinking early about ways to make his application stand out to colleges. Part 3 has some great tips for maintaining sanity (his and ours) and putting the whole process in perspective. THANK YOU to both authors for your guidance and wisdom.