Bound-for-College Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding and Applying to Colleges

The Bound-for-College Guidebook is a step-by-step guide to the student transition from high school to postsecondary education, including the self-awareness, exploration, goal-setting, decision-making, application and enrollment stages that must be successfully navigated to ensure the best results. This edition addresses the recent changes and adjustments that have been made in the college admission process, as well as those that have occurred as a result of the Varsity Blues Admission Scandal and forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Table of Contents:
List of Student Exercises Introduction 1 How Colleges Admit Students: Anatomy of an Admission Decision 2 College Exploration: Getting Off on the Right Foot 3 A Calendar of Exploration, Decision-Making, and Application Tasks 4 The First Step: Taking a Look at You 5 Mounting a Search: Getting Answers to Your College Questions 6 High School Course Selection: Relevance to College Admission 7 Learning about College Options: Getting the Best Information 8 Using the Internet to Explore and Apply to Colleges 9 Making the Most of the College Fair Experience 10 Campus Visits: Getting Ready to Go 11 Campus Visits: Being There and Afterward 12 Admission Plans: Modes of Admission Access 13 Degree of Difficulty: Understanding the Admission Competition 14 Admission Tests: How they are Used and Strategies for Preparation 15 Admission Essays: Putting Forth Your Best Effort 16 Narrowing Options: Deciding Where to Apply 17 The College Application: Making It Work for You 18 Understanding College Costs 19 Types and Sources of Student Financial Aid 20 Making Financial Aid Forms Work for You 21 After the Application: What Happens Next? 22 Off to College: Getting Ready for Your Freshman Year 23 Parents and the High School-to-College Transition 24 Educational Success: How Counselors Can Help You 25 School to College: Counselors as Your Allies 26 Learning from the Experts: Reflections of Veteran Deans and Directors of Admission 27 Some Closing Words about Expectations About the Author

About the Author :
Frank Burtnett is a counseling and counselor education veteran. His books offer concise and pragmatic investigations of and solutions to the challenges encountered by individuals across the life span who are experiencing school-to-college, education-to-career, employment-to-employment and career-to retirement transitions.

Review :
Chapters outline everything from the lesser-thought-of aspects of picking a college, such as preferred climate, to the nitty-gritty of financial aid. Easy-to-follow steps spanning a student's freshman to senior years of high school provide a simple time line of when to expect to send things in, schedule college visits, and more.... Detailed FAQs have answers for many common questions, supplementing the information in each chapter with lots of helpful tips.... Parents, too, will find plenty that's useful within these pages. College-minded teens will find this guide helpful for every step of the application process. Students have more power than they may realize in the college search process and Burtnett assists students in understanding and using this power to their advantage. This updated edition covers topics found in previous versions, but it also addresses changes in the admission process due to COVID and the Varsity Blues scandal. Readers will understand the factors colleges use for admission decisions, explore affordability, and learn how well they may fit in at specific schools. Numerous self-awareness exercises and frequently asked questions add to the discussion. The author also provides students a plan for each year of high school, including standardized tests, the role of counselors, appropriate coursework, college exploration, visits, the application process, college costs, financial aid, managing acceptances from multiple schools, and handling rejections and wait lists decisions. Parents and care givers will find advice for guiding their child's transition from high school to college. Burtnett provides solid guidance in this highly recommended work for high school students and those assisting them with college decisions. There are a number of books about the college admission process on shelves all over this country. Frank Burtnett has written one that will be on desks, open and used. I particularly like his FAQ sections and hands-on approach. Admission at its best is a developmental process, and Burtnett has captured this through the personal student exercises.