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The Dirty Little Secrets of Getting Into a Top College
A top college admissions insider exposes the never-before revealed secrets to getting into one of America’s elite colleges.
Your child is smart. Your child is on the honor roll. Your child aced the SAT. But is it enough to get into a top-tier college? In the Dirty Little Secrets of Getting into a Top College , educational consultant Pria Chatterjee simplifies the complicated process of college admissions, providing parents and students with the tools needed to secure a spot at one of America’s most competitive colleges. In the spirit of Kitchen Confidential , Chatterjee gives readers an exclusive look inside the college admissions office—and the mind of a college admissions officer—and exposes just what elite schools look for in a potential student. Through a series of real-world case studies and with a store of deep insider knowledge, Chatterjee will help you navigate the thicket of college admissions and show parents and students what skills and attributes to stress (and what to downplay) when applying to your dream school.
• 100% SUCCESS This is the bullet proof guide to getting into a top college from a consultant with a 100 percent success rate getting her clients into one of America’s best universities.
• INSIDER Last year 35,000 students applied to Harvard. Only 6 percent were accepted. Chatterjee, a Harvard alum who interviews potential Harvard students as a member of the university’s schools committee, explains that you too can be a member of that elite group. But you must stress the right qualifications.
Your child is smart. Your child is on the honor roll. Your child aced the SAT. But is it enough to get into a top-tier college? In the Dirty Little Secrets of Getting into a Top College , educational consultant Pria Chatterjee simplifies the complicated process of college admissions, providing parents and students with the tools needed to secure a spot at one of America’s most competitive colleges. In the spirit of Kitchen Confidential , Chatterjee gives readers an exclusive look inside the college admissions office—and the mind of a college admissions officer—and exposes just what elite schools look for in a potential student. Through a series of real-world case studies and with a store of deep insider knowledge, Chatterjee will help you navigate the thicket of college admissions and show parents and students what skills and attributes to stress (and what to downplay) when applying to your dream school.
• 100% SUCCESS This is the bullet proof guide to getting into a top college from a consultant with a 100 percent success rate getting her clients into one of America’s best universities.
• INSIDER Last year 35,000 students applied to Harvard. Only 6 percent were accepted. Chatterjee, a Harvard alum who interviews potential Harvard students as a member of the university’s schools committee, explains that you too can be a member of that elite group. But you must stress the right qualifications.
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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June 19, 2020This was a wonderful collection of short stories. I didnt want the book to end. Terry develops the characters and the story line in such a way that keeps your intrigued the whole time and while reading it you wish it was a longer book and not just a short story. I have to say the endings were the best..they left you with an OMG what did I just read....and some I could relate to personally since I grew up nearby and could recall some great memories that I had otherwise forgotten...a great vacation read!
November 15, 2015
This book includes some interesting data, but didn't, in my mind, offer much in the way of tangible advice about seeking admission to top colleges. I read it cover to cover in one sitting, and although I do feel armed with more data about what kind of students are more statistically likely to receive admission letters from elite schools, I'm still not sure what--if any-- "dirty little secrets" have been shared. The author is a "college admissions consultant" who claims to have a 100% success rate in placing students at elite schools; the cover of the book claims she will reveal "her secrets for the first time." Although I did not, of course, expect the revelation of earth-shattering secrets (what would those be? Get good grades and SAT scores?! Thanks!! Never thought of that!), I did hope that the book might provide more specific advice about how to help your teenager prepare applications, write essays, select which colleges to visit, etc. Several other books on the market provide this kind of specific advice.
Perhaps if Chatterjee's book had been titled and marketed differently, I'd have had a more positive reaction. Still, if you are seeking more information about how top colleges select their incoming class, this book does provide some good data and helps fill in pieces of the puzzle. I just would suggest reading additional books as well.
Perhaps if Chatterjee's book had been titled and marketed differently, I'd have had a more positive reaction. Still, if you are seeking more information about how top colleges select their incoming class, this book does provide some good data and helps fill in pieces of the puzzle. I just would suggest reading additional books as well.
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November 26, 2015*tears*
August 3, 2018
This book should never have been published and clearly was not read first by anyone who either knows anything about admissions or works with young people applying to college.
I don't get surgery and then decide that I have the expertise of a surgeon, but it seems perfectly acceptable for parents of children who have applied to college to suddenly decide that they know how college admissions works.
While I don't believe that more selective colleges are better colleges, I wanted to take a peek at this since I am a college counselor and assume that some of my students and families may be reading this.
If the title and seventeen subtitles were not off putting enough, the inside sleeve lists the "top 50 universities" and "top 50 colleges." Barf. What am I doing reading this malarkey? Chatterjee has labeled some VERY SELECTIVE colleges that deny most of their applicants as being in the "solid middle." What a dangerous, damaging, and downright dysfunctional way to inspire young people who are applying to college.
It's not surprising that the book is full of inaccuracies as its author has no real experience in education. The author explains that when you apply early decision, you can only "apply to one college." This is both untrue and unwise. If you are applying to a particular college via an early decision plan, you are bound to attend if admitted and, at that point you must withdraw all other college applications, but you absolutely can and should file other early action applications in case the early decision school does not accept you. These other early action colleges should be ones you like and where you have a strong chance of admissions so that if your ED does not pan out, you know you can go somewhere that you like. Anyway, this error is one of my biggest pet peeves with these so-called admissions guides written by people who have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.
Also, a minor annoyance: She uses the term "SAT IIs" throughout the book. They're not called that anymore and haven't been for some time. They're called SAT Subject Tests.
Perhaps the most disgusting part of the book is when Pria contends that there is an arbitrage that opportunity wherein students can take advantage of by applying to colleges whose ranking is higher than their level of selectivity. Yeah, that's how you should pick a college. Sounds great. Gross. Does the author think that she has discovered something brilliant here? This obscenely over-mathematical approach will absolutely not help you get into one of these so-called "best colleges."
What an absolute joke.
I don't get surgery and then decide that I have the expertise of a surgeon, but it seems perfectly acceptable for parents of children who have applied to college to suddenly decide that they know how college admissions works.
While I don't believe that more selective colleges are better colleges, I wanted to take a peek at this since I am a college counselor and assume that some of my students and families may be reading this.
If the title and seventeen subtitles were not off putting enough, the inside sleeve lists the "top 50 universities" and "top 50 colleges." Barf. What am I doing reading this malarkey? Chatterjee has labeled some VERY SELECTIVE colleges that deny most of their applicants as being in the "solid middle." What a dangerous, damaging, and downright dysfunctional way to inspire young people who are applying to college.
It's not surprising that the book is full of inaccuracies as its author has no real experience in education. The author explains that when you apply early decision, you can only "apply to one college." This is both untrue and unwise. If you are applying to a particular college via an early decision plan, you are bound to attend if admitted and, at that point you must withdraw all other college applications, but you absolutely can and should file other early action applications in case the early decision school does not accept you. These other early action colleges should be ones you like and where you have a strong chance of admissions so that if your ED does not pan out, you know you can go somewhere that you like. Anyway, this error is one of my biggest pet peeves with these so-called admissions guides written by people who have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.
Also, a minor annoyance: She uses the term "SAT IIs" throughout the book. They're not called that anymore and haven't been for some time. They're called SAT Subject Tests.
Perhaps the most disgusting part of the book is when Pria contends that there is an arbitrage that opportunity wherein students can take advantage of by applying to colleges whose ranking is higher than their level of selectivity. Yeah, that's how you should pick a college. Sounds great. Gross. Does the author think that she has discovered something brilliant here? This obscenely over-mathematical approach will absolutely not help you get into one of these so-called "best colleges."
What an absolute joke.
December 28, 2018
that's a funny book if you won't take it to serious, but nothing special. I can't say it's a really useful book, but why not? to be honest, in the case, if you or your child would like to be successful in college competition, better ask for help with college homework and tasks via college paper writers. definitely, it'll be a great idea!
August 30, 2022
🥲the grind is real
March 26, 2015
Note: don't read this book right after reading Earl Smith's Death Row Chaplain. That powerful memoir will make the pursuit of elite college acceptance seem downright meaningless, if not offensively silly.
That said, what I found most interesting was the author's description of how the very top universities try to fill quotas for certain student types and geographies. I knew this, but seeing the data was helpful. If you really want to get your kid into one of these schools, be sure to move to Nebraska and be part Native American or Latino if at all possible. If you're urban white bread, launch a political movement to stand out. If you're Asian, start that political movement, write a symphony, AND do something unexpected like be a published poet in Farsi, because Stanford and the Ivy Leagues have a ceiling of 20% Asian admittance.
Having gone to both a public university and a cream-of-the-crop U, I can say they were both great experiences in different ways, so stop being a stress case and stuffing your resume and worry more about doing something meaningful with your life!
That said, what I found most interesting was the author's description of how the very top universities try to fill quotas for certain student types and geographies. I knew this, but seeing the data was helpful. If you really want to get your kid into one of these schools, be sure to move to Nebraska and be part Native American or Latino if at all possible. If you're urban white bread, launch a political movement to stand out. If you're Asian, start that political movement, write a symphony, AND do something unexpected like be a published poet in Farsi, because Stanford and the Ivy Leagues have a ceiling of 20% Asian admittance.
Having gone to both a public university and a cream-of-the-crop U, I can say they were both great experiences in different ways, so stop being a stress case and stuffing your resume and worry more about doing something meaningful with your life!
July 26, 2015
As a mother of academically successful white children living in NJ, I found this book is rather depressing although I pretty much knew before starting it the odds we are facing in getting into a top school. There is some very good advice included but in the end, it does seem that all of my children's hard work will not be enough.
This book does not touch on the fact that where one goes to college may not be as important as what you do once you are there. My 12th grader was assigned "Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be" as summer reading which is a great complement to this book. For students and parents hell-bent on getting into an Ivy League, Dirty Little Secrets should be required reading. For the rest of us, reading both together is a better option.
This book does not touch on the fact that where one goes to college may not be as important as what you do once you are there. My 12th grader was assigned "Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be" as summer reading which is a great complement to this book. For students and parents hell-bent on getting into an Ivy League, Dirty Little Secrets should be required reading. For the rest of us, reading both together is a better option.
March 6, 2015
Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review:
As a departure from my usual reading preference, I thought I would delve into this one to get a feel for what I'll be dealing with in approx. five more years. Egads! This was informative and nerve-wracking all at the same time. There is so much to know and learn and even though my kiddo is only in middle school right now, time is flying by and I don't want to be caught unprepared for her foray into college life.
As a departure from my usual reading preference, I thought I would delve into this one to get a feel for what I'll be dealing with in approx. five more years. Egads! This was informative and nerve-wracking all at the same time. There is so much to know and learn and even though my kiddo is only in middle school right now, time is flying by and I don't want to be caught unprepared for her foray into college life.
June 6, 2019
I absolutely love this book, because it is very informative and the author knew exactly what she was talking about. I bought it for my college studies. It is a helpful book that gives advice on how to get into colleges, like this educational site. I loved it so much I bought another for a friend. If you want the unvarnished truth, get this book.
April 23, 2015
I really liked the insiders feel to this college prep reference guide. I, of course, shared many of the tips with my brilliant college bound sis. Chatterjee' s book is not only informative, but reads rather cordial; something like getting entrance tips while catching up over coffee.
May 5, 2015
I loved it! So helpful! So informational!
May 25, 2016
This book vastly deepened my sense of cynicism and distrust.
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September 15, 2017My daughter's high school counselor ins't trained to help with out-of-state college admissions, so I've had to learn on my own. I really liked the way this book breaks down the different categories considered by admissions: race, geography, legacy, citizenship, family income, academics, athletics, and extracurriculars. The book will give you and your child a realistic view of how to play the college admissions game. Lots of good advice here - for those aspiring for the Ivies, big research universities, or small liberal arts colleges.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews