Lynn's College Book Recommendation List
- Lynn Hofstad
- Aug 6
- 7 min read
Anyone who knows me, knows that if I want to understand something I start reading. As a product of academia, research is my comfort zone. Books become my path to understanding and the footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies of books become the gateway to further research, explanation, and deeper understanding. Therefore it should be of no surprise that I have taken the same approach to understanding the ever-shifting college application and acceptance process. While my roles as a professor, advisor, and application reader have given me abundant real-world experience in regard to the topic, reading has helped me understand the nuances and shifts of the process.
There are some amazingly helpful books out there...and some pretty terrible ones too. Because I'm always curious about the reasoning behind how a list is organized, (spoiler) my list starts with the books that are the most ideologically and practically helpful. If you can only read one or two books, start with these. (Extra spoiler: There's a tie for first; one that is the best practical guide and one that will help with the ideological approach to the college search.) Further down, are books I recommend for additional reading but only after making your way through the top selections. Finally, while I won't make a shame list (books I despised and would steer clear of), I will discuss a genre I would avoid (if it were up to me).
So without further ado, I present:
Lynn's College Book Recommendations
1. (tie) The Truth about College Admission, by Brennan Barnard & Rick Clark
If you are new to the college search and application process, this is a great place to start. This book, written by a high school counseling director and an undergraduate admissions director, walks you through the various aspects of the process and the application. It starts with guidance for approaching the search (ideologically, financially, and practically) then moves on to guiding students and parents through the various components of the application. Along the way the authors offer support, encourage conversation, and help guide families toward a healthy approach to the process.
1. (tie) Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You, by Jeffrey Selingo
I cannot say enough good things about this book. My wish is for everyone to read this book before they start the college search process. It is the antidote to the madness that has become the competitive college ranking and application process. He asserts that rather than relying on rankings, students and families should be finding colleges that fit the needs of each unique student—academically, socially, and financially. Further, he argues colleges that support students' transitions to college and foster mentorship throughout the education journey matter more to a student's post-college success rather than the "prestige" of the school. For those of us who love a good statistic, Selingo offers data to support what actually matters when it comes to selecting a college. If you are looking for an excellent resource to orient your thinking about the search and application process, this is your book.
2. The Price You Pay for College, by Ron Lieber
As college tuition creeps higher and higher every year, figuring out how to pay for college can seem just as (or more) daunting than the actual application process. Lieber walks you through the practical aspects of paying for college, including aid and how to get it, as well as what is worth the extra cost and what might be worth skipping. He also addresses the emotional aspects of the process and pre-planning. He advocates having frank talks with your student about what is financially feasible and why, as well as what might save money in the long run (or not).
3. Write Yourself In, by Eric Tipler
Feeling stuck about how to start writing your college essay (or a parent not sure how to guide your student)? Write Yourself In offers tools for brainstorming topics, organizing essays, and tips on what makes an essay stand out. It is a practical guide to walk you through the process (and has an accompanying website with free resources to help along the way). Additionally it covers the various genres of supplemental essays, helping you craft drafts that can be adapted to the various different colleges to which you apply.
4. Fiske Guide to Colleges, by Edward B. Fiske
I have a vivid memory of flipping through the Barron's College Guide my parents bought for my sister. There were soooo many colleges to look through. At that time, it basically included all the accredited colleges in the country. To be honest, that can be overwhelming. If you are looking for a similar experience, but with a pruned down list, I suggest Fiske Guide to Colleges. There's a new edition every year which includes about 300 colleges—the "best and most interesting"—selected for their academic quality and geographic variability. It offers strengths and weaknesses for each college and gives ratings for each college's academic, social, and financial prowess (much like a restaurant rating).
5. Who Gets In and Why, by Jeffrey Selingo
Curious about the innerworkings of a college admissions office? Want to know how the sausage is made? Who Gets In and Why, written by the same author as Dream School, gives a behind-the-scenes look at admissions decisions. Selingo spent a year embedded in the admissions departments at a cross-section of colleges—the University of Washington, Davidson, and Emory. He offers insight into the various factors that shape an admissions decision. Some are within a student's control (e.g. the rigor of their high school curriculum and their GPA) and some are not (e.g. institutional priorities and how many legacies and athletes apply in a particular year). It's a helpful book to understand what matters and what is simply up to chance.
6. Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be, by Frank Bruni
This is the book that began the movement to critique and question the state of the current college admissions race and how it has been shaped by "prestige" and rankings. He clearly lays out why ranking should be met with skepticism and how the majority of "successful" people aren't the result of an ivy league education. He begins by uncovering the invisible alma maters of "successful" people, noting that these colleges aren't mentioned in their profiles unless they belong to the Ivy League. For example, most people don't know Barack Obama started his collegiate career at Occidental College (acceptance rate 44%), but most are aware he attended Harvard Law School. Throughout the book he makes the case that finding a college that fits a student's needs is more important to their future success than the name of the institution they attended. It's thought provoking whether or not you agree with his argument.
7. Valedictorians at the Gate, by Becky Munsterer Sabky
I found this book so fascinating. While it isn't as practically informative as the other books on this list, it does help put things in perspective. Written by a former admissions director at Dartmouth, Sabky outlines the good and the bad of working in the admissions realm. She describes students who have done "everything right" but don't seem to know what they enjoy or are passionate about, nor do they seem to do anything outside of what is expected of them. Other students she encounters are fascinating and intellectually curious, but are told by the system they shouldn't bother to apply to the "prestigious" schools because they aren't good enough. After all her real-life experience, in the end, her message for her own children is:
Being smart is valued. But being decent is impressive. We should inspire our kids to be both straight A students and "the nicest kid in the class." It will be wonderful if they can be both. But it only matters if they are the latter. (page 209)
8. Admission Matters, by Sally P. Springer, Joyce Vining Morgan, Nancy Griesemer & Jon Reider
This book walks you through the various aspects of the college search and application process. It's incredibly informative and helpful...I just find it a little drier than The Truth about College Admissions. Think of this as the textbook companion to the guidance and conversation starters found in The Truth about College Admissions.
Genre of Shame
Don't worry, I won't call out specific authors (there are almost too many in this genre), but I will call out the genre. Avoid the "start-early-and-turn-your-child-into-an-international-phenomenon" genre. I have read books that convey the idea that to get into a good school your child needs to gain international fame, start their own shoe/clothing line, or single-handedly fix the clean water problem in their community. Ironically, the author often claims that it's easy to do, if you follow the author's simple steps, retain their services, or buy their fancy product...all of which come with a steep price tag.
Most of these books set unrealistic expectations and seem to care little about whether or not a particular college is a good fit for a student. In my opinion, they are peddling a false sense that success and prestige only come through one path (and often it includes paying them money to get there).
One final note. You might have heard of Colleges that Change Lives. It was a groundbreaking take on what mattered when selecting a college when it came out. Unfortunately, I don't recommend it because the list is outdated. There are some colleges on the list that continue to be great, while others haven't upheld the standard (and still others that have since closed their doors for financial reasons). There's now an organization that maintains a list based on the book that's worth a look, but make sure to follow it up with research.
Hopefully this list points you in the right direction to get the information you need. Not everyone has the time or bandwidth to read the whole list. That's ok. Ask for help when you need it and gather information along the way. I hope one or two of these can make their way onto your reading list and help prepare you for the exciting college search journey.
