An Ivy League dean and a college admissions expert's guide for parents navigating their children's way into college The College Conversation is intended to be an all-purpose guide for mapping the way through the college application process in a way that offers practical advice and reassurance to keep both anxious parents and confused children sane and grounded. Rather than adding to the existing canon of "How to Get In" college guides or rankings, the approach of The College Conversation is more in the vein of Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, which aspires to provide "a step-by-step approach to having those tough conversations with less stress and more success."
The book is organized around key discussions and themes, tracing the chronological arc of the admissions and financial aid procedure--beginning before the assembly of a college list and continuing through the receipt of decisions--with a final section that includes advice on the first year of college itself. The topics include preliminary conversations about the search, specifically how parents can think about their child's identity and what kind of college would best suit their child; choosing a college (based on its curriculum, culture, and community); writing the most effective application; assessing acceptances, including considerations of financial issues and aid; and making the transition from high school to college life. The College Conversation will provide parents, students, and counselors with the credible, level-headed information often missing in this process, as well as a much-needed dash of perspective borne of experience.