What does it take to get children into top universities without damaging families, without scandal, jail-time, debilitating tension and humiliation? What roles should parents play? What makes the best college essays? All good questions.
And here to talk about those issues is Irena Smith, a long time college admissions counselor and author of The Golden Ticket: A Life In College Admissions Essays.
The title is a joyful invitation to hear Irena talk about what colleges value most in a prospective student and what makes a compelling essay. If you think a GPA that leaves 4.0 in the dust or a litany of extra-curricular activities is what the colleges are looking for, think again. Not that those things are not valuable, but we can assume everyone applying to the top schools has satisfied those basic requirements. There must be more that mark a student as exceptional.
It was Irena’s task to find, for each of her hopeful students, what stands out as singularly unique and yells out, “Choose me, choose me!”
What she says here may help parents and students lose fear and focus more realistically and joyfully on writing those college essays. Her own parents and cultural background played a big part in her becoming the woman she is. And, to see her talk about it is a plus.
Bonus here is that Irena’s writing is gorgeous and that the book carries lessons in applying for universities interwoven with a highly personal narration of raising children with special needs. It is a valuable double gift in one package.