Early Decision - Softcover

Crawford, Lacy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062240692 ISBN 13: 9780062240699

Publisher: William Morrow & Company, 2014

Synopsis

Pub Date: 2014-08-26 Pages: 320 Language: English Publisher: HarperCollins In Early Decision. debut novelist Lacy Crawford draws on 15 years of experience traveling the world as a highly sought-after private college counselor to illuminate the madness of college admissions .Working one-on-one with Tiger-mothered. burned-out kids. Anne the application whisperer can make Harvard a reality. Early Decision follows five students over one autumn as Anne helps them craft their college essays. cram for the SATs . and perfect the Common Application. It seems their entire future is on the line-and it is. Though not because of Princeton and Yale. It's because the process. warped as it is by money. connections. competition. and parental mania. threatens to crush their independence just as adulthood begins.Whether you want to get in or just get out. with wit and heart. Early Decision exp...

About this title

Review:

"Here's an engrossing novel that no parent of college-bound teens will be able to resist...Crawford nails the anxiety of a selection process gone crazy and counsels parents to do the hardest thing of all: back off."--People

"Overbearing moms and dads scheming to secure their kid a place at Harvard will find it more helpful than any nonfiction book on the market... everyone else can enjoy Early Decision for what it is: a sweetly sharp modern-day comedy of manners about the brutally competitive college-admissions ordeal."--Entertainment Weekly

"This entertaining tale of upper class parents and adolescent learning curves points a keen eye at the college application process... with the right support, those students find their way despite themselves. Sprinkled with tips for writers, essays in various forms of rewrite, and a very satisfying twist at the end."--Publishers Weekly

"Savvy...the hearts of the students beat a true, steady rhythm throughout the novel."--Booklist

"A book that should get some serious discussions going. Like other dramas, it's sometimes a comedy... an insider's view, projected not from the eyes but from the heart."--Ann Beattie

"By focusing on the essay-writing process, Crawford explores how we find our own stories--and suggests that a successful campaign depends on revision."--Chicago Tribune, Editor's Choice Book

"At times hilarious, at times soul-crushingly sad, and unfailingly astute and well-written, Early Decision will leave you super-satisfied."--Redbook.com, October Book of the Month

"Early Decision is part Gossip Girl, part Dead Poets Society, and entirely addictive! A brilliant, satirical peek at the families of privilege behind the Ivy Curtain, this book made me laugh out loud."--KEVIN KWAN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF CRAZY RICH ASIANS.

"this novel about kids caught up in the admissions rat race is wise and completely engrossing."--People

How did we go from regular old college admissions to seven 'early action' applications and 11 personal essays? Former private college counselor Lacy Crawford, author of 'Early Decision, ' breaks down the craziness...--The Daily Beast

From the Back Cover:

A delightful and salacious novel about the frightful world of high school, SATs, the college essay, and the Common Application--and how getting in is getting in the way of growing up

Anne Arlington is twenty-seven, single, and in demand: she is the independent "college whisperer" whose name is passed from parent to parent like a winning lottery ticket, the only tutor who can make a difference with the Ivy League.

Early Decision follows one application season and the five students Anne guides to their fates: Hunter, the athletic boy who never quite hits his potential, a kind, heavily defended kid who drives his mother mad; Sadie, an heiress who is perfectly controlled but at the expense of her own heart; William, whose intelligence permits him to dodge his father's cruel conservatism but can't solve the problem of loneliness; Alexis, a blazing overachiever whose midwestern parents have never heard of a tiger mom; and Cristina, who could write her ticket out of her enormous, failing high school, if only she knew how.

Meanwhile, Anne needs a little coaching herself, having learned that even the best college does not teach a person how to make a life.

In this engrossing, intelligent novel, Lacy Crawford delivers an explosive insider's guide to the secrets of college admissions at the highest levels. It's also a deft commentary on modern parenting and how the scramble for Harvard is shaping a generation. Told in part through the students' essays, this unique and witty book is so closely observed that it has been mistaken for a memoir or a how-to guide. A wise and deeply felt story, Early Decision reveals how getting in is getting in the way of growing up.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0062240692
• ISBN 13: 9780062240699
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320