LIBR_210-3_Sujata Halarnkar_Fall 2007

Pathfinder: Parents’ Guide to College Admission Process in the United States

Sujata P. Halarnkar

November 28, 2007

Reference and Information Services

LIBR 210-3 – Fall 2007

School of Library and Information Science – San Jose State University


The general process of admission to college in the United States can be overwhelming for parents as well as students, especially, if they are not born and brought up in the United States. Parents who have immigrated to the United States as graduate students are normally aware of GRE, GMAT, and Toffel tests required for graduate school admission. However, they miss the whole period from high school to four-year college or universities. It dawns on them when their children are ready to go to college. I am one of those parents and I have met several parents in the similar situation. My daughter will be going to high school next year and I am not exactly sure how to start collecting information about college admission. In fact, thanks to counselors in high school, our children know much more about college admission than us. For many parents, college admission process is learning a completely new vocabulary.

The purpose behind creating this pathfinder is to provide basic understanding of the college admission process to parents and to make sure that they feel comfortable in communicating with their children’s teachers and counselors. All the listed resources have something special to offer to interested parents. The focus is on college planning and admission process and not on the list of colleges and their catalogs. With the help of these resources, parents should be able to ask the right questions to counselors and keep track of their high school age children’s progress. There are plenty of online and print resources available on the college admission topic. I have selected a few based on my selection criteria because listing too many resources will likely overwhelm parents with too much information and lead to confusion. The potential parent users of this pathfinder I just discussed are not looking for foreign student admission to the U.S. universities though the admission process in the U. S. is practically foreign to them. Their children are the product of American public schools. What they are looking for is a simplified process of admission that includes available counseling, college entrance tests preparation, selection criteria for different universities and colleges, and high school course requirements including foreign language courses, advance placement courses, etc.

Selection c riteria

I have selected both print and online resources that are generally available in any large public library. The focus is on the public library because I expect majority of the parents to visit the public library as their first choice and the most easily available service. The purpose is to provide a free and convenient access to reliable information.

Since the dynamics of college admission are changing every year due to ever-increasing cost and competition, I have tried to limit my resources to recent years, anywhere from 2003 onwards. In addition, only regularly updated online resources are included in this pathfinder.

To narrow down the selection, I have not included scholarly articles available on the topic because parents are not really looking for critically reviewed information about college admission. Their intention is to orient themselves to the process and seek guidance. The parent’s goal is to understand their children’s effort and be part of their education process.

The selection in this pathfinder is based on my personal judgment, reviews of the books, easy accessibility, and convenient navigation for online resources.

Though the target audience of this pathfinder is mainly parents, the resources are useful to students as well.

Process of creating the pathfinder

I used the local public library, search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Exlead to look for resources. I found WorldCat, world’s largest bibliographic database, one of the most useful resources to create this pathfinder. I started searching with basic keywords like a guide to colleges or universities. I also built my keywords from library catalog’s subject headings. Such keywords were useful to look for more resources.

Difficulties in creating the pathfinder

Perhaps the most difficult part was selecting the resources. There are hundreds of online and print resources available on the topic of college admission guide. However, not many resources are specifically a target toward immigrant population.

Since parental population come from such a wide range of backgrounds, it was difficult to narrow down the topic and make resources available to fulfill a variety of needs. For example, I wished to address admission process for disabled students. However, I could not include those resources in this pathfinder because it may be considered as a special topic in itself. This may be one of the drawbacks of this pathfinder.

Though I decided to limit my selection to resources created since 2003, it was difficult to exclude some useful resources created before 2003. I have listed such resources under “not included” category.

Keywords and s ubject headings guideline

Parents guide to college admission

College applications -- United States -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Universities and colleges -- United States -- Admission.

College students -- United States.

College student orientation.

Education -- Parent participation.

Universities and colleges -- United States -- Admission -- Calendars.

High school students -- Scholarships, fellowships, etc. -- United States -- Calendars.

Deadlines -- United States.

Dewey Call Number s on the college admission subject: 378.161, 378.73


Annotated Bibliography

The College Board. (2007). New York: College Board. legeboard.com/splash

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. This online resource advises students and parents on college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Information is grouped under separate categories of parents, students, and professionals. College Board tests, plan for college, find a college, pay for college, and apply to college are the useful links created for parents. Tools such as college cost calculator and AP preparation are useful to parents. Special features like college prep glossary; college admission A to Z are extremely useful for inexperienced parents. I think the information is very well organized. Also, the resource is free.

College NET, Inc, & Universal Algorithms, Inc. (2007). CollegeNET. Portland, OR: CollegeNET. legenet.com

This online resource offers detail information on universities and colleges in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. You can search US institutions by size of enrollment, name or partial name of school, by majors offered, tuition, type of school, and by sports offered. It also contains general scholarship and student aid information for American schools, relevant news releases, and links to other Internet resources in the area of higher education. I particularly liked their college resource link that provides more useful external links to students and teachers regarding college resources. The information links divide into categories of general information and advice, College preparation, sciences, humanities, and sports. I included this resource because a wide range of information is just a click away in this online resource.

Fiske, E. B. (2007). Fiske guide to colleges 2008. Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks.

This is a valuable source of information for college-bound students and their parents. It includes a self-quiz to help you understand what you are really looking for in a college; lists of strongest majors and programs at each college; vital information on how to apply, including admissions & financial aid deadlines, required tests & each school's essay questions. I included this directory because more than 20 years it has proved to be an indispensable source for parents and students.

Fiske what to do when for college, 2007-2008 a student and parent's guide to deadlines, planning, and the last two years of high school. Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks.

As the title indicates, the book is all about what and when rather than how. It is a great guide for all the dates and deadlines college applicants and their parents need to know. Exact dates of major deadline include early and regular admissions at every selective college, major scholarship deadlines, financial aid deadlines, housing deadlines, and SAT and ACT deadlines. It also advises parents on essay writing, college visits, standardized testing, and prep courses. Though the book is applicable for the deadlines from January 2007 to May 2008, it is a great guide for parents anticipating college admission process in the near future. In addition, the book is published every year.

Herman, H. (2005). Accept my kid, please! a dad's descent into college application hell. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Life Long.

It is a funny, informative, and practical book about college admission process. The author has described a scary scenario of college application process. I included this book because it makes you laugh about the horror of college admission. Parents whose kids are already in the college can also relate to experiences described in the book and prospective parents can learn something from the mistakes described in the book. Readers get parent’s perspective on college admission process. I included this book because it is not only enjoyable for all parents but also helpful.

Hobsons. (2007). CollegeView college search. Cincinnati, OH: Hobsons. legeview.com/college s earch/

This online resource allows browsing for colleges, financial aid, campus life, and careers and majors. The reason I included this resource in my pathfinder is because of the information link of application process. It provides a step-by-step guide to parents to college application process. Several resource links focus on different aspects of admission process to prepare parents and students for college admission. This online resource is user friendly and easy to navigate.

Jones, M., Ginsburg, K. R., & Jablow, M. M. (2006). Less stress, more success a new approach to guiding your teen through college admissions and beyond. [Elk Grove Village, IL]: American Academy of Pediatrics.

I like this book because it focuses on a parents’ guide to teach their teen self-advocacy, time management, and to coop with disappointment that sometimes comes with college admission. I think checking mental preparedness of your kids for college is as important as getting into a good college. The book also discusses how to develop coping skills such as good organization, relaxation, and keeping worries in perspective. The book also offers sensible tips and strategies that begin with searching for a college that fits with your students’ needs rather than its academic glamour. I included this book in my pathfinder because it focuses on an important but rather neglected aspect of college admission.

McGrath, A. (2007). Ultimate college guide 2008 . Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks.

This book is one of the most complete college guides. It provides all the facts about the colleges and universities in the United States. It is a good guide for parents as well as students who are beginning the process of college search and admission. It provides detail information on everything from tuition, room/board cost, statistics on applicants, enrollment, and acceptance rate. I like the objectivity of the book because sometimes subjective evaluations of colleges along with facts can be confusing for parents.

Peterson's (Firm). (2000s). Peterson 's planner. [Princeton, NJ]: Peterson's Guides. ersons.com.

It is one of the best free resource available for parent about US college admission process. It covers wide range of information from K-12 to graduate schools, and meets the needs of all age groups. This easy to navigate resource offers program descriptions, school profiles, faculty and student information. Their guide about how and when to start college admission process is a valuable resource for parents.

Wissner-Gross, E. (2006). What colleges don't tell you (and other parents do not want you to know): 272 secrets for getting your kid into the top schools. New York, N.Y.: Hudson Street Press.

The book is particularly written for parents to encourage active participation in their children’s education. It actually presents a “game plan” for parents to prepare for college education. The author has devoted special chapters for different subjects like mathematics, science and engineering, arts, humanities, journalism, government and business. You will find forty different interests discussed in the book. I chose this book because it covers a wide range of information.

Following sources are not included in the pathfinder because they are pre 2003.

Berkeley High School (Berkeley, Calif.). (2001). The college information guide for juniors and their parents. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley High School.

CollegeView. (1993). Ultimate college search guide. Cincinnati, OH: CollegeView.

Gelner, J. (1994). College admissions a guide for homeschoolers. Sedalia, Colo: Poppyseed Press.

Greene, H., & Greene, M. W. (2002). Greenes' guide to educational planning making it into a top graduate school. New York: HarperCollins.

Levy, J. U., & Levy, N. (1988). College admissions a handbook for students and parents. New York: Arco.

Steinberg, J. (2002). The gatekeepers inside the admissions process of a premier college. New York: Viking.

Following sources are not included in the pathfinder either because th ey are beyond the scope of the pathfinder or too specialized.

Fischman, J. (2004). U.S. news ultimate guide to medical schools. Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks.

Spainhour, D. (2004). How to get your child an athletic scholarship the parent's ultimate guide to recruiting. Naples, FL: Educational Coaching & Business Communications.

Following sources are not included in the pathfinder because they are not as useful to the targeted audience as other sources included in the pathfinder.

College Entrance Examination Board. (2007). The College Board college handbook, 2008. New York: College Board.

Following sources are not included in the pathfinder because of fee.

Career Guidance Foundation (La Jolla, San Diego, Calif.). (1990s). CollegeSource online. [San Diego, CA]: Career Guidance Foundation. legesource.org/home .asp