Review: Kim Palacios breaks the secret codes for gaining admission to schools
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2012
This is an economically challenged time when all schools are under pressure to remain in existence: it is also a time when schools at all levels of education are forced to limit their enrollment due to lack of sufficient funding to support a full curriculum. And of course the corollary to that conundrum is the challenge that faces students (and parents) to gain admission to these hampered schools.  What better time to publish this book of coaching by Kim Palacios than now?Palacios goes through all the steps in the terror of applying to schools: she has not only been through those tricky steps of taking entrance exams, facing grade performances in the preparatory schools, writing meaningful `resumes' or essays as part of the process of seeking admission to the private schools, but having been successful in those lines of fire she has also served on the admissions committees of schools, reading innumerable application forms, interviewing potential students and making the decision as to who is accepted and who is rejected. The result of this background is what makes this book ring with a sincerity and no-nonsense approach she offers in a completely accessible and realistic manner.Aside from the opening information on the importance of grades, scores on exams, and terse essays on why the seeking student finds the right words to convince the admissions committee that they are a `fit', Palacios soundly steers her reader through the concept that `on size doesn't fit all' - that `I will be honest with you. Lessons about being authentic in your application are the trickiest ones to learn, but also the most important.  This book fully addresses making choices and statements that are authentic to you.'  And form this stance she explores applying to the right schools for each particular student, how to stand out, how to be real and let your human side show, how to use storytelling and personal anecdotes to help your application to come alive, using candor and communicating difficult or taboo information effectively.Chapters are devoted to such sensitive topics as individual school prerequisites (many ask the same questions as the universal timeless ones but are looking for a particular type of answer), `filling in the gaps' - explaining areas of `failure' in the students past and dealing effectively with these, gathering recommendations (who to ask and what to do if your choice declines a letter of recommendation), grades and teacher evaluations, writing strong essays, mastering the art of interview, financial aid, and handling rejections.If prospective students digest this immensely helpful book, at least the prospect of the process of seeking admission to any form of school at any level will be less threatening.  Equally good for both students and parents - and applicable to life in general, as applying for jobs is not unlike applying for schools!  Grady Harp, October 12