Book Reviews

Book reviews have moved from NACAC’s Journal of College Admission to the Web. This online format improves the book review process by:

• Allowing more reviews to be published
• Publishing reviews quickly after they are submitted
• Archiving reviews for later reference.

Benefits of Reviewing a Book

You should consider reviewing a book because:

• Reviewing a book is a great opportunity to become a published writer.
  
  
• A complimentary copy of the book is yours to keep as a token of our appreciation for your efforts in writing the review.

How to Submit a Review

1. Choose a book from NACAC’s books available for review, or choose another book that you are interested in reviewing. Submit the Book Review Interest Form to request a copy of the book and to ensure that no one else has requested the same book.

2. After you receive confirmation on your book, write your review, following the writing guidelines.

3. Email your review, along with an optional biography (maximum 35 words) and an electronic photo of yourself, to the Bulletin editor. 

4. Sign and fax the Copyright Form.

Writing Guidelines

When you write your review, follow these specifications:

• Word Count. 250–500 words. Certain books may warrant longer reviews due to book length or subject matter. In these cases, reviews may be up to 700 words. Please do not submit a review over the 700-word limit.

• Subheads and lists. Because the reviews are online, readers will skim the text. By using subheads and lists, you will allow readers to understand your main point without carefully reading the text.

• Active tense. Avoid using the passive tense because passive sentences are wordier and, sometimes, do not include the subject of the sentence. Notice the clarity in the active sentence below, compared to the passive one:

Active: The dog ate the food.
Passive: The food was eaten by the dog.

• Header Information. Begin your review with the following information:
      
  1. Book title
  2. Book author
  3. Number of pages
  4. Cost of book, hard or soft cover
  5. Publisher information
  6. Your name, title and institutional affiliation.

Note: Reviews are subject to editing.

Deadlines

NACAC accepts book review submissions on a rolling basis. Please return your review no more than three months after you receive the book to review in the mail. As a general guideline, sooner is better. If you are unable to write the review within the designated time frame, please contact the editor immediately.

Submit Reviews to:

NACAC Bulletin Editor 
1631 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Email: bulletin@nacacnet.org
Voice: 703/836-2222 x120
Fax: 703/ 836-8015

Books and Other Publications Available for Review

Contact the editor to suggest books to add to this list.

• 55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays
  By the Staff of the Harvard Crimson
  St. Martin's Griffen (New York, NY) 2007
  186 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Acing the SAT Subject Tests in Math Level 1 and Level 2
  By Thomas Hyun
  Greenhall Publishing (Thousand Oaks, CA) 2006
  466 pages, soft cover
  
  
• The American Indian and Alaska Native Student’s Guide to College Success
  By CHiXapkaid (D. Michael Pavel) and Ella Inglebret
  Greenwood Press (Westport, CT) 2007
  239 pages, hard cover
  
  
• Anatomy of a Boyfriend
  By Daria Snadowsky
  Random House (New York, NY) 2007
  
  
• The Career Chronicles: An Insider's Guide to What Jobs Are Really Like
  By Michael Gregory
  New World Library (Novato, CA) 2008
  258 pages
  
  
• Chicken Soup for the College Soul
  By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger, Dan Clark, and James Malinchak
  Health Communications Inc. (Deerfield Beach, FL) 1999
  340 pages, soft cover
  
  
• The College Admissions Officer's Guide
  Edited by Barbara Lauren
  American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (Washington, DC) 2008
  638 pages, hard cover
  
  
• College is Yours in 600 Words or Less
  by Patrick J. O'Connor
  Outskirts Press, Inc. (Parker, CO) 2007
  73 pages, soft cover
  
  
• The College Hook
  By Pam Proctor
  Center Street (New York, NY) 2007
  257 pages, hard cover
  
  
• College Navigator
  By the Staff of The Princeton Review
  Random House, Inc. (New York, NY) 2007
  391 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed
  By Ned Johnson and Emily Warner Eskelsen
  Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY) 2007
  215 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Cracking College: 7 Secrets of Savvy Students
  Produced by Justin Baer
  DVD
  
  
• Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk
  Edited by Richard H. Hersh and John Merrow
  Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY) 2005
  239 pages, hard cover
  
  
• Doing School: How We are Creating a Generation of Stressed out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students
  By Denise Clark Pope
  Yale University Press (New Haven, CT) 2001
  212 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Doors Open From Both Sides
  The Off –to–College Guide From Tow Points of View: Parents and Students
  By Margo E. Bane Woodacre, and Steffany Bane
  American Literary Press, Inc (Baltimore, MD) 2001
  112 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Essay Writing for High School Students
  By Alexander L. Terego
  Thomson Peterson's (Lawrenceville, NJ) 2005
  208 pages, soft cover
  
  
• First in the Family: Advice About College From First-Generation Students
  By Kathleen Cushman
  Next Generation Press (Providence, RI) 2005
  80 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Getting the Best Out of College
  A Professor, A Dean, And A Student Tell You How to Maximize your Experience
  By Peter Feaver, Sue Wasiolek and Anne Crossman
  Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, CA) 2008
  250 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Higher Education in the World 2007: Accreditation for Quality Assurance: What is at Stake?
  Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY) 2007
  415 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Home Schooling
  Heidi William, Book Editor
  Greenhaven Press (Farmington Hills, MI) 2007
  119 pages, hard cover
  
  
• Improving School Guidance Services in the Senior and Middle Schools
  By Dr. Richard O'Connell (2006)
  308 pages, soft cover 
  
  
• The Insider's Guide to the College, 2009 35th Edition
  Compiled and Edited by the Staff of the Daily Yale News
  St. Martin's Press (New York, NY) 2008
  951 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Living the College Life
  By Ken Paulsen
  Wiley (Hoboken, NJ) 2005
  248 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Managing for Outcomes: Shifting from Process-Centric to Results-Oriented Operations
  By Wayne Sigler
  American Association of Collegiate Registrarts an Admissions Officers (Washington, DC) 2007
  205 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Med School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Medical School Experience
  By Robert H. Miller and Daniel M. Bissell
  Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY) 2006
  279 pages, soft cover
  
• Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should be Learning More
  By Derek Bok
  Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) 2006
  343 pages, hard cover
  
  
• The Power of Privilege: Yale and America's Elite Colleges
  By Joseph A. Soares
  Stanford University Press (Standford, CA) 2007
  238 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Professional Identity Crisis: Race, Class, Gender,and Success at Professional Schools
  By Carrie Yang Costello
  Vanderbilt University Press (Nashville, TN) 2005
  264 pages, soft cover
  
  
• The Pursuit of Knowledge
  By Richard C. Atkinson
  University of California Press (Berkeley, CA) 2007
  210 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome
  By Ann Palmer
  Jessica Kingsley Publishers (Philadelphia, PA) 2006
  176 pages, soft cover
  
  
• The SEM Imperative: Taking Enrollment Management Online
  By Craig Westman and Penny Bouman
  American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (Washington, DC) 2007
  187 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Sending Your Child to College
  Prepared Parent's Operational Manual
  By Marie Pinak Carr, Katharine Carr, Ann Carr and Elizabeth Carr
  Dicmar Publishing (Washington, DC) 2008
  212 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Survival Secrets of College Students
  By Mary Kay Shanley and Julia Johnston
  Barron's Educational Series, Inc (Hauppauge, NY)
  262 pages, soft cover
  

• Success in College
  By Peter F. Burns
  Rowman & Littlefield Education (Lanham, MD) 2006
  130 pages, soft cover
  
  
• Teens and the Job Game
  By Beverly Slomka
  iUniverse, Inc. (New York, NY) 2007
  99 pages, soft cover
  
  
• The Ultimate Guide to Getting Into Nursing School
  By Genevieve E. Chandler
  McGraw Hill (New York, NY) 2008
  207 pages, soft cover
  
  
  

  Browse NACAC's current book reviews.