The Neurotic Parent’s Guide to College Admissions 

The Neurotic Parent’s Guide to College Admissions

Reviewed By Robin Olmstead
Educational Counselor at Buckley Educational Group, LLC in Burlingame, (CA) 

The Most Difficult Time to get into College in the History of the World

Upon picking up The Neurotic Parent’s Guide to College Admissions (NP’s Guide) I knew I was in for something interesting and different. The playful cover, designed to look like a Monopoly game board, immediately alerts the reader of what to expect, a comical satire about the college admission process.

The NP’s Guide is a compilation of Rothman’s blog posts along with guidance and a modern perspective on the college admission process. It is a quirky book about the stressful, anxiety ridden, nerve-racking, torturous days to come as parent and student embark upon college admission, or as Rothman refers to it, “the most difficult time to get into college in the history of the world.” 

Guide Book?

I have to admit I wasn’t expecting this sort of tongue and cheek humor when I first decided to read the NP’s Guide. Most guide books are designed to impart knowledge upon the reader while providing instruction on how to successfully accomplish a task. When I heard the title of the book, I was expecting a guide book for anxious parents; however, what I got was a humorous perspective on the college admission process.

The Importance of Being a Squirrel

While it may be true that with each passing year college admission becomes increasingly more difficult and competitive than the previous year, I feel that the NP’s Guide, if taken out of context, might evoke more anxiety in already nervous parents. That being said, Rothman has produced a quick read, full of funny statistics and oddities at highly recognizable institutions of higher education (see pages 72-75 about “The importance of being a squirrel”). While the most belly busting parts of the book seem as though they must be fictional, I can assure you that there are actually parents who would post a comment online about his/her 8th grade son’s SAT scores or a student who writes her application essay about being a “Candy Stripper” (pages 54 &117 respectively).

Not just for laughs

Although this book pokes fun at just about every aspect of the college admissions process it does provide some good tips and insight into the daunting task of applying for college admissions. 

Take note of the following:

1. Students: Heed the advice of the NP’s Guide and clean up your Facebook page. Do you really want admission officers looking at your scantily clad cluster of friends on Halloween?

2. Essays: At the end of the day what you need to remember when writing your application essays is… BE YOURSELF and let your unique voice shine through.

3. School Lists: We now know that this year is the most difficult time in the world to get into college and that the Common Application makes it easier to apply to more schools, but do you really need  29 schools on your final list?