Successful College Application Strategies for Truly Exceptional Individuals
Daniel Farber Huang
About The Book
Dear High Schooler thinking about elite colleges –
The recommendations in this book aren’t for everyone. And probably won’t work for everyone. And that’s the point actually.
This book is intended to help a handful of candidates employ specific tactics and strategies to distinguish themselves positively among playing fields of tens of thousands of other elite college applicants. The goal of this guidebook is to help individuals be recognized as absurdly unique, talented, and promising. This book is for the bright, the brave, and the bold (i.e., YOU).
We will leave the recommended test taking, grades, sports and extracurriculars to other books. You’ve already read them. The practical techniques shared inside go far beyond what most other advisors are doing and recommending. Those books tell you how to make a hamburger, this book tells you how to create your special sauce that makes you the one every school will want.
Reviews and Raves
"A wise and easy-to-read manual for thriving in Ivy admissions and beyond.
Huang presents a how-to guide for college-bound students applying to Ivy League schools."
From the introduction, the author makes it clear that his book is aimed at prospective university students who wish to “present themselves in their best, most brilliant light without coming across as egotistical, entitled, or just unpleasant to be around.” In a separate letter to parents, he notes that the Ivy League schools aren’t a good fit for everyone, and that he won’t be providing the typical recommendations for extracurriculars and AP classes that other guides do.
What Huang offers instead is the perspective of an admission reader—the “tired, overworked, bleary-eyed” person speed-reading through digital records of thousands of students. Given the nature of modern-day admissions, he advises teens to start early by developing their “personal brand,” ensuring that their actions and choices reflect the persona they wish to convey in essays, resumés, and recommendation letters. In the book’s second section, Huang breaks down his advice into easily applicable “tactics, techniques, and procedures.”
Throughout, his tone is honest, sometimes hard-nosed, and intended for the student (or parent) who wants to understand how the process really works. Huang offers personal anecdotes about former clients he’s helped, including a student who applied to the top 17 schools in the United States and had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of the 57 supplemental essays they had to write as a result: “We identified 13 major themes, and then sorted the 57 essays into their respective themes….In several cases we were able to reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
This focus on direct, practical advice, taken from experience, effectively extends beyond the college application process. Reflecting on the benefits of having a job as a teenager, he advises, “If you are working at a retail store, pay attention to how it runs so you could be qualified to manage the store, don’t just clock in and clock out.” In the end, the book not only prepares one for acceptance into top colleges, but also provides tools for succeeding in the larger world.
-- Kirkus Reviews
About The Author
Daniel Farber Huang is a former admissions reader for a top business school, having reviewed hundreds of applications from highly-qualified candidates. For years, he has advised and mentored high school clients on crafting distinctive, memorable, and successful applications for the most competitive colleges and universities both in the U.S. and globally.
He earned his Master’s degree (A.L.M.) in Journalism and a Certificate in International Security from Harvard University, an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management, and a B.A. from New York University in Economics.
Publishing Details
Publisher: Princeton Studios
Publication date: October 6, 2023
Length: 156 pages
Dimensions: 7x10 inches
ISBN-13 Hardcover: 979-8863606675
ISBN-13 Paperback: 979-8863607139