Admit One: Writing Your Way into the Best Colleges

This book, by Dr. Thomas Richards, is the best book I have read on the admissions process to American colleges. It is expertly crafted and a delight to devour. Dr. Richards studied at Stanford and was an Associate Professor of English and American Literature at Harvard. He is also a published novelist and his mastery of the written word gives this book a stamp of literary genius that is completely lacking in most books on the admissions process. In addition to being extremely clever, it is clear that Dr. Richards is exceedingly kind and wants the very best for his students. His mission is to assist his students in finding their unique voice and to ensure that this voice is communicated in the Common Application Essay and through other questions asked by the different colleges. He does this masterfully and is able to do so with students of all abilities and from all backgrounds. This book could not come at a more opportune moment because, in recent years, students have often turned to formulaic Common Application Essays and these do not stand out and do not impress Admissions Officers. By buying, and reading, this book by Dr. Richards you will be giving yourself a much better chance of being admitted into the college of your choice. I honestly think "Admit One: Writing Your Way into the Best Colleges" should be compulsory reading for anyone applying to college. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and urge you not to miss out on benefitting from his expert guidance.

I discovered this gem in an independent bookstore in Washington D.C recently. With two boys in high school and both approaching the stage of applying for universities, I have been reading up on college admission books as well as meeting with experts in Washington D.C. Initially, I was planning to read it over a period of weeks when I may have some free time. But I must confess that once I started, I simply could not stop and read its entirety over a weekend. Thomas is an exceptionally clear and strategic thinker with a great deal of compassion. I met quite a number of experts but none spoke with such clarity and certainly none shared so much "secrets" in writing. The examples Thomas highlighted are immediately relatable and the observations shared has such useful implications for our own college applications. I encouraged my son to read it and reflect on it. Happily, he embarked on the journey and enjoyed quite a bit of personal discovery along the reading. I hope the author will give us a talk in our bookstore one day to communicate to his reader directly.

I read the entire book in 2 days! This is a beautifully written, insightful, and unique take on the college essay process. As a former English professor, Thomas writes with the ease and grace of a novelist. Filled with actionable advice and strategies to help students, I would recommend this book to anyone working with students on college application essays. As a counselor, I read hundreds of books and articles, but Thomas’s method was dramatically changed the way I advise students and helped me in my own practice in just a few days.

This may seem like a heavy read initially, but the book presents a very good idea of what a college essay and college application is all about. Writing a good college essay requires a lot of thought and preparation and if done correctly, will provide skills for a lifetime.