LMO (Like Many Others)

Happy Constitution Day, America. 

Did you know that it took our courageous Founding Fathers 
one hundred days to write the Constitution?

That statistic got me thinking about college applications. Did you know that students can expect to spend up to a hundred hours on applications their senior year, especially if they're applying to more than just one or two colleges? And this is the time of year when acceptance and rejection letters start coming out to those students who got their applications in early. Once they're admitted, students can then work on scholarship applications.

For seniors who might be procrastinating, juniors or sophomores who are looking ahead, freshmen who seem to have all the time in the world but really don't, or junior high students who have absolutely no idea what's around the corner, 
serious help is here!


Who better to author a book on this topic than the experts,
two former college admissions counselors?

It was in sixth grade when our daughter studied architecture in a careers unit, then shadowed an architect for a week the following summer. She decided just after her 12th birthday that that's what she was going to study. In seventh grade, John took her to the University of Texas in Austin, because their School of Architecture is nationally-ranked. School officials told Kaitlyn that they would receive 800-1000 applications from wanna-be architect students each year and that about ten percent of those applicants would be admitted. We worked with her for the next six years as she built her resume and prepared to write that standout application. I kept telling her that those eighty students that were going to get in were all like her, 
so what would set her apart?

In How To Prepare A Standout College Application, authors Alison Cooper Chisolm and Anna Ivey say that the power is the application itself. Their book sets out to answer the question: How does your child keep his/her application from simply being LMO (like many others)? 

Intended primarily for students, this comprehensive resource is chunk full of examples, ideas, and even parenting tips to get future college applicants thinking about, preparing, and ultimately writing a standout application. This valuable guide, divided into three sections - getting started, completing the application, and crossing the finish line - walks students through short-answer questions, essay questions, resume writing, application updates, and what to do if/when they don't get into the school of their dreams.

Oh, how I wish that our two older kids would have had this
incredible manual. The good news is that it'll help us with Joshua's application process in just a few years. 
Before we know it, really. 

The other good news is that I have a copy of this 
AmAzInG resource to give away.

If you'd like a chance to win this book, just leave a comment below between now on Thursday, September 19th at noon central telling us what college you attended {or would have liked to attend}Then check back on Friday and see if you won.

This giveaway is now closed.




6 comments

  1. I attended the University of WIs at LaCrosse for my undergraduate and UW Platteville for my masters in school counseling. This is a good tip as competition to get into schools is so tough. We had a student who was ranked in the top 10 in her class not get into the UW Madison---competition is so stiff, more than just gpa and act scores. I am sure this manual helps kiddos make their app look special

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  2. From a reader by email: Barbara, I graduated from Texas A & M and know how hard it is to get in there now. I know my kids would benefit from this book since college will be here before we know it. Nancy

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  3. I attended the University of Montana (Go Griz!) and Montana State University - Billings. My (own) 6th grader is already thinking about scholarships and college. He asked to walk with me at our annual Out of the Darkness (suicide prevention) walk this weekend because he said 1. it's a good cause and 2. as an after-thought, "Does this kind of thing look good on a scholarship?" :) He also ran for student council today and got 2nd. So a book like this will certainly help me to guide him in his early endeavors of a successful future.

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  4. I attending the University of Illinois (Go Illini) and Loyola University Chicago for grad school. It's challenging to tell students to set themselves apart but it difficult to see how that looks like. This books looks like it would be really helpful.

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  5. I attended Abilene Christian University and Texas Woman's University as I pursued and received my undergraduate degree. I received my masters of counseling from Amber University. My daughter is currently a freshman, so it is wonderful to know that such a great new resource is out there to help us. I'm looking forward to that journey with her.

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  6. I attended Radford University for undergrad and McDaniel College to get my Master's. Most of the students from the school I work at do not understand the importance of college since the majority of their parents did not attend. This book could be a great resource for students and parents. I also have a middle school student who will be going through the college application process very soon.

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I really enjoy hearing from my readers; thanks for sharing your reflections with us!