creekland Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The Neurotic Parent's Guide to College Admissions Has anyone read it yet? Is it as hilarious as it sounds? http://www.amazon.com/Neurotic-Parents-Guide-College-Admissions/dp/098345941X This is NOT an advertisement. I just enjoy a nice lighthearted read and was wondering if this is worth the $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 and immediately ordered it! They didn't have a Kindle version, so it won't arrive until Friday. It is going to be one of my "light" spring break reads. I thought it sounded really fun! I will let you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I'm a little busy the next couple of weeks with school stuff, so do let me know what you think of it when you get it. I could sense it being a nice, quick, summer read... but I hate to pay for a book that's all hype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart'sjoy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Need a fun comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwesternMom Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I hope you'll post a review. I've got one off to college next fall and another one coming up quick, with totally different needs and abilities. I could use a little humor along the way. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I have enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it is "all that." Parts of it made me truly laugh out loud, but, I don't know...I just got kind of tired of the tone after awhile. It just seemed to get tedious. I don't think there is much "new" information in it. I did like how she gave everyone nicknames with initials - her eldest son CJ is "Cerebral Jock." She has many creative initial nicknames to protect folks' identities. However, I preferred Crazy U which was part memoir, part history. Some of that was pretty dry, but, overall, I enjoyed that read more. Perhaps because I read it first? I think I could relate to the dad in Crazy Umore than I could relate to the mom in Neurotic Parents Guide. I would probably not recommend paying full-price for latter. If you can borrow it or pick it up used, that would be preferable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I also rushed out and got it -- need the comic relief. :001_smile: I'm presenting at our local homeschool support group this weekend (about preparing for college admissions) and I've been up to my ears in all this stuff -- usually I do a flurry of activity and then let everything lie dormant for a few months for a breather! Anyway, I liked it but wouldn't give it 'five stars' -- Part of it is, as Cynthia says, the tone ... I also enjoyed Crazy U more, which I found more poignant, plus when the Crazy U author writes about serious subjects, such as the U.S. News rankings or the SAT, you know he's being factual. With Neurotic Parent, it was like reading Dave Barry (whose works I love) -- most of it seemed to be farce, but some of it also seemed to be trying to convey helpful factual information about SATs etc. She also reproduces College Confidential threads, including the CC typeface ... but can you really do that? (privacy issues, copyright, etc.) And I wasn't sure if the CC threads were real or made up ... I was just confused by a lot of the book, haha :confused: ... Cynthia, could you tell what was real and what was satire? Obviously the "exchanges" between the author and the Tiger Mom are not real ... I got that! :) Bottom line, I enjoyed it and don't regret buying it. It's on my nightstand, for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Thanks all! Since money is tight, I think I'll avoid buying it, but might see if our library happens to get it by this summer. This is exactly why I was hoping for some "real" people to read it - those of us with high schoolers and perhaps who have been in the college hunt, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 her eldest son CJ is "Cerebral Jock." hmmm, we say my oldest is part nerd and part jock: he's a nock (could have been a jerd, but that didn't seem to suit). ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 hmmm, we say my oldest is part nerd and part jock: he's a nock (could have been a jerd, but that didn't seem to suit). ;) Funny! :D Ugh - not funny. Realizing I should have written, "elder," instead of "eldest." :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 And I wasn't sure if the CC threads were real or made up ... I was just confused by a lot of the book, haha :confused: ... Cynthia, could you tell what was real and what was satire? Obviously the "exchanges" between the author and the Tiger Mom are not real ... I got that! :) Bottom line, I enjoyed it and don't regret buying it. It's on my nightstand, for fun. I 100% believe that the reproduced posts on cc were real. I spend too much time on there, and it unbelievable what one sees. It was sometimes difficult to tell what was real and what was made up. I think this is because there was at least some partial truth to almost everything in there. Lots of hyperbole, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 We could all use a laugh when it comes to this process, eh? I'm always wary of books on Amazon with nothing but 5 stars from reviewers who have failed to review anything else. Nearly all of her 5 stars are from folks who have only reviewing this book. :-) And it doesn't look like she has any editorial reviews. Peace, Janice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I'm always wary of books on Amazon with nothing but 5 stars from reviewers who have failed to review anything else. Me, too ... but I had checked out her Neurotic Parent blog and some of the stuff on it made me laugh out loud ... for example, the chart showing college upgrades: U of Indiana is "the new U of Wisconsin"; U of Wisconsin is "the new U of Michigan"; UC Merced is "the new UC Davis" [many kids turn down a UC Merced acceptance in favor of a Cal State!]; UC Davis is "the new UC Berkeley" ... I had *just* seen a (serious!) reference to a school back East as "the new XXX" (unfortunately I can't remember what it was). Has anyone here mentioned I'm Going to College -- Not You! ? I saw it because the Neurotic Parent author is a contributor to it. I got this book also (like I said, I'm seriously in need of some comic relief! ... between my presentation this weekend and my 11th-grade son doing his first college visits in 10 days!!!) and am enjoying it much more than the Neurotic Parent book. It's a collection of essays by many different writers, including Joe Queenan and Anna Quindlen. More like Crazy U in being touching and funny and serious; also I always like multi-author collections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwesternMom Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Oh, I've spent enough time on College Confidential to know that no post or thread is too crazy to have been real there. The whole theme of the site can be summed up as: Q: My daughter has near-perfect SAT scores, a 6.0 GPA from a prestigious Connecticut boarding school, was captain of the lacrosse team and first chair in every single string instrument featured in the Best Ever Youth Orchestra. She has 900 hours flying as a volunteer emergency rescue pilot in the African bush, and has published four articles on mitochondiral dendritic senosis in peer review journals. She is 1/4 Native American. Can she get into Northern Idaho State? A: Northern Idaho seems like a stretch, but she might. Have you considered having her retake the SAT? Perfect is better than near-perfect. And as a backup school, she might want to consider Encino Community College. I hear they like that bush pilot thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Oh, I've spent enough time on College Confidential to know that no post or thread is too crazy to have been real there. The whole theme of the site can be summed up as: Q: My daughter has near-perfect SAT scores, a 6.0 GPA from a prestigious Connecticut boarding school, was captain of the lacrosse team and first chair in every single string instrument featured in the Best Ever Youth Orchestra. She has 900 hours flying as a volunteer emergency rescue pilot in the African bush, and has published four articles on mitochondiral dendritic senosis in peer review journals. She is 1/4 Native American. Can she get into Northern Idaho State? A: Northern Idaho seems like a stretch, but she might. Have you considered having her retake the SAT? Perfect is better than near-perfect. And as a backup school, she might want to consider Encino Community College. I hear they like that bush pilot thing. That's a really good summary. ;) But I'll also admit that I've found tons of useful info on cc, so I can't write it all off. One just has to get a chuckle out of some posts and realize that the majority of students out there don't go to prestigious private schools even if they are a majority (so it seems) on cc. I do have to admit that they were a majority at our info session at the University of Rochester the day we visited... it made me pause wondering just how many ARE out there. My life has been in public schools in rural areas for all but one year way back in my past. That one year was in a private school when we lived in FL (for just that one year), so I have an inkling about those students and their lives, but... I still tend to think they aren't the majority out there. Maybe I'm wrong? That's possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Has anyone here mentioned I'm Going to College -- Not You! ? I saw it because the Neurotic Parent author is a contributor to it. I got this book also (like I said, I'm seriously in need of some comic relief! ... between my presentation this weekend and my 11th-grade son doing his first college visits in 10 days!!!) and am enjoying it much more than the Neurotic Parent book. It's a collection of essays by many different writers, including Joe Queenan and Anna Quindlen. More like Crazy U in being touching and funny and serious; also I always like multi-author collections. Thanks so much for suggesting this. I got it on my kindle and read it in a day. Not quite as humorous, but a better balance. Loved the different points of view from insiders/outsiders, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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