The college admissions process is: A) Similar to gallbladder surgery without anesthesia B) Worse than watching American Idol auditions without earplugs C) Soul-destroying, ego-crushing, and life-sucking D) Actually kind of funny when you think about it E) All of the above There’s no denying it: Applying to college is a grueling journey just shy of cruel and unusual punishment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh along the way. If college is on your horizon, Don’t Stalk the Admissions Officer shows you how to ace the tricky application process—while maintaining your sense of humor and sanity. Former pre-admissions counselor Risa Lewak empowers you to craft a killer essay, choose between the SAT and ACT, score stellar recommendations, nail the interview, handle overly involved parents, and more. You’ll also learn how to navigate crucial post-application issues, like financial aid, rejection, and deciding whether to take a year off. Packed with insider tips, helpful suggestions, and laugh-out-loud anecdotes, this savvy handbook gives you the know-how and confidence to conquer this stressful rite of passage . . . and minimize nervous breakdowns.

Founder of elite college prep agency Mint Tutors, Ashley Wellington shares hard-hitting essay-writing advice tailored to each student's strengths and potential pitfalls, inspiring students to write as if guided by their own personal college admissions tutor. Your Own Pocket Essay Tutor Ever wish you had a private tutor to help you write your admissions essays? With this book, you do. Ashley Wellington, founder of the elite New York college prep agency Mint Tutors, has personalized her hard-hitting advice just for you. Her unique “boot camp” process starts by helping you identify your student type, then figure out which topics will highlight your best (or worst) attributes to admissions officers. Thinking about writing an essay on . . . • Sports? This popular topic is often limiting, but Wellington will help you come across as talented—and also thoughtful and well rounded. • Your trip to Egypt? Wellington will help you avoid common travel clichés that make admissions officers groan. • The color yellow? Wellington will make sure you sound quirky and creative in the right way. Even the most impressive students can sound ordinary by following the formulaic approach of other essay guides—and in this über-competitive landscape, you need an edge to stand out to top schools. Wellington’s tutees have gained acceptance to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Georgetown, Duke, and other elite institutions, and with this book at your side, you can join their ranks.

Atlanta magazine’s editorial mission is to engage our community through provocative writing, authoritative reporting, and superlative design that illuminate the people, the issues, the trends, and the events that define our city. The magazine informs, challenges, and entertains our readers each month while helping them make intelligent choices, not only about what they do and where they go, but what they think about matters of importance to the community and the region. Atlanta magazine’s editorial mission is to engage our community through provocative writing, authoritative reporting, and superlative design that illuminate the people, the issues, the trends, and the events that define our city. The magazine informs, challenges, and entertains our readers each month while helping them make intelligent choices, not only about what they do and where they go, but what they think about matters of importance to the community and the region.

Readers will explore the issues surrounding censorship through this collection of essays that present diversity of opinion, including both conservative and liberal points of view in an even balance. Readers will evaluate the role of parents and the government in censorship. They will evaluate talk radio, Hollywood, the Internet, television, and publishing in relation to censorship practices. Essay sources include Brian Jennings, Elliot Schrage, Nick Gillespie, Jesse Walker, and the Parents Television Council.

In this provocative essay collection, the author “leans into her roles as both victim and predator [with] prose that’s casual and cool and often funny” (The New York Times). In six wide-ranging essays, Kathleen Hale traces some of the most treacherous fault lines in modern America—from sexual assault to Internet trolling, from environmental illness to our own animal nature. From hunting wild hogs in Florida to a standoff with an anonymous blogger, Hale takes no prisoners and fears no subject. “First I Got Pregnant. Then I Decided to Kill the Mountain Lion” recounts the month Hale spent tracking a wild cat in the Hollywood Hills while pregnant. “Prey” tells the troubling story of her sexual assault as a freshman in college. Through these and other essays, Hale wields razor-sharp wit, deep empathy, and daring honesty, even in detailing some of the most difficult moments of her life.