Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
  A Good Piece of the Package January 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I hate the term `Packaging Yourself' that is on the cover, but besides that I think this is a well written and important book. We are all different; how we discover what makes us unique and how we express that to a college is an important part of the application process.
A Valuable Guide! November 28, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The 2004 movie Spanglish, starring Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman and Paz Vega, starts with a scene in a college admissions office. Admissions officers sit around a table going through applications. Uninspired to continue reading after looking at a sentence or two, one officer puts down the essay in her hands and moves to the next one. She does this a couple of times till she reaches an essay with a unique beginning. The applicant writes about the most influential person in her life -- her mother, a Mexican immigrant who works as a housekeeper. The officer is enticed enough to continue reading. She's hooked.
THE COLLEGE HOOK is a book I wish I had available to me when I prepared for college admissions in my high school days. It's definitely a valuable guide for those applying to college.
In order to increase your chances of admission to the college of your choice, college consultant Pam Proctor designed the book to help you learn how to define your special achievements - your hook - (even if you think you don't have any). After that, she teaches you how to package that information (your college application) and sell yourself (your interview) during the college application process.
Pam Proctor provides all types of tips to help the college applicant - inspiring anecdotes of students' experiences, clear sample essays, letters and selected references and more. THE COLLEGE HOOK is worth its price to learn how to stand out as a college applicant.
Fafa Demasio
 Well done, but with a fairly fatal flaw September 29, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is, without a doubt, a well-crafted book, well-organized, well-written, full of lots of practical and useful tips. There's a couple of aspects of it, however, that detract considerably from its usefulness in my situation.
The first one is major: the anecdotes she relates, which are meant to be inspiring, are in my view actually discouraging to the teens who might read this book. Example? The girl who just couldn't figure out her "hook", then thought back, and it suddenly struck her, oh YEAH, that's right, I was a Broadway star in 9th grade, praised in reviews in the New York Times, featured on the cast album in two solos, etc. I mean, come on. My daughter, who is a top student with great test scores and great extracurriculars, is freaking out that she might not get into Yale because "everyone who gets in is a published novelist or something." The examples in this book perpetuate that myth, and make it seem like only those sorts of people will stand a chance. I bought this book for her, but luckily read it first, and now I'm not going to give it to her to read, because it will just exacerbate her concerns.
Secondly, I'd assumed that the book was focused on the college application process, which it sort of is, but much of the germane advice (good tips all) pertains to the student's whole high school career, and what they can do to position themselves. This is a book for parents of such kids, who can help encourage and enable activities and events that will help once the senior year application process begins.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too July 30, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Gaining admittance into the college of your choice is no easy task. With THE COLLEGE HOOK, written by Pam Proctor, the president of College Application Consultants, Inc., I have to say that your odds are greatly improved!
The book is broken down into four main parts: Discovering Your Hook, The Top Ten College Hooks, Packaging Your Hook, and Selling Your Hook. Each main category is then broken down into smaller, more-manageable sections, such as Hooks That Worked, The Resume Power Play, and Acing the Interview.
I know you're asking yourself: "What in the world, exactly, is the college hook?" According to Ms. Proctor, it's pretty simple: it's "that one special interest that will cause admissions officials to salivate over an application and significantly increase the odds of getting into a favorite college."
Basically, colleges are looking for that unique "something" that makes you you - that "something" that will make their college a better college, and will make them sorry if they don't accept you! But to find your hook, you have to find the strengths and weaknesses in yourself, and that's not always an easy task. But THE COLLEGE HOOK stresses the importance of doing just that, and The Top Ten College Hooks (including Athletic, International, Music, Political, Technology, Humanitarian, Science, Writing, Drama, and Multicultural) go a long way in helping you figure out your personal hook before you begin the college admissions process.
This is a must-read for teens getting ready to begin sending out those college applications. From writing an interesting, professional resume to acing your admissions interview, everything about the application process is covered.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
The College Hook by Pam Proctor July 23, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Finally a college admission aid that succinctly defines it! Easy to use,well organized,and timely. As a father having faced college admission with three kids and facing it with a fourth the information is a god-send.The format and style will even encourage your kid's participation. Jim . Georgia.
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