Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That is Best for You
by Jay Mathews
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $8.16
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Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 378.1610973
EAN: 9780761536956
ISBN: 0761536957
Label: Three Rivers Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 2003-03-11
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Studio: Three Rivers Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Harvard Schmarvard
Comment: A must read for all parents of prospective college goers. This book removes all the marketing ideas of what we have been led to perceive a college "should" be for our children. Very freeing. This book will pay for itself!
Customer Rating:
Summary: No Sour Grapes Here
Comment: If this was written by a Harvard-reject, credibility would be the central issue. This author, however, received his undergraduate and graduate degree from Harvard and is one of the few insiders who is qualified to reveal the secret: Harvard, etal are great institutions because of the kids they get and not what they do for the kids.
This is an important book for kids and parents of children who are considering the highly selective schools, particularly those with the out-sized reputations.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Very good, but not my first choice
Comment: Harvard Schmarvard is an excellent resource although it is not my favorite book on the college admissions process. The author, Jay Mathews, is funny and insightful, but doesn't always make the best case against brand name schools as his many stories of where students happily ended up include schools which really are pretty well-known powerhouses like Tufts, UCLA, or Columbia.
Here's where this book is indispensable: Wait-lists. If your student is wait-listed, things really don't look that rosy, but Mathews has some excellent advice on how to handle the ever increasing phenomenon and ways to get in that involve starting school during the summer or spring semesters instead of the fall. His information about how to analyze "college visit weekends" for admitted students and his advice to potential transfer students is also very good stuff. His position about the US News rankings seems very smart. He notes they can actually hurt students since they force colleges to panic about selectivity and yield, factors which can lead to wait-listing or rejecting strong candidates. In addition, Mathews' stories of students and parents he's known are excellent examples of what the college search can be like. Overall, this is a book I recommend picking up.
However, Mathews occasionally gives some odd advice. He suggests that visiting colleges in a student's junior year isn't a good idea because the schools will be too busy worrying about seniors. I can understand waiting to interview until senior year, but just about every other resource will tell you that students need to begin visiting colleges by, at the latest, the second semester of their junior year or they may face a bit of a time crunch. Mathews also suggests buying "all the textbooks" of the classes that interest you at a prospective college. What?! I can see that it would help to review the texts to see if the school chooses books that are compelling reading, but who has that kind of money? Mathews also claims to favor big state schools, which also flies in the face of what many of the other college experts say. Mathews cites the numerous activities, the top-flight professors that rival Ivy League offerings and the ability to choose and switch around many different majors. I feel he's neglecting facts that others frequently bring up. Competition for leadership positions in extracurricular activities is often very intense at big state schools, the top-flight professors are often too busy with research and graduate students to be available to undergraduates, and layers of bureaucracy can make it very difficult to switch majors or take classes outside of one's field of study. It's interesting to note that in his list of one hundred schools he thinks are worth giving a good look, the vast majority of them are small. I only saw three that were over 15,000 students and a total of five over 7,000. Also, I feel Mathews book is geared to families that don't need much information about financial aid, so if that's not true for you, you'll need another resource.
I did say this book is worth getting, but if you buy only one book to guide you through the admissions process, right now my recommendation would be Fiske's Guide to Getting Into the Right College. Its information is very clearly and intelligently written, especially their portion about financial aid, and I feel the advice it offers is generally the wisest. Still, the Fiske book (not to be confused with the Fiske Guide To Colleges - also very good) does not discuss individual schools to any real degree. In this case, I'm still not sure Harvard Schmarvard would be my first pick even though he discusses a hundred underrated schools as his blurbs about each are usually too brief. Many schools on his list are actually quite well-regarded, such as Bates, Bard, Kenyon, Macalester, Davidson and Grinnell so information about them is readily available in other guidebooks. For a better look at underrated schools, I would suggest Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives. Even though Pope's book is a bit dated, Mathews reconfirms Pope's choices by including most of the same schools including Rhodes, Goucher, Austin College, Eckerd, Hendrix and Millsaps, but the reviews in Pope's book are much more thorough.
David CollegePlanGuy@aol.com
Customer Rating:
Summary: Life Outside the Ivy League
Comment: There certainly is life and there certainly are alternatives outside the Ivy League. You can get an Ivy League level of education plus so much more in the way of building leadership and character for your future life at a college like West Point, a college that, believe it or not, everyone has a good shot at getting into despite its reputation. You can learn the real story of the West Point way of education by reading "West Point: Thomas Jefferson: Character Leadership Education" by Remick.
Customer Rating:
Summary: There Is Life Outside the Ivy League -- By a Harvard Graduate
Comment: I agree with all the positive reviews of this book -- Mr. Mathews does a great job in convincing students and parents that all that glitters is not Ivy. In case you weren't sure, you can be happy and successful and not graduate from Harvard or Yale. The author includes several real life anecdotes and some statistics, and takes a good look at the admissions game. This is especially a must-read for overwrought parents and nervous students who face a lifetime of Prozac without an Ivy degree. Mr. Mathews does justice to the many other fine schools out there, many of whom offer comparable or superior academics. It isn't an indepth guide to particular colleges, and although Mr. Mathews offers pointers for the application process, it isn't a how-to guide for college admissions. I am puzzled, however. This is the second time a Harvard grad informed me that Harvard isn't the ticket I think it is. The first, an administrator of a private school, went so far as to suggest that a Harvard degree is a burden. Yet most of the administration at this school are Ivy. Mr. Mathews and his wife are both Harvard grads. His daughter attended one of the most prestigious private schools in the D.C. area, and his son, one of the most elite public high schools. So while I appreciate the reassurance that my public college degree isn't an impediment and that my public school son is on a fairly level playing field in the admissions process, I still don't quite believe it.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Harvard Schmarvard
Comment: A must read for all parents of prospective college goers. This book removes all the marketing ideas of what we have been led to perceive a college "should" be for our children. Very freeing. This book will pay for itself!
Customer Rating:
Summary: No Sour Grapes Here
Comment: If this was written by a Harvard-reject, credibility would be the central issue. This author, however, received his undergraduate and graduate degree from Harvard and is one of the few insiders who is qualified to reveal the secret: Harvard, etal are great institutions because of the kids they get and not what they do for the kids.
This is an important book for kids and parents of children who are considering the highly selective schools, particularly those with the out-sized reputations.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good, but not my first choice
Comment: Harvard Schmarvard is an excellent resource although it is not my favorite book on the college admissions process. The author, Jay Mathews, is funny and insightful, but doesn't always make the best case against brand name schools as his many stories of where students happily ended up include schools which really are pretty well-known powerhouses like Tufts, UCLA, or Columbia.
Here's where this book is indispensable: Wait-lists. If your student is wait-listed, things really don't look that rosy, but Mathews has some excellent advice on how to handle the ever increasing phenomenon and ways to get in that involve starting school during the summer or spring semesters instead of the fall. His information about how to analyze "college visit weekends" for admitted students and his advice to potential transfer students is also very good stuff. His position about the US News rankings seems very smart. He notes they can actually hurt students since they force colleges to panic about selectivity and yield, factors which can lead to wait-listing or rejecting strong candidates. In addition, Mathews' stories of students and parents he's known are excellent examples of what the college search can be like. Overall, this is a book I recommend picking up.
However, Mathews occasionally gives some odd advice. He suggests that visiting colleges in a student's junior year isn't a good idea because the schools will be too busy worrying about seniors. I can understand waiting to interview until senior year, but just about every other resource will tell you that students need to begin visiting colleges by, at the latest, the second semester of their junior year or they may face a bit of a time crunch. Mathews also suggests buying "all the textbooks" of the classes that interest you at a prospective college. What?! I can see that it would help to review the texts to see if the school chooses books that are compelling reading, but who has that kind of money? Mathews also claims to favor big state schools, which also flies in the face of what many of the other college experts say. Mathews cites the numerous activities, the top-flight professors that rival Ivy League offerings and the ability to choose and switch around many different majors. I feel he's neglecting facts that others frequently bring up. Competition for leadership positions in extracurricular activities is often very intense at big state schools, the top-flight professors are often too busy with research and graduate students to be available to undergraduates, and layers of bureaucracy can make it very difficult to switch majors or take classes outside of one's field of study. It's interesting to note that in his list of one hundred schools he thinks are worth giving a good look, the vast majority of them are small. I only saw three that were over 15,000 students and a total of five over 7,000. Also, I feel Mathews book is geared to families that don't need much information about financial aid, so if that's not true for you, you'll need another resource.
I did say this book is worth getting, but if you buy only one book to guide you through the admissions process, right now my recommendation would be Fiske's Guide to Getting Into the Right College. Its information is very clearly and intelligently written, especially their portion about financial aid, and I feel the advice it offers is generally the wisest. Still, the Fiske book (not to be confused with the Fiske Guide To Colleges - also very good) does not discuss individual schools to any real degree. In this case, I'm still not sure Harvard Schmarvard would be my first pick even though he discusses a hundred underrated schools as his blurbs about each are usually too brief. Many schools on his list are actually quite well-regarded, such as Bates, Bard, Kenyon, Macalester, Davidson and Grinnell so information about them is readily available in other guidebooks. For a better look at underrated schools, I would suggest Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives. Even though Pope's book is a bit dated, Mathews reconfirms Pope's choices by including most of the same schools including Rhodes, Goucher, Austin College, Eckerd, Hendrix and Millsaps, but the reviews in Pope's book are much more thorough.
David CollegePlanGuy@aol.com
Customer Rating:
Summary: Life Outside the Ivy League
Comment: There certainly is life and there certainly are alternatives outside the Ivy League. You can get an Ivy League level of education plus so much more in the way of building leadership and character for your future life at a college like West Point, a college that, believe it or not, everyone has a good shot at getting into despite its reputation. You can learn the real story of the West Point way of education by reading "West Point: Thomas Jefferson: Character Leadership Education" by Remick.
Customer Rating:
Summary: There Is Life Outside the Ivy League -- By a Harvard Graduate
Comment: I agree with all the positive reviews of this book -- Mr. Mathews does a great job in convincing students and parents that all that glitters is not Ivy. In case you weren't sure, you can be happy and successful and not graduate from Harvard or Yale. The author includes several real life anecdotes and some statistics, and takes a good look at the admissions game. This is especially a must-read for overwrought parents and nervous students who face a lifetime of Prozac without an Ivy degree. Mr. Mathews does justice to the many other fine schools out there, many of whom offer comparable or superior academics. It isn't an indepth guide to particular colleges, and although Mr. Mathews offers pointers for the application process, it isn't a how-to guide for college admissions. I am puzzled, however. This is the second time a Harvard grad informed me that Harvard isn't the ticket I think it is. The first, an administrator of a private school, went so far as to suggest that a Harvard degree is a burden. Yet most of the administration at this school are Ivy. Mr. Mathews and his wife are both Harvard grads. His daughter attended one of the most prestigious private schools in the D.C. area, and his son, one of the most elite public high schools. So while I appreciate the reassurance that my public college degree isn't an impediment and that my public school son is on a fairly level playing field in the admissions process, I still don't quite believe it.
Smarten Up—It's Time to Choose the Right College
Think that your life's growth, success, and happiness depend on which college you attend? The higher-profile school, the better, right? Wrong! Neither is true.
Written by, yes, a Harvard grad, Harvard Schmarvard rebuts the perception that image is everything when it comes to college and emphasizes this simple fact: What you will be measured by in life is your talent and energy, not your college's name. Packed with practical information and insider tips, this must-have guide will help you determine which school fits you. Inside, you'll find:
·How to survive the application process without losing your sanity or sense of humor
·Tips on writing essays, visiting campuses, and keeping cool during your college interviews
·The truth about search letter scams and the early admissions game
·Plus loads of other invaluable insight!
So take a deep breath and exhale your worries and fears. Let Harvard Schmarvard debunk the myths, expose you to the truth, and clear your mind so you can weigh what's really important.
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