Book rec: VALEDICTORIANS AT THE GATE

This so-new-it’s-not-in-bookstores-yet guide to the college application process, Valedictorians at the Gate: Standing Out, Getting In, and Staying Sane While Applying to College (Henry Holt and Company, due out in August 2021), is my current beach read—note the towel backdrop. It’s by Becky Munsterer Sabky, and it’s a highly readable reference that looks at the applying-to-college to-do list through the lens of a former college admissions director.

As a writing coach for students applying to college, I often wish I could help my clients bypass the stress associated with the process. This is a good place to start. Sabky’s comprehensive guide demystifies a great deal of what goes on, particularly on the college side of the application dance, delivering candid advice and rooting for aspiring college students to find their best selves as they navigate the search. Sabky, who was an admissions director at my alma mater, Dartmouth College, for 13 years, is a gifted storyteller, and she weaves colorful anecdotes with advice in several categories, including making the most of college visits, writing a genuine personal statement, and deciding what school to attend. I suspect anyone who has been through or supported someone else through the college admissions process will recognize some aspect of themselves in these pages. I know I did.

I should mention that Becky was the Dartmouth rep who came to the Montclair area during the time I was district enrollment director for Essex County (NJ), and I consider her a friend—which partly explains why I’m happy to get the word about her book. The fact is, though, it’s really good. And I suspect that’s at least in part because Becky’s an exceedingly good person who, I know, encountered all kinds of stressed-out parents and students during her time working in admissions at a highly competitive university and felt badly that this was what applying to college had come to. Read her 2017 New York Times opinion piece, “Check This Box If You’re a Good Person” for a heartfelt glimpse of where she’s coming from.

Finally, if I were to try and narrow Valedictorians to a single takeaway, it would be this: consider shifting your outlook away from strategizing your route into a top school and instead look toward allowing the search to help you identify your best self and what you want from a college or university. Becky’s book is full of tips on how to do that.