Biographies & Memoirs | Memoirs
Parenting & Families | Parenting
Nonfiction | True Accounts
Tips on the admission process, Universities & Colleges in the United States
The true story of a parent helping his son choose a college.
In telling of his son's forced march through the anxiety and muck of picking and getting into a college, Andrew Ferguson gives critical analysis of the often absurd, fraudulent, parasitic college admissions process.
The cutthroat competition to get into the perfect college can drive students to the brink of madness and push their parents over the edge--and bury them in an avalanche of books that claim to hold the secret of success. Have no fear, Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College is not one of those books. This book is a candid and hilarious chronicle of the journey that millions of parents and their children undertake each year--the journey through the surreal rituals of college admissions. Come along on a rollicking ride from the man Christopher Buckley has called "my all-time favorite writer."
Pummeled by peers, creeped out by counselors, and addled by advice books, Andrew Ferguson comes to believe that a single misstep could cost his son a shot at a happy and fulfilling future. He feels the pressure to get it right from the moment the first color brochures land in his mailbox, sent from colleges soliciting customers as though they were sailors come to port. First is a visit with the most sought-after, most expensive--and surely most intimidating--private college consultant in the nation. Then comes a session with a distracted high school counselor, preparations for the SAT and immersion in its mysteries, unhelpful help from essay coaches and admissions directors, endless campus tours, and finally, as spring arrives, the waiting, oh the waiting, for the envelope bearing news of the future. Meanwhile, Ferguson passes on tips he's picked up during their crash course. For example, tip number 36 is to apply for financial aid after midnight. Ferguson provides a pocket history of higher education in America, recounting the college ranking wars, and casting light on the obscure and not-terribly-seemly world of higher-education marketing. He dares to raise the question that no one--until now--has been able to answer: Why on earth does it all cost so much? Along the way, something unexpected begins to happen: a new relationship grows between father and son, built from humor, loyalty, and yes, more than a little shared anxiety. Because for all its tips and trials, Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College is also a story about family. It turns out that the quiet boy who pretends not to be worried about college has a lot to teach his father--about what matters in life, about trusting your instincts, about finding your own way.