Brennan Barnard is the director of college counseling at the Derryfield School in Manchester, N.H.
Whether you are counting down the last days of school or have already started your summer break, we hope your summertime plans involve a good book.
We’ve asked a number of college admission deans and high school counselors for their summer reading suggestions. What follows is a sampling of their recommendations. Some are specific to college admission, and others are just great reads.
For Students
“Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know About Getting Into College” by Sally P. Springer, Jon Reider
and Marion R. Franck
Mentioned in The Choice, “College Admissions Books for Your Summer Reading Pleasure”
“The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College” by Harlan Cohen
Recommended by Bruce A. Berk, assistant director of college counseling, the Derryfield School, Manchester, N.H.
“The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids” by Alexandra Robbins
Recommended by Alison Slater, assistant director of admissions, Denison University, Granville, Ohio
“The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University” by Kevin
Roose
Recommended by Peter Jennings, director of college counseling, Concord Academy, Concord, Mass.
For Parents
“Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance” by Atul Gawande
Recommended by Timothy Pratt, director of college advising, St. Paul’s School, Concord, N.H.
“Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” by Malcolm Gladwell
Recommended by Paul Sunde, director of admissions, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
“The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy”
by Dr. Edward M. Hallowell
Recommended by Brennan Barnard, director of college counseling, the Derryfield School, Manchester, N.H.
“The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price”
by Lynn O’Shaughnessy
Recommended by Aaron Fulk, associate director of college counseling, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
“How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character” by Paul Tough
Recommended by Cathy Davenport, executive director of admissions, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa.
“The iConnected Parent: Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) While Letting Them Grow Up” by
Barbara K. Hofer and Abigail Sullivan Moore
Recommended by Betsy Dolan, director of college counseling, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H.
“I’m Going to College — Not You! Surviving the College Search With Your Child” by Jennifer Delahunty
Recommended by Roland M. Allen, director of college counseling, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
“Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life” by Martin E. P. Seligman
Recommended by Matthew J. DeGreeff, director of college counseling, Middlesex School, Concord, Mass.
“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol Dweck
Recommended by David S. Bonner, director of college counseling, King Low Heywood Thomas School, Stamford, Conn.
“The Parents We Mean to Be” by Richard Weissbourd
Recommended by Gretchen Bean Bergill, associate director of college counseling, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N.H.
“SAT Wars” by Joseph A. Soares
Mentioned in The Choice, “College Admissions Books for Your Summer Reading Pleasure”
For Everyone
On College Admissions:
“College Admissions for the 21st Century” by Robert J. Sternberg
Recommended by Conor O’Rourke, assistant dean of admissions, Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.
“College (Un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students”
by Jeffrey J. Selingo
Recommended by Karen Pellegrino, dean of enrollment, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn.
“College: What It Was, Is and Should Be” by Andrew Delbanco
Recommended by Holly Macy, director of college counseling, the Dublin School, Dublin, N.H.
“Colleges That Change Lives” by Loren Pope
Mentioned in The Choice, “College Admissions Books for Your Summer Reading Pleasure”
“The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College” by Jacques
Steinberg
Recommended by Kaitlin Carlin, assistant director of admissions for campus visit, Elon University, Elon, N.C.
“Getting In” by Karen Stabiner
Mentioned in The Choice, “College Admissions Books for Your Summer Reading Pleasure”
“My Beloved World” by Sonia Sotomayor
Recommended by Karen Bartlett, admissions counselor, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt.
Other Summer Reads:
“City of Light” by Lauren Belfer
Recommended by Chris Antal, associate director of admissions, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.
“Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury
Recommended by Lars Farabee, assistant director of admissions, High Point University, High Point, N.C.
“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green
Recommended by M. Beverly Morse, associate dean of admissions and director of international admissions, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
“The List” by Siobhan Vivian
Recommended by Brad Battaglia, director of college counseling, the Birch Wathen Lenox School, New York, N.Y.
“Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal” by Conor Grennan
Recommended by Michele Koenig, associate director of college counseling, Proctor Academy, Andover, N.H.
“The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates” by Wes Moore
Recommended by Matthew Cohen, associate director of admissions, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
If you’d like to add your own summer reading suggestions, please share your recommendations in the comment box.
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