Who Is This Kid? Colleges Want to Know! A Review – The Delight Directed Homeschooler

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

As much as I want to be in denial, I have a highschooler who is going to be setting his sights on college in the next couple of years. I remember taking an entire course my junior year of highschool to prepare me for writing college admission essays! While thinking about prepping for college, I am happy to find resources like Who Is This Kid? Colleges Want to Know! From The Critical Thinking Co.™

We received a physical copy of Who Is This Kid? Colleges Want to Know! by Joyce Slayton Mitchell. It is also available in eBook format. It is designed to bring ease to the college admissions process… particularly the essay portion. The book provides exercises to help students get to know themselves with confidence. I think it is a rare find when a student exists who actually knows what they want to do with the rest of their life upon completion of highschool. With so many career opportunities out there, how does one ever choose just one path?

It is not enough any more to rely soley on grades for college admission. As stated in the Introduction to Who Is This Kid? Colleges Want to Know!, “Many American colleges use a ‘holistic’ admissions method, which looks for the most interesting students who ask the best questions- who know themselves- how they think and what they think and how well they know their own culture: their history, literature, their government and politics, their art, and music.” Colleges want to know what a student will bring to them. Talents, extra-curriculars, art, sports, etc. all carry weight in the college admissions process.

Who is This Kid? Colleges Want to Know! is an excellent tool to help personalize the college admissions process. The five main parts of the book include:

Student Assessment: Thinking and Writing Exercises
Searching the Colleges- Building Your College List
Communications
College Admissions Calendar
Glossary

My son just completed his freshman year of highschool. He is considering what college might be like, but not thinking about it too often. While we did not dive fully into the book, it is never to early to teach self-awareness. The exercises found in the book are fantastic for affirming uniqueness and giftedness. I also love that he is able to see what colleges may be looking for. He can see that the extra things that he is involved in like community service, theater, art, etc. are incredibly valuable. He can be proactive in his highschool career.

Because not all colleges look for the same things in their admissions process, there are several exercises in the book to help cover the holistic approach and bring into focus what an individual student is considering. Activities such as the following are included:

Student Self-Assessment (including a campus culture quiz)
Building the Colleges List (college fairs, campus visits, etc)
Applications, Essays & Interviews
Calendar for College Admissions

The book is incredibly thorough. It includes places to record observations about college visits, asks questions to narrow down what type of college culture you are looking for, has sheets to fill out with questions for when you visit a college fair, sample college applications, interview practice, and essay practice.

I think this would be a fantastic book to use in a highschool co-op class. I also really think it is would be a wise investment to have one for each of your college bound students as they are getting closer to that process.