Stressed and sleepless, today's high school students race from school to activities in their most competitive game of all: admission to a top-ranked, prestigious university. But is relying on magazine rankings and a vague sense of "prestige" really the best way to choose a college? Is hiring test prep teachers and consultants really the best way to shape your own education?

In this book, edited by a veteran admissions counselor, a passionate advocate for students, the presidents and admission deans of leading colleges and universities--like Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Harvard--remind readers that college choice and admission are a matter of fit, not of winning a prize, and that many colleges are "good" in different ways. They call for bold changes in admissions policies and application strategies, to help both colleges and applicants to rediscover what college is really for. It's not just a ticket to financial success, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore new worlds of knowledge.

A thirty-year veteran of the college admission and college counseling professions, Lloyd Thacker is executive director of The Education Conservancy. Thacker lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and their two sons.