Skip to main content

The Overachievers - A New Perspective On College Admissions

 SUMMARY

Reporter and journalist Alexandra Robbins follows the life of six Walt Whitman High School students that are caught up with the college admissions process. While some are perceived as the Superstar, Genius, or Workhorse, others are noted as the Meathead, Flirt, and a Stealth Overachiever that flies underneath the radar. Through extensive interviewing and research, Robbins provides all high school students with the book needed to face the cutthroat admissions process head-on.


REVIEW

The Overachievers is easily one of the most unputdownable books I have ever read.


By following the life of six high school juniors and seniors who are undergoing the college admissions process, she showcases how many hurdles students are forced to deal with, including FOMO, anxiety, the relentless overachiever mindset, and parent intervention. By reading the collective stories about these six relatable characters who are all overachievers at a very competitive high school in Washington D.C. alongside reports and data gathered from Robbins about misconceptions of admission methodologies, overachiever effectiveness, and stress-driven suicide rates, my own views on college changed. 


This book is for anyone who believes they are an overachiever and are an overachiever solely to either satisfy their parents’ or a college admissions officer’s needs. I recommend this book to anyone in high school who is confused about the process or is seeking books that are relatable. Although the novel is from 2006, the events presented are more relevant than ever, and The Overachievers will inevitably shift your thought process on college and beyond.

Comments

  1. Luke F.February 6, 2022 at 2:35 PM

    Great review! This book sounds very informative and helpful. Knowing exactly what colleges are looking for on applications can ease the burden of nervous uncertainty. I hope to find time to read this book in the near future once I begin considering college options.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ross KimmeFebruary 6, 2022 at 8:18 PM

    Great book review! The book seems useful, it gives insight into what it's like for people applying to college. Information like this can really help. Although I haven't applied to any colleges it seems like I will be useful when I do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CollinsFebruary 7, 2022 at 5:43 AM

    Great review! This sounds like a book that would be very important for anyone wishing to go to college to read. The relatable stories would likely be very useful to read, helping people to learn a lot about this complicated process. I should definitely read this book before applying. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. RichiFebruary 22, 2022 at 3:08 PM

    I think the book is a very valuable tool to understand the process and the expectations to get admitted into college. However, it would be better if there was a newer addition because after the pandemic, colleges and universities changed their rules for admission. It would be interesting and useful to read this book and get familiar with the traditional guidelines to follow.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret History: Character Profiles through MBTI -Callie

 The Secret History: Character Profiles through MBTI  The Secret History is a novel by Donna Tartt published in 1992. It has gained a reputation on social media for representing the “Dark Academia” aesthetic. The books itself is a murder drama focusing on six classics students at a university in New England. These six students each have distinct personalities and faults that become apparent as the plot unfolds. In this blog post, I will create a short synopsis of each character using the 16 personalities as a guide.  *spoiler free post* MBTI background: For those who are unaware, the 16 personality types are four letters representing one’s cognitive function stack. The concept is a little tricky to understand so I will link resources if you are wanting to learn more about the details. But basically, someone’s personality type is an indicator of how they view and interact with the world.  https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/theory   https://www.wellandgood.com/wha...
7 comments
Read more

The Year I Didn't Eat - A Grueling Inner Battle

  The Year I Didn’t Eat - A Grueling Inner Battle                                        Robert Gao The Year I Didn’t Eat Synopsis Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight loss, can wreak havoc on even the strongest of wills. In The Year I Didn’t Eat , the novel’s protagonist Max Howarth struggles with this eating disorder, which imposes consequences on all aspects of his life. Suffering from a dysfunctional household, a lack of dependable companions. and little to confide in, Max is forced to grapple with a life-changing disorder during a highly tumultuous period of his life. To cope with his condition, Max writes emotionally turbulent journal entries who he addresses to “Ana”, the name he calls his disorder. The only person in his life who Max is able to confide in is his bro...
9 comments
Read more

The Readymade Thief

The Readymade Thief Brief Synopsis Seventeen-year-old Lee Cuddy, after evading police officers, juvenile prison, and the psych ward, finds herself homeless and out of options. She stumbles across a group of lost teens who reside in the hidden Crystal Castle, an abandoned building held under the control of the Station Master. Lee’s problems arise after she accidentally takes the 20th century Marcel Duchamp’s figure With Hidden Noise from a group of men called the Bachelors , named after Duchamp’s The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even. The Bachelors, headed by the Priest and the Stationmaster aim to extract details about immortality, and they believe Lee, a doppelganger for an earlier work by Duchamp, holds the secret to it all. Review This book, while fun and enjoyable to read, especially at the beginning, transcends into another realm of reading comprehension. The book employs tons of information not only on Marcel Duchamp’s life but also on how his paintings represent stri...
5 comments
Read more