Providing all the necessary information detailed and concise as clearly covered in Collegeboard’s Get it Together for College and Dr. Aviva Legatt’s Get Real and Get in, students undoubtedly have the perfect resources to get accepted into their ideal colleges.

Among the many benefits provided in Get it Together for College, chapters range from ways to succeed in high school by: preparing for SATs and Subject Tests to what to do when visiting colleges, applying for financial aid and more.

In comparison, within the college board version, people complain that the info can already be found online, but despite their lists, calendars are put in chronological order, perfectly arranging a high schooler’s most important events in the form of a planner. It tells one of all the important events through a calendar from sophomore until the end of senior year. It’s arranged in a way where the reader could flip to a certain chapter depending on where they are in their academic life and so on. It provides the right information at the appropriate time.

Sure, online sources may provide the same info for free, but the way all info is organized throughout the guide all put into one place makes it easier to track. Having everything there by one’s side is what’s most helpful and it’s straightforwardness is beneficial. It’s a guide to ensure students stay on track and work towards getting into a college most fitting for them.

  With the price being $15.99, this high-school, college,and after-college lifesaver is most definitely worth the buy. By fair ruling of the benefits it gives, one cannot help but grade it five out of five textbooks.

The second book, Get Real and Get in by Dr. Aviva Legatt is also a helpful guide for applying to colleges, but helps students to be authentic, not by means of impressing colleges by their achievements, but simply telling a story. A story of one’s life coming from the bottom of their heart. There’s a factor that sets those few applicants apart from the others and that’s what Get Real and Get in puts emphasis on. 

As a former UPenn admissions officer, Dr. Aviva Legatt walks the learner through finding themselves and what they’re truly passionate about to produce a stellar essay. There is no secret way as everyone is different, but the book provides inspiration from other Ivy League Legacies and tips to help the reader truly find themselves and not chase Ivy Leagues just for the name.

One concern with the content of the book came from how the author had gone to a private school focused on college prep. By hearing her personal story, it gives less hope to the average person hoping to work hard to get into prestigious schools as Dr. Legatt was a person with opportunities already handed to her. In addition, the admissions officer wrote her story in a story-telling way, messy, unclear and beautiful but a bit boring. Avoiding the main point. No way college officers would truly admit what to do.

All in all, written in a way that’s more relatable and less robotic like Collegeboard’s Get it Together for College, Get Real and Get in provides relevant information in a way that’s easy for readers to pick up. Despite this, nothing can beat Get it Together for College’s clear and concise plan to succeed in high school, ranking it above Dr. Aviva Legatt’s guide to finding one’s true self. Both are just as important, but one covers the fundamentals of increasing their chances of getting into one’s dream school while the other is for “finding theirself.”