3.5 stars rounded up. I wish I had read this a year ago rather than now when our family is knee deep into the process. It is a bit wordy and repetitive, but incredibly eye opening. It does focus (too) heavily on elite colleges which is not a consideration for us or for most American families, but the process and root issues are the same whether you are talking about the hard to get into state college or a private college. The joke’s on all of us that some of the most elite and hardest to get into colleges are the only ones that meet 100% of financial aid need (hello, Harvard.) I suspect the low ratings are from MAGA Republicans and Reagan lovers because the author is not easy (and rightfully so) on them or him and their role in creating this gigantic mess that we are in. Long story short, it’s all a big money making scam from AP classes to the SAT to SAT prep classes to College Board to college rankings like US News and World Reports to merit aid to financial aid and student loans. I feel a little sick knowing that we are all trapped in this game with what feels like no choice but to play along. Merit aid is primarily given to the wealthy who don’t need it. How? They can afford tutors and college counselors and SAT prep classes that help them succeed and become more attractive to colleges and in turn make the college rankings go up which then means more students want to go to said college. Rinse, lather, repeat. What a sick and vicious circle. Silly me, I thought my child needed to do well on the SAT to be considered for acceptance. It never occurred to me that he needed a near perfect score in order to receive a discount on tuition/merit aid. And certainly, no one tells you this. The author does give some tips on the process and her main point overall is to avoid debt. In the end, this book will leave you completely disillusioned with the entire college process.

I didn’t care for this book and admit to not finishing. I thought it would be helpful as I guide my child through the college admission and selection process. I found this book to be more about the authors political opinions. To me this does not fit what the book should be doing, which is guiding parents and students in this journey.

This is not a book I would recommend.

Thanks to @NetGalley and @stmartinspress for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading "Game On", but I can assure you that nothing could have prepared me for what I read. In short, "Game On" is one part history of higher ed and admissions, one part quoting journalists' work and their interviews with people in the field, one part opinion, and finally, a large portion of the book is dedicated to the author's obsession with Ronald Reagan. It was quite a bizarre journey that was not made easier by the unclear direction and order of the book and the frequent repetition of points made earlier in the book.

If you have a high school child who wants to go to college I strongly suggest you read this book. The author did a great job of organizing this book. I wasn't so excited about reading this one but I am so glad I did. Once I started it I could NOT put it down.

I received a galley copy of Susan Paterno's "Game On: Why College Admission Is Rigged and How You Can Beat the System" after seeing a higher education press interview with the author. As a higher ed enrollment leader, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about her views. I found some of what she said in the article to align with my experience and expertise but I was surprised by the over-the-top title of her book suggesting that admission is a "rigged" system and that the author could teach readers "how to beat" it. It was quite the claim and, leading an enrollment team, I was curious how Paterno defined "beating the system".

I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading "Game On", but I can assure you that nothing could have prepared me for what I read. In short, "Game On" is one part history of higher ed and admissions, one part quoting journalists' work and their interviews with people in the field, one part opinion, and finally, a large portion of the book is dedicated to the author's obsession with Ronald Reagan. It was quite a bizarre journey that was not made easier by the unclear direction and order of the book and the frequent repetition of points made earlier in the book.

I've never been so disappointed with a book that had many positions that I at least somewhat agree with.

The author rails on the individuals who profit off of families going through the process who don't have any actual expertise working as an admissions professional. The irony is that the author then turned around and wrote a book promising to teach readers how to “beat the system” while never having lead an admissions team nor - to my knowledge - having been an admissions or college counseling professional.

This premise - a guide promising to provide secret information - is a common tactic employed by some who profit off of the stress and anxiety that exists in the college search process. It’s my professional opinion that this does more harm than good and I have never met an admissions or college counseling professional who would ever claim that they will teach you the tricks to “beat the system”. I have real ethical concerns about this type of positioning especially when there is a clear profit motive. I would strongly advise students and families navigating the college admissions process to be skeptical of anyone promising to sell a way to “beat the system” when that system is actually a holistic admissions process that considers students within the context of a specific applicant pool and their own personal context.

While people who have never worked as a college admissions professional or college counselor regularly spread opinions - and even misinformation - on Internet forums purporting to know “secrets” or how to “beat the system”, it’s rare that these individuals are given a platform such as this to sell a "secret guide" to gaming the system. As a rule of thumb, it’s my opinion that readers should be weary of such promises because the admissions process simply isn’t a “rigged” system where someone can give you the guide to “beat the system”.

I could not state this more strongly: DO. NOT. BUY. THIS. BOOK.

There are plenty of excellent books and guides for students and families going through this process that have been written by actual admissions directors and college counselors or prominent higher ed journalists who have spent their careers reporting on college admissions and its many nuances.
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Updated note from the reviewer:

In a first for me as an avid reader who enjoys reviewing books he reads, I was contacted directly by the author of this book. The email that I received, in my opinion, was meant to intimidate me into updating my review.

I will not be changing the rating provided nor my opinions about the book. I am bothered by the very profitable industry that has propped up around the colleges admissions process that continues to increase skepticism, anxiety, and stress - whether it be books, test prep, or other services.

I have updated the portions of this review that the author was upset about with the goal of addressing the stated concerns while also not caving to what I feel is fairly unethical - and unheard of - pressure on a person who chose to write a review about a book that left them disappointed and concerned.

When in doubt I believe that college students should stick to the most reliable sources of information - their college counselors and the admissions professionals at the schools they are interested in. Nothing in this book or the author’s surprising efforts to track me down and request me to change portions of my review have changed this belief. If anything, it has only reinforced this opinion.

If you, like me, are familiar with the college financial situation in the US, you are also likely saddled with a whole bunch of debt. Granted, most of my student loan debt is entirely my fault. Ten years pursuing a degree I wasn't passionate about will do that, but maybe I shouldn't have been trusted as a naive, uneducated seventeen year old to choose what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and borrow almost the entire cost from private and federal lenders. I'll be paying off my loans for many years (decades?) to come.

Now as an educator sending students to college every year, and often giving them advice or writing recommendations for their applications, I feel a bit guilty. It's an exciting time in their lives, but also one of the most stressful and confusing experiences they've had to face yet. Every year there are a handful of students who approach me with high hopes of Ivy Leagues or big name schools, and all I can see in my jaded, post-grad years are dollar signs. It's become such a heavy for my generation and those that follow me, that it's hard to encourage students to take that on.

When I was approaching college, there weren't many books discussing the ins-and-outs of handling the financial side of education. Susan Paterno's book is one such book that I would be thankful to have had read before applying to schools. Luckily for me, my family was not part of the elite upper or upper-middle class to whom she writes, so I wasn't competing for one of the lucrative spots at a Yale or Harvard. But still, I was encouraged to go to college, without receiving any help or guidance about how to pay for it. It's become so normalized to take on the burden of giant loans as a teenager. It's easier to get a student loan than it is to get a credit card or buy a car.

Paterno uncovers the hidden aspects of the admissions process, from cheating scandals and exploitative test-prep services, to scholarship scams and skewed college rankings. In each chapter, she discusses a different topic related to the rigged system with anecdotes from students, often paired with an historical overview of how we've found ourselves in this situation.

While I found this book informative, it wasn't surprising or new to me. Some of the historical context was interesting for me to read, but as someone who is not part of the target audience (parents with high school students), I found myself a little bored. And while I understand Paterno and her publishers likely understood who the market for this book would be, I wish she had spent more time addressing the lower and lower-middle classes. My parents worked multiple jobs or way over 40 hours for my entire childhood, so when it came to shouldering the burden of college debt, it fell entirely to me. Hearing the burden that Paterno faced for her children fell on deaf ears for me. She does have the occasional nod to those families throughout, but much of the book was tailored to the wealthy or upper-middle class.

I also found myself wishing for more of the "beating the system" Paterno promises in the title. Much of the recommendations she provides occur in the last chapter, which didn't seem like solutions. I think this book is more of a call to action for people to support governmental intervention and change of this system. Even the solutions didn't feel like solutions -- ultimately, only the wealthy and privileged can "win" the game with any consistency. Everyone else just has to try really hard and get lucky. I left this book feeling even more jaded, and as a parent, I'd feel pretty defeated.

College, like all of the other capitalistic systems in America like credit cards and taxes, are a necessary evil, but oh so corrupt. Reform needs to happen, but until it does, there is little the lower and middle classes can do. Set your sights a bit lower, think practically, but you'll still likely need to take out a bit of money.

The Race for Admission to a Top Rated College

The book opens with the author racing about like crazy trying to find all the appurtenances for a successful college admission for her youngest daughter. There are tutors and coaches and always the question of how much you can afford just to get through the application process. Behind it all is money. You want the best for your child, but you also have to eat and take care of your other children. The other factor about money is that the college or university wants to make money. In fact, they have to make a lot of money to pay administrator salaries, provide amenities for the students, and keep star faculty.

The book is filled with anecdotes about how some well-qualified students are denied admission to top ranked colleges because of bias by the administrators of their prep schools and other problems that have little to do with how well qualified the student is. There are also stories about how parents cheat and bargain to get their students into the top ranked schools. The questions is whether the top ranked schools are worth the effort.

The book has good information for parents facing the challenges of college admission, but it also points out the problems with the system. Financial aid is hard to come by for students that really need it. The rich have an advantage because they can pay the outrageous tuition. Student loans are in many instances designed to suck you in and limit your future because of monstrous debt.

I enjoyed the book. I did find the author a bit repetitive. She had one story to tell and told it in every chapter although bolstered by different anecdotes. In the opening, I found the spectacle of the author racing about to do all the right things to get her daughter into college off putting. The question it raised for me is whether college is really that important right out of high school. Even if you go to a top ranked college the degree in most fields with be ancient history once you’re in the job market.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

I have worked in and around admissions for nearly 20 years, and I have seen the changes for the worse in American universities' policies and administrations. I enjoyed this book for the author's perspectives as a parent and a journalist, as well as her sense of humor. She develops the story of how higher education has played an ever-changing role in society, and how corporate and political greed and manipulation have led to the mess in which we now find ourselves. Her exploration of the world of admissions in the past 20 years goes far beyond the Aunt Becky scandal, exploring the less criminal and slightly less expensive world of prepping, coaching, and becoming merit-worthy by any means possible.

The tepid reviews of this book must be from Reagan apologists, because the author is not afraid to expose his extremely corrupt administration's role in ending the social contract of upward mobility -- college tuition has risen more than 800% since 1980, thanks to Reagan's cuts to taxes that subsidized student aid and his dismantling of regulations and reforms that had provided previous generations a stepping stone to the middle class. The author offers advice for individual families to navigate the college admissions process, but, like many problems, there is a need for structural reform that is vast and daunting, and needs to be much more prominent in public discourse. This book is a great addition to a parent's or grandparent's bookshelf, or anyone interested in social issues.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

As a parent and an educator, I have read many books on college admissions. This one missed the mark for me for several reasons. The author has done her research and provided many statistics on admission rates, SAT scores, pgraduation debt, and a plethora of other college-related data. Though interesting I didn’t find much of this would helpful to the rising college student or parent. In some cases, were I a prospective student, this data might have scared and discouraged me. In addition, from very early on, Paterno makes her political bias quite clear.. I don’t think politics belongs in a book of this nature. For these reasons I don’t recommend this book. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was a very informative book about the college system in America and how it works. I found a lot of useful information and tips, and found it generally well written although a little repetitive in places. Definitely a great handbook to have if your kids are nearing college age.

I’m sure the author is passionate about the topic of higher education cost and the student loan debt crisis facing millions. Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be well-written. It is repetitive to the point of distraction. I often found myself wondering if there had been some sort of error with my digital copy and it was jumping back to sections I’d already read. No, the author just really, really, really wanted readers to know that college is expensive, rich people have it easier than the rest of us and the reason college costs so much is because Evil Republicans want it to.

There are several typographical errors in the book that I hope will be corrected in the final version, but the book’s structure demands a major rewrite and a firm editorial hand. It feels at times as if several independent essays were jammed together without editing for clarity and brevity. I believe the book would be better if it were focused on suggestions parents and college-bound students could use to avoid being debt slaves for decades and omitted the author’s political views.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley. As a parent of teenagers and an educator, this book provided clear and valuable information about the college admission process and how to financially afford college and navigating financial systems.

As an educator of high school juniors and seniors, I thought I knew it all when it comes to the insanities of college admissions and how to navigate the system. Not so! I learned so much from Game On that I can bring back to the classroom to share with my students. Informative without being dry, and easy to understand for all audiences (parents, teachers, admin, teens).

This book was exceptional! It was so easy to read, well-thought, and sensible. This was the best book I've read on the state of universities, money, and the sheer randomness of acceptance into college. Ms. Paterno's writing was exceptional - I simply couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this for parents and staff of high school-age teens.

As a community college professor with a child currently in college and a high school junior, this book should have been right up my alley. I was not expecting this book to have so much history and so little that was helpful. There was too much bashing of the system/ process of college admissions (although I agreed with much of what she said.)
I also thought there were too many political references.

Overused the term “admissions industrial complex.” It was in almost every chapter.

Way too repetitive. The same story was in multiple chapters. I felt like I had read something before and then realized that I had!

There just wasn’t enough information that was actually helpful in the admissions process. The help that was given was vague and not novel.

There were quite a few typos, although I do expect that in advance copies. One that stuck out was discussing getting a 2300 out of 2400 when the SAT is out of 1600.

I received an advance copy of the book from NetGalley in return for my opinion.

This is a very informative book. There are so many misconceptions about Ivy League schools and community colleges and state universities and how to get into them. I like how the author, Susan Paterno, begins the book talking about her own family and how she helped all four or her kids navigate their way through the college process. Everyone has their own need and not all schools are the same.

I recommend this book to all parents sending their high school students off to college. I thought I knew a lot about this process since I had done it three times before and I just learned so much more. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book, I will be recommending it to several parents that I know that will be sending their kids to college over the next few years. Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the chance to enjoy an ARC of this book.

As a parent of four children in public school who are all headed to college in the next decade, college admissions and mainly paying for it scare me more than anything in my life at this point. I am not sure how a sane person has their child apply to a college, fall in love with the college only to get a statement of the costs to be expected each year, This book is a no nonsense guide from beginning to end on getting into college and paying for it. I have also come to accept that most colleges can get my children where they want in life and that choosing a higher ranked college and either saddling us or them with tremendous debt doesn't set anyone up for success. I never knew about financial aid appeals which I plan to use for my children. A well written book that is a must read for anyone with children going to college.
Thank you Netgalley, Susan F. Paterno and St. Martin's Press for the ARC for my honest review.

Game on is a user's guide with "how-to's" and information about the college admissions process. Applying to college is stressful for both parents and children. It is one of the first major decisions undertaken by high school aged youth. A decision that has the possibility of changing the trajectory of your life. This book provides insight on the price of room, board, tuition and how to negotiate a financial aid package. It also explains how colleges choose students to enroll and how to give your child a better chance of getting into the college that is right for them. It also provides good information on why the price of college is steadily increasing. This book is a no nonsense guide with valuable information provided that is of use to parents and high school aged students. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance review copy for my honest review. I recommend this book to anyone sending navigating the college admissions and financial aid process.

Although “Game On” contains some advice on how families should navigate the college admissions process, the main focus of the book is an insider’s indictment of the entire process. It starts by giving a picture through anecdotal stories about experiences with the process, the desperation that some families feel about getting into the so-called elite universities, and what they often end up doing and paying (if they can) to get their kids in and to pay the exorbitant ransoms the elite universities charge.

Meanwhile, Paterno points out that only a tiny few ever get accepted to the elite universities and previous few have the means to pay for it without taking out an offer they can’t refuse from the predatory lending machine. While some like the Lori Loughlins have resorted to Out right cheating, other families pay crazy cash to test peepers, tutors, college counselors, all with dubious reputations. And she argues it’s all a broken system from the US News rankings to the increasing costs which all push people to think that only an expensive elite school will do. And everyone in the system makes money except the college students and their families.

Ultimately, Paterno’s argument is that the real financial costs should be foremost in families’ minds when applying. Look at the real costs (which don’t matter for the Uber wealthy), apply to schools where your kid’s grades and test scores are above average to get the best financial packages, and negotiate if possible.

The book is filled with the political and economic history of how the college admissions system developed perhaps more so than advice to individuals on how to navigate the system. It concludes that the federal government should play a greater role in funding tuition at Public universities and dealing with the student loan crisis, not paying much attention to individual’s personal responsibility for their own financial decisions. Nor does Paterno hide her political allegiances at all (decidedly Leftward).

All in all, it is a fascinating indictment of an industry that does not well serve its customers so much as it perpetuates inequalities and profits off desperate middle class families who often do not qualify for much financial aid, but can’t afford to pay for what they have been told is the best (although how the ranking systems define the best is highly suspect).