With over 18 years of experience in the education-counseling sector, I have gained an in-depth knowledge of the US, UK, Canadian & Australian college and university systems. Understanding the programs on offer and the unique personalities of each school has enabled me to easily match my students to their ideal schools, which leads to their being happy in college and in consequence exceling academically. During my years spent in India, I became increasingly conscious that not everyone attending high school outside the US had a clear vision of how the admissions process actually works (and to be frank I suspect that many of my students attending high schools in US are equally confused about it). This is why I finally sat down and decided to explain the process in full in a book of this nature. Over the years I have been exceptionally successful in placing numerous students into the 8 US Ivy League schools (Harvard, UPenn, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth and Cornell), and also into the other top schools in the US (including MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, Chicago, Northwestern, and Duke). I've also had huge success placing my students in many of the 20 UK Russell group universities (which include Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, UCL, Imperial, and LSE). One of the key reasons for my success has been my in depth understanding of what each and every college and university is looking for, besides the top grades. I work with my students (from grade 8 up) to help them improve both their academic and extracurricular profiles, so they stand out among all other applicants. This book will help you understand the rules of the game of winning a place at your top choice school. Through it I aim to enable you to significantly improve your chances of winning that coveted place you dream of. I aim to guide you to strategically select the colleges that are looking for students just like you, and to give you an understanding of how the US universities and colleges assess your application and select the candidates that best fit their profile. This is the book for you if - * You want to maximize your chances of winning a place at the school/s of your dreams * You want to know why you have to take classes outside your major area of academic or vocational interest at all US Universities * You want to know which Technical Specialist schools boast the best gender balances * You need help choosing which colleges/universities to apply to * You want to know which schools are in the Ivy League and what the Ivy League actually is * You want to know which schools offer top programs in Engineering or Management at the undergraduate level * You want to know what Pre-Med and Pre-Law involve * You want to know what Greek life actually means * You want to understand how the size of a school will impact your student experience * You want to know which schools have the best ethnic and international diversity * You want to know how US schools assess applicants * You want to know how to write a winning application essay * You want to know how to make your application stand out * You want to know about the SAT and the ACT * You want to understand the application options like ED * You need help to ace your college interview * You want to know about Merit Scholarships * You want to know about Need-Based Financial Aid