Andrew Ferguson’s Crazy U: One Dad’s Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College might be our best hope for reframing the college admissions process. Not changing it - that’s unlikely given the market forces and administrative intransigence Ferguson reveals. But reframing is possible – examining the assumptions and overblown claims that cause hysteria and lead us to forget that the whole endeavor is really about kids – sweaty, distracted and lovable kids. Ferguson accomplishes this thanks to his son, the applicant who graciously allows his father to write about him (such generosity alone should be rewarded with admission!). The author’s endearing descriptions of his son are the most touching passages in the book.
Crazy U was a refreshing read in a genre that is committed to repackaging information with minimal analysis. I found myself questioning my opinions on college rankings and the SAT. According to Ferguson, rankings like U.S News provide information that parents would otherwise lack. He questions why colleges complain about U.S. News yet withhold information like the NESSE survey which attempts to assess what students actually learn in college. Ferguson took the SAT on the same morning as his son – a feat of fatherly love that resulted in hilarity and enlightenment. How many in the “college admissions” field would subject themselves to such humbling? This is one of the guilty pleasures of reading Ferguson’s book – he makes us feel like it’s ok to be less than perfect, to come to the admissions process late and ill-prepared. More importantly, it’s ok for kids to be kids, even when the admissions officers expect them to show a level of maturity few of us (thankfully) ever achieve.
Ferguson discovers that college admissions literature abides by the “law of constant contradictions.” Advice is everywhere, but it is never consistent and rarely of any use. Too often, it is detached from reality at the student’s expense. When his family visits Harvard, they suffer through a video encouraging students to “give it a try” and apply to Harvard. No wonder parents nearly revolt when the topic of legacies and low admissions rates comes up. Coincidentally, or rather not, when I called Harvard to ask if it had any advice for rejected students, I got the same line Ferguson had to swallow during his visit – we are limited by the “number of beds” in Harvard Yard. The script has not been altered - Tommy Lee Jones would be proud (Harvard seems very taken with this particular alum).
Ferguson knows his way around a keyboard. Here is one of my favorite lines: “We confuse a coveted degree with an excellent education –eat the menu instead of the dinner.” His vocabulary had me finally using the dictionary feature on my Kindle, but the book never came off as pretentious.
Unfortunately, Crazy U was written for parents, not students. Applicants could surely benefit from the book, but I’m afraid they might not pick it up. Also, coping with rejection isn’t addressed directly (spoiler alert!), but rejected students will gain perspective on the process, and have a few much-needed laughs.
