MAKING IT IN COLLEGE: A Minority Students Guide

by Marion & Mark Beach Walker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1975

Up-front but occasionally overly sanguine advice to disadvantaged high school students on how to get into college and survive the four-year obstacle course to the academic degree which the president of Malcolm X College termed a ""Passport to Freedom."" The authors cover such rudimentary matters as filling out application forms, tapping sources of financial aid and how to handle admissions interviews. They are quite status-and prestige-conscious: the student who gets into Yale is urged to go there, even though it's highly competitive and he may have to borrow money and/or take a part-time job to make it through. (Not necessarily good advice for a student who may need to make an extra effort to keep up academically.) Discussing the SATs, Walker and Beach tell black students to automatically adjust their scores upward by 150 points to gauge their ability--a procedure that colleges will not necessarily follow. ""Brain power"" is minimized, sometimes at the risk of misleading youngsters. Is it really the case that ""academic survival depends more on personality than intelligence""? The more general counsel on carefully evaluating personal goals, getting along with fellow students and faculty members, career planning, etc., is mostly sound and the emphasis on developing basic reading and writing skills is useful, if standard. A glossary of academic terms is appended for those who don't know accredited from intramural programs, or the dining hall from the gym.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1975

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Mason/Charter

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1975

Categories: NONFICTION