C. W. Henderson

REVIEW FROM EDUCATION WEEK:

"In Open the Gates to the Ivy League: A Plan B for Getting into the Top Colleges (Prentice Hall Press, Penguin Group, 2013) author C.W. Henderson exposes 'back gateways' for getting into 25 prestigious schools, seven of which are hallowed-hall Ivies. Henderson's audience is Jager-Hyman's 'brand-name shoppers,' who would find stock in Henderson's assertion that the name recognition and well-connected alumni networks of elite universities give students 'a significant, sometimes even a dramatic, edge over everyone who earns a diploma elsewhere.' So, if students fail to get into a top 40 school, Henderson says try and try again--and shows applicants how to do so, sometimes for less than they would pay otherwise." - Education Week

REVIEW FROM BOOKS WORLD:

"end up with an Ivy League diploma...all the specifics...current...essential...more information at openthegates.com" - BWW Books World

REVIEW FROM UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA UVA TODAY:

"...C.W. Henderson exposes 'back gateways' for getting into 25 prestigious schools, seven of which are hallowed hall Ivies. Henderson also cites back entrances to elite universities through transfer programs with less-elite universities, such as transferring to University of Virginia from any one of the state's community colleges." - UVA Today

REVIEW FROM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES:

"...students should apply to colleges with back doors for college admissions in addition to first choices and safety schools...wealth of information about some of the best universities in the world...the author assessed the degree of openness of each back gateway. These assessments are based on a variety of factors, the most important of which are annual admissions rates, program expectations, and the depth and breadth of application criteria and requirements." - IBTimes Staff Reporter

THE ONLY GUIDE TO COLLEGE ADMISSIONS THAT OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE GATEWAY TO GETTING INTO THE NATION'S TOP-RATED UNIVERSITIES.

--A unique, step-by-step guide that reveals alternative ways to get in an Ivy League or other top-ranked colleges, such as MIT, Duke, Northwestern, and many others

--Profiles each college and provides all the specifics needed to gain admission via "the back gateway"

--Just released in 2013 -- a current and essential publication as college entrance becomes more competitive and costs are escalating

--For rich kids, poor kids, and international students

According to the book, Open the Gates to the Ivy League, twenty colleges ranked if the top twenty-five by U.S. News have back doors for college admissions.

Author C. W. Henderson researched the top fifty ranked U.S. national universities, and reported the findings in the book. Henderson explained that a back door is an alternate gateway providing admission to an undergraduate degree program, and is different from the usual application process, such as the "common app" method. "The very foundation of the back gateway process rests entirely upon the concepts of equity, fairness, and opportunity," he said. "This now means that students rejected by top colleges can learn how to gain entrance through the back door, giving them a 'plan B' for getting into the Ivy League and other top colleges," Henderson said, adding that all Ivy League colleges except Princeton have back doors for undergraduate degree admissions. Some colleges have as many as three back doors for gaining admission.

The book provides details for each college back gateway, including how to apply, housing and tuition. What all back gateways have in common is that they take students to an undergraduate degree just like the front entrance does. The book offers details on the back gateways of seven universities of the Ivy League proper, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, and Brown, as well as an additional sixteen of the so-called "second tier" of the top fifty elite universities, plus Oxford and Cambridge, the top colleges of the U.K. "This is a new contribution to educational research, and will not only give students and parents a 'plan B', but if rejected by a college, will provide an immediate way to again apply. Some of the back gateways in this book are virtually unknown, while others are just underused," Henderson said. At his Open the Gates blog at openthegates.com/blog he has updates on college admissions including back gateways to top colleges; also at openthegates.com you will find daily news about higher education and college admissions.

COLLEGES included in this book are:

Harvard

Penn

Columbia

Cornell

Yale

Brown

Dartmouth

Oxford

Cambridge

MIT

Emory

Washington University in St. Louis

Duke

Caltech

Northwestern

University of Virginia

Georgetown

University of Wisconsin-Madison

New York University

University of Southern California

Boston College

College of William & Mary

Georgia Institute of Technology

University of California-Berkeley

University of Notre Dame.

A SHIFT TO THE FIRST PERSON, FROM THE AUTHOR

Throughout this book, you will find a wealth of information about some of the best universities in the world, ranging from detailed descriptions of academic programs to faculty-to-student ratios to historical facts and fun things to do on campus. I have also included an informative "Keybox" at the beginning of each chapter, which will give you an at-a-glance snapshot of each school, what it has to offer, and what is expected of those applying for admissions.

Since our focus is on back gateways, I have assessed the degree of openness of each back gateway. Some are wide open, others half-open, and some just barely cracked ajar. These assessments are based on a variety of factors, the most important of which are annual admissions rates, program expectations, and the depth and breadth of application criteria and requirements.

Also within the Keybox you will find a rating of the cost of each back gateway as compared to the front gateway. Often--but not always--the back gateway costs significantly less than the conventional front-gate admission. Since an education has a price tag, it makes sense to get an idea of your likely return on investment, so you will also find the median starting salary for graduates.

My blog at openthegates.com/blog will keep you current with the latest research and info on all the topics covered in this book, and there you can sign up for free updates about college admissions and back gateways into top colleges.

Come on around to the back gateway, and meet your Plan B.

ABOUT THE BOOK

So you've chosen an institution of the Ivy League brand, the elite brand, the 1 percent brand. But what if no such institution chooses you? Not only is this a very real possibility, it is by far the most likely outcome of your quest for admission.

This book is not about the "safety schools," the alternatives to the very best. It is about exercising personal leadership to find and create alternative ways of getting into the very best, even when you are turned away for whatever reason: economic, social, socioeconomic, academic, or the precious senior-year weeks you missed when you came down with mono.

The tools you will find in the pages that follow are both strategically inspirational, culled from some of the most successful leaders in history, and immediately practical and useful. When the traditional front gateway of a top-branded school is closed to you, we show you another way in.

Many of the nation's most prestigious institutions have back gateways. Think of the back gateways as opportunities to be seized by those who have decided to think and act more like CEOs than like victims.

THIS book is for families and students who believe an Ivy League or other elite national college education is preferable to that of some other category of college. If you are not convinced that you are a match for an Ivy League or elite national university, this book is not for you.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

--Students who want to be Ivy League/Top 40 graduates

--Students who didn't get in the first time

--Students who were told they weren't "Ivy League material" (but are sure they are)

--Students who lack the finances for an elite college education

--Students who want an elite education at a discounted price

--Kids whose parents didn't create "the perfect student"

--Adults who want to go back for a second (or first) degree

--Students of all ages and backgrounds who believe the value of Ivy League/Top --40 schools is in the quality of instructors and curriculum

--Students who appreciate and desire the benefits of an elite alumni network

--Students who don't mind "taking their time" to earn a bachelor's degree

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

C. W. Henderson was named by USA Today as one of Six Who Made a Difference, and he is an author at Penguin Group and at Prentice Hall Press writing about higher education and college admissions. He is executive editor of Ivy League Week at Thomson Reuters, and executive editor of Education Letter at the Wall Street Journal Professional Edition. He is president of educational publisher ScholarlyMedia and its imprint ScholarlyEditions, which publishes 2,000 reference books annually. He is a PhD candidate, has an undergraduate degree in journalism, and a graduate degree in English. Henderson has been an international educational researcher specializing in college admissions for more than a decade, including doctoral research in both the United States and the UK. As a researcher and writer focusing on Ivy League and elite college admissions, he has edited more than one hundred articles on this topic.