2023 Story Circle Network Gilda Prize Winner2023 American Bookfest Best Book Award: Winner in Creative Nonfiction, Finalist in Best New Nonfiction, Finalist in Parenting and u0026 Family2023 Literary Titan Book Award Gold WinnerEvery fall, millions of high school seniors agonize over how to respond to college application essay prompts. In a timely, incisive memoir that blends humor and heartache, Irena Smith takes a stab at answering them as an adult.Irena is a Russian Jewish immigrant, a PhD in comparative literature, a former Stanford admissions officer, and a private college counselor in Palo Alto, California–a city where everyone has to be good at something and where success often means the name of a prestigious college on the back of a late-model luxury car. But as Irena works with some of the most ambitious, tightly wound students in the world, she struggles to keep her own family from unraveling, and that sharp-edged divide lies at the heart of her memoir.The Golden Ticket is narrated using a form Irena knows best: college application essay prompts. In her responses, Irena weaves together personal history, sharp social commentary, and the lessons of literature ranging from The Odyssey to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Her memoir asks difficult questions–what exactly do parents mean when they say they want the best for their children? what happens when the best of intentions result in unexpected consequences?–and envisions a broader, more generous view of what it means to succeed.

The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays PDF

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