aussietechie

Please, read what is below, but if you have read some already then please note your favourite below!
Also if you do order some, let me know which ones and then once you have read the books, please add your thoughts.

This list has been compiled from previous topics on CC. In fact, I read over 23 topics and pulled the positive and negative comments on each of these books so I could work out which ones were preferred overall.

The Top 6 Most Recommended Books

• A Is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges (9780446540674): Michele A. Hernández: Books (18 positive recommendations!)
• The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College (9780142003084): Jacques Steinberg: Books (17 positive recommendations!)
• Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice (9780345498922): Michele Hernandez: Books (16 positive recommendations!)
• On Writing the College Application Essay: The Key to Acceptance and the College of your Choice (9780064637220): Harry Bauld: Books (13 positive recommendations!)
• The College Admissions Mystique (9780374525132): Bill Mayher: Books (11 positive recommendations!)
• Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That Is Best for You (9780761536956): Jay Mathews: Books (10 positive recommendations!)

An example selection (aiming for HYPS, going ED, currently junior, unsure of which school)

• A Is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges (9780446540674): Michele A. Hernández: Books (18 positive recommendations!)
• The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College (9780142003084): Jacques Steinberg: Books (17 positive recommendations!)
• Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice (9780345498922): Michele Hernandez: Books (16 positive recommendations!)
• On Writing the College Application Essay: The Key to Acceptance and the College of your Choice (9780064637220): Harry Bauld: Books (13 positive recommendations!)
• The College Admissions Mystique (9780374525132): Bill Mayher: Books (11 positive recommendations!)
• Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That Is Best for You (9780761536956): Jay Mathews: Books (10 positive recommendations!)
• Rock Hard Apps: How to Write a Killer College Application (9780786868629): Katherine Cohen: Books
• The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite (9780674016200): Christopher Avery, Andrew Fairbanks, Richard Zeckhauser: Books
• College Admission Essays for Dummies (9780764554827): Geraldine Woods: Books (5 recs)
• 100 Successful College Application Essays (Second Edition) (9780451207135): Harvard Independent: Books (2 recs)
• Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011, 27E (9781402209611): Edward Fiske: Books (Most recommended guide)

Admission Strategy Books (How to get in)

• Books below this heading: 10 or more Recommendations
• A Is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges (9780446540674): Michele A. Hernández: Books
• Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice (9780345498922): Michele Hernandez: Books
• Rock Hard Apps: How to Write a Killer College Application (9780786868629): Katherine Cohen: Books
• Books below this heading: 5-<10 Recommendations
• What It Really Takes to Get Into Ivy League and Other Highly Selective Colleges (0639785382119): Chuck Hughes: Books
• How to Get Into the Top Colleges, 3rd ed: Richard Montauk, Krista Klein: Books
• Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know About Getting into College (9780470481219): Sally P. Springer, Jon Reider, Marion R. Franck: Books
• College Admissions Trade Secrets: A Top Private College Counselor Reveals the Secrets, Lies, and Tricks of the College Admissions Process (9780595198979): Andrew Allen: Books
• Books below this heading: 2-<5 Recommendations
• Admissions Confidential: An Insider's Account of the Elite College Selection Process (9780312302351): Rachel Toor: Books
• What Colleges Don't Tell You (And Other Parents Don't Want You to Know): 272 Secrets for Getting Your Kid into the Top Schools (9780452288546): Elizabeth Wissner-Gross: Books
• The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite (9780674016200): Christopher Avery, Andrew Fairbanks, Richard Zeckhauser: Books
• What You Don't Know Can Keep You Out of College: A Top Consultant Explains the 13 Fatal Application Mistakes and Why Character Is the Key to College Admissions (9781592403028): Don Dunbar, G.F. Lichtenberg: Books
• The Truth About Getting In: A Top College Advisor Tells You Everything You Need to Know (9780786888498): Katherine Cohen: Books
• The New Rules of College Admissions: Ten Former Admissions Officers Reveal What it Takes to Get Into College Today (Fireside Books (Fireside)) (9780743280679): Michael London, Stephen Kramer: Books
• Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert's Advice for Getting Into College (0028195086708): Joyce Slayton Mitchell: Books

Overviews of the College Application Process/General information on schools (still containing valuable insight on how to get accepted)

• The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College (9780142003084): Jacques Steinberg: Books (17 recs)
• The College Admissions Mystique (9780374525132): Bill Mayher: Books (11 recs)
• Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That Is Best for You (9780761536956): Jay Mathews: Books (10 recs)
• Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges (9780143037361): Loren Pope: Books (6 recs)
• Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You (9780143112822): Loren Pope: Books (2 recs)

Books on writing the college application essays

• On Writing the College Application Essay: The Key to Acceptance and the College of your Choice (9780064637220): Harry Bauld: Books (13 recs)
• College Admission Essays for Dummies (9780764554827): Geraldine Woods: Books (5 recs)
• 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays, Third Edition: What Worked for Them Can Help You Get into the College of Your Choice (Harvard Crimson) (9780312624385): Staff of the Harvard Crimson: Books (4 recs)
• Essays That Will Get You into College (9780764142109): Chris Dowhan, Adrienne Dowhan, Dan Kaufman: Books (4 recs)
• 100 Successful College Application Essays (Second Edition) (9780451207135): Harvard Independent: Books (2 recs)

Guides to the individual colleges and guides on choosing colleges

• Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011, 27E (9781402209611): Edward Fiske: Books (Most recommended guide)
• The Best 373 Colleges, 2011 Edition (College Admissions Guides) (9780375429873): Princeton Review: Books (Highly recommended)
• The Insider's Guide to the Colleges, 2011: Students on Campus Tell You What You Really Want to Know, 37th Edition (9780312595586): Yale Daily News Staff: Books (Highly recommended)
• College Match: A Blueprint for Choosing the Best School for You (9781575091280): Steven R. Antonoff: Books
• Choosing the Right College 2010-11: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools (9781935191605): John Zmirak: Books

dancetilldawn

This is a great guide, thank you for compiling this! Which ones would you recommend most for a rising senior, someone that doesn't have time to add a bunch of EC's or take 20 more AP classes?

Pancaked

Well done.

How about:
"Reflections on 100,000 Admissions Decisions at Stanford"

I haven't read it personally but I've heard it's pretty solid.

intparent

I have read several of these, found them useful. I would probably say Fiske was most useful to us, our copies are dog eared from use.

One I would add to the list that I liked best of all:

"How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Into College By Standing Out (Without Burning Out)" by Cal Newport

Recoveringhobo

Thanks for compiling this list. I don't agree with some the decisions such as putting Fisk Guide to Colleges over The Best 373 Colleges - but hey - opinions are opinions.

And like dancetilldawn I would also like to know what is best recommended to a rising senior.

illusory

I have to second the Cal Newport recommendation... I read it as a freshman (~2 years ago), and it saved me loads and loads of grief. Of course, I haven't applied for college yet, so I have no idea as to the practical application of his ideas in that realm. But I am a big fan of his blog (been following it for +3 years, woot!), and his studying techniques have had a profound effect on my HS academic career.