Crazy U One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid into College

Getting into college drives students to the brink of madness and pushes their parents over the edge.Pummeled by peers, crazed by counselors, and addled by advice books, beloved writer Andrew Ferguson had come to believe that a single misstep in the race to college could wreck his son's future. Crazy U is his disarmingly candid and hilariously subversive chronicle of their family's journey through the admissions game, from the first color brochures landing in the mailbox to the waiting, waiting, waiting for a big envelope with the verdict. In this rollicking ride from the man Christopher Buckley has called "my all-time favorite writer," Ferguson provides a pocket history of higher education in America, recounts the college ranking wars, and passes on the valuable tips he's picked up during his crash course. (Number 36: Don't apply for financial aid after midnight.) He also dares to ask: Why on earth does it all cost so much? Along the way, Ferguson's relationship with his son grows, built from humor, loyalty, and more than a little shared anxiety. In launching his son into the world, this father may find a new place in it for himself.

Andrew Ferguson is a senior editor of the Weekly Standard and the author of Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America, named by the Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune as Favorite Book of the Year. He lives with his wife, Denise, in suburban Washington, D.C. Visit him at www.andrewfergusonbooks.com.