college bound and gagged - drnancyberk.comdrnancyberk.com/images/press/cbgpresskit-berk-pdf.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
This year, over three million students will graduate from high school. Approximately 70 percent will enroll in college. And at least a few million parents will tear their hair out. Stuck in a confusing, compe??ve, and costly process with a moody teen, parents are le@ searching for support, solu?ons, and reassurance that their kid will get into college and their family will return to normal.
College Bound and Gagged: How To Help Your Kid Get Into A Great College without Losing Your Savings, Your Rela@onship, or Your Mind (on sale October 14, 2011; Nancy Berk Media LLC; ISBN:978-‐0615548838, $15.95) is the straight-‐talking survival guide for anyone who needs to rein in their high school student or the crazy process. Whether it’s ?me to buckle down or calm down, author Nancy Berk, Ph.D., gives parents ?ps and insight to nurture student success, preserve family resources, and maximize rela?onships.
College Bound and Gagged tackles procras?na?on, confusing procedures, compe??ve parents, standardized test anxiety (especially parent anxiety), campus tour trauma, admissions office disasters, and all the other bumps on the road to higher educa?on. With top ?ps from leading college experts, top-‐five lists to keep you informed, helpful online and print resources, fun illustra?ons, and humor that will hit home, this book is the prescrip?on for every family on the college journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHORNancy Berk, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, award-‐winning humorist, comic, professor, and former admissions commi_ee member, who was shocked to find herself as panicked as the rest when her older son began his college search. She quickly realized that parents needed strategy AND humor to keep smiling through the process. A frequent contributor to Chicken Soup For The Soul, she blogs for The Huffington Post, USA Today College, and MORE Magazine. Author of Secrets of a Bar Mitzvah Mom (2005), Nancy’s been spotlighted in The New York Times and interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSN, and na?onal magazines.
Nancy has appeared on television, stage, and radio, and hosts two podcasts: Whine At 9 and The College Mom Minute. This year she will give one of the keynote speeches at the American Marke?ng Associa?on’s Higher Educa?on Symposium, and will be a featured speaker at The Women’s Summit 2012, as well as the Erma Bombeck Wri?ng Workshop. Nancy and her husband Ron are the proud and relieved parents of a college graduate and a college freshman.
Nancy Berk Media LLCContact: Nancy Berk [email protected]/412.721.8239
Parents need a li_le ?me-‐out, a lot of guidance, and some laughs when it comes to their kid’s college search and selec?on. Some?mes the stakes
seem as high as their anxiety, but now there’s a solu?on....
COLLEGE BOUNDAND GAGGED
The survival guide for all college-‐bound families
On sale October 14, 2011
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“This book is a great college companion wri_en in a language we really understand -‐ by a parent, for parents! College Bound and Gagged is a helpful and humorous resource that can aid in the college search process." ~ CollegeProwler.com, A leading college search site by students for students
“What's been missing among the guides on surviving the college admissions process has been humor. Nancy Berk, PhD, helps you laugh your way through the process with terrific resources and ?ps for paren?ng. It's like having a comic with creden?als in your corner.” ~ Z. Kelly Queijo, Founder Smart College Visit, Inc.
“If you're the stressed out parent of a college-‐bound teen, Dr Nancy Berk has the perfect prescrip?on. You'll learn, you'll laugh and you will survive brilliantly with her smart ?ps, shortcuts and stress bus?ng ideas. Nancy is your one stop college therapist!” ~ Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO Just Ask A Woman, Author, What She’s Not Telling You
“The process of finding a college for your no-‐longer-‐li_le one is enough to make any parent ill. Now humorist/psychologist/blogger Nancy Berk, PhD, has come up with a handy book that guides you through all the big and small bumps in the road. Throughout, Berk s?cks to one important axiom: If you want to keep your sanity, laughter is the best medicine.” ~ Nancy Stedman, Deputy Editor, Health, MORE Magazine
“Many Savvy Aun?es invest in their nieces' and nephews' college savings plans so we're invested in their future and almost as anxious and proud as their parents. Nancy Berk's guide will help us cope -‐ and help us help their parents cope too!” ~ Melanie Notkin, Author, Savvy AunLe: The UlLmate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-‐Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Have Kids
“Dr. Berk perfectly captures the angst and frustra?on of the college applica?on process in a hilarious and truth-‐telling book that is chock full of prac?cal advice.” ~ Elizabeth Scarborough, CEO, SimpsonScarborough
Nancy Berk Media LLCContact: Nancy Berk [email protected]/412.721.8239
COLLEGE BOUND AND GAGGEDBy Nancy Berk, Ph.D.ISBN: 978-‐0615548838Nancy Berk Media LLC$15.99
Excerpts from college Bound and Gagged
ATTITUDES: “Many parents run a ?ght ship, but parents of college-‐bound teens can feel like they’re running a ba_le ship. Teen artudes can become more extreme during the college search. Whether it’s adolescent egocentrism (“the world revolves around me” and “everyone’s looking at me”), struggles for independence, academic obliga?ons, applica?on demands, or fear of the unknown, it’s unpleasant and usually unavoidable. Many parents run a ?ght ship, but parents of college-‐bound teens can feel like they’re running a ba_le ship. Some days, your world will feel like a remake of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. You’re on guard, issuing ul?matums and always the bad guy. Life is totally repe??ve. You remind, nag, go to sleep, wake up, and do it again. You wonder how your teen will complete four years of college when she can’t scare up the enthusiasm to even finish the applica?on. You’re exhausted and she probably is too.”
STANDARDIZED TESTS: “During my son’s junior year, I woke up in the middle of the night swea?ng, but this ?me it wasn’t from a hot flash. In my dream, or to be more accurate—nightmare—I was taking the SAT. I didn’t have a pencil, a calculator, or a clue. (And I was naked and my teeth were falling out, but that’s beside the point.) That’s when I woke up and panicked. Was I a bad mother? I’d take a bullet for my kid but not the SAT.”
OTHER PARENTS: “If you think all parents of seniors hold hands and form support groups, now’s the ?me for a li_le reality therapy. Not all parents are bad, but it only takes a few to make you crazy. The college search does funny things to parents. Personali?es become exaggerated and all bets are off. Some share helpful ?ps and insights. Others become compe??ve, secre?ve, and resenwul. And fair-‐weather friends become your best friends, but only if you’re an Ivy League alum. Other parents will help you, but it’s hard to predict who they will be un?l you’re smack in the middle of the process. There are five parent prototypes you’re bound to bump into. Not all are pleasant, BUT you can learn from all of them. And don’t panic if you see a li_le bit of yourself in each one. The college search can do that to the best of us.”
THE TOUR DE CHANCE: “Yes, there’s a chance you will visit a campus and your teen will refuse to get out of the car. It’s pre_y common, totally baffling, and goes something like this….Son: I’ve seen enough; let’s go.Parent: But we haven’t even parked the car yet.Son: You don’t think I can tell already? I DON’T like it here.Parent: But we’re finally here. Let’s get out and look around.Son: Nope. You go ahead if you want to. I’m just gonna wait here.So what’s the solu?on? The easiest one is to respect the illogical teen refusal. A@er all, some claim if he is miserable at first sight, he will be miserable for four years if you force the issue. Do I agree? No, but have you ever tried to pull a 6 foot tall 17-‐year-‐old out of a parked car and make him follow you around campus? This is when gentle threats, reasonable bribes, and guilt (“Do something for me for a change!”) come in handy.”
Nancy Berk Media LLCContact: Nancy Berk [email protected]/412.721.8239
5 Normal Things That’ll Drive You Crazy 1. The “Are You Kidding Me?” Teen Eye Roll2. The “You NEVER Said That” Teen Hearing Problem3. The “This Is Ridiculous” Teen Stomp Off4. The “OMG I Can’t Even Believe You” Teen Sigh5. The “I’d Say ‘I Hate You,’ But I Know Be_er” Teen Grunt
talking points! ! with Nancy Berk, Ph.D., Author
1. What prompted you to write College Bound and Gagged?
2. ! What surprised you most about the college search and selec?on process?
3. ! What are parents’ biggest pet peeves during this process?
4. ! What are teens’ biggest pet peeves during this process?
5. ! When it comes to college, are parents and students ever on the same page?
6. ! How can humor help parents and teens on the college-‐bound journey?
7. ! What are 5 secrets about college search and admissions success that most parents don’t know?
8.! Can you share a few simple, money-‐saving ?ps for the college journey?
9.! There are some funny parent prototypes in this book, like the desperately crea?ve standardized tes?ng mom. (armed with a glue gun and gli_er she creates her own SAT flashcards) Were you any of these types?
10. You’ve pushed two sons through this process. What would you have done differently?
UPCOMINg Speaking Events
November 8, 2011 Keynote Speaker, American Marke?ng Associa?on’s Higher Educa?on Symposium. Chicago, IL.
March 15. 2012 Speaker, The Women’s Summit 2012. Providence, RI.
April 20-‐21, 2012 Presenter, The Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop. Dayton, OH.
Nancy Berk Media LLCContact: Nancy Berk [email protected]/412.721.8239