In a time when crossing guards are posted to prevent high schoolers from jumping in front of trains and parents shelling out $100K for packaged college applications, education has become a mad race to grab the Ivy ring. Based on experience in admissions with the Ivy League and other highly competitive universities, emerging scientific evidence on the impact of emotional intelligence and mindfulness, and discussions with admissions officers, students, families, and high school counselors, this book is a guide on how to go through the existing, however brutish, college applications process with less stress and anxiety, and more joy and mindfulness.

Equipped with the powerful tools of emotional intelligence and mindfulness, this work acknowledges the reality of what the process is, and challenges young people to reach for a more meaningful ideal for themselves.

This book shares a look at the holistic admissions process and offers an alternative one to the current climate of untenable stress. This updated model aims to shift mindsets from treating the admissions process as a ruthless competition with one externally-prescribed definition of success, to a step in a lifelong journey of curiosity and wonder. By building self-awareness, compassion, resilience, it's possible to navigate the process with greater authenticity, balance, and joy.

Belinda Chiu, EdD, is on the forefront of the movement to democratize emotional intelligence as head of educational innovation for Goleman EI and faculty for the Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Coaching Certification Program. Working with Ignition Coaching LLC and Hummingbirdrcc, her efforts go toward cultivating resilience and leveraging the power of play for a happier, healthier planet. She has worked in undergraduate and graduate university admissions, and published a book on yoga meditations for children and a women's guide to the Camino de Santiago. A member of Valley Improv, Belinda currently lives in Hanover, New Hampshire with Bandit, the pink-nosed pup.