Acceptance is a witty novel by author Susan Coll that epitomizes the crazy, anxious, competitive and often high-stakes world of high school seniors negotiating the college admissions process.

Welcome to Verona, Md., a wealthy suburban enclave that could easily be Cary. Über student Harry ("AP Harry" to his friends) heads to school each day in a coat and tie "as if he were on his way to a job as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company," and is convinced Harvard is the only school for him - because his father has been telling him so since birth. He memorizes college rankings and makes his mother quiz him for fun.

Beautiful, gifted swimmer Maya (who is sick and tired of swimming) has SAT scores so low that her high-achieving immigrant parents seek to have her designated as learning disabled to increase her chances of acceptance to an Ivy League school. Self-destructive, quirky Taylor has only one requirement for her college of choice; that her dorm room has a private bathroom. She could care less about anything academic and can’t wait to get away from her social-climbing mother.

The three teens end up exploring Yates College, an earthy-crunchy liberal arts college in the wilds of upstate New York described by harried admissions counselor Olivia Sheraton as "one of the least idyllic spots on earth … in the remote, depressed and nearly abandoned ghost town of Yates." A mathematical error in U.S. News & World Report’s list of best schools results in Yates being highly ranked and suddenly very desirable.

Seen through the eyes of the three teens, their parents and counselor Sheraton, the admissions process is terrifying and humorous. Teens applying to college and their parents will especially appreciate the chronicles of Harry, Maya, and Taylor. Yet while “Acceptance” entertains, it also educates.

There are kernels of wisdom regarding the admissions process than one usually finds in nonfiction college admissions manuals and, at times, the novel reads like a primer on what applicants should do (and definitely not do) when applying to college.

Sheraton bemoans the countless essays she reads in which Gandhi is the applicant’s role model ("for the love of God, couldn’t a single one of these kids write a lively essay?") and also notes that "essays had become so polished they were practically useless … she couldn’t think of one that hadn’t read as though it had been vetted by a professional copy editor."

Readers may recognize aspects of themselves in Harry, Maya or Taylor, since their combined personality traits cover the human spectra. The moral of the story is that each person will find the right school for him or her — although it might not be the one originally envisioned. A funny read that is a reflection of a stressful rite of passage, “Acceptance” is a great read.

Heidi