Crazy for College: The Stories, The Secrets, & The Shot of Sanity You Need to Make it Through Admissions

On Tuesday April 21 at 6:30 pm, Scarsdale’s Beth Heller Gelles, author of Crazy for College (2026), will appear at the Scarsdale Library with Duncan Wilson and you’re invited.

The college admissions process has gotten a little out of hand. Between test-optional policies, shrinking acceptance rates, and a lack of transparency around what colleges are genuinely looking for, families are overwhelmed and often more stressed than they need to be.

In conversation with Duncan Wilson, a current school principal and former school superintendent of a public school in Westchester, Scarsdale resident Beth Heller Gelles, co-founder of Acceptance Ahead and author of Crazy for College: The Stories, The Secrets, & The Shot of Sanity You Need to Make it Through Admissions, presents a candid, funny, and refreshingly honest discussion of what really matters (and what really doesn’t). Gelles has visited 160+ campuses and guided hundreds of families over the past fourteen admissions cycles, helping them navigate the process with clarity, perspective, and far less chaos at home.

Gelles offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process and share practical, reassuring advice on:

What matters, what doesn’t, and where families should focus first

How to rethink activities and interests in a way that feels authentic

Building a thoughtful, well-balanced college list based on who a student is — not just the name on the sweatshirt and protecting your teen’s well-being — and your relationship with them — along the way.

Part memoir, part guide, and part sanity check, Crazy for College is for parents who want to support their kids without losing their minds in the process.

Class fee includes an advance copy of the book, due out in May.

Beth Heller Gelles is the co-founder of Acceptance Ahead. For more than fourteen years, she has worked closely with students and families navigating the increasingly complex college admissions process, bringing perspective and calm to one of the most stressful chapters of modern parenting.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 • 6:30pm-7:45pm
Scarsdale Adult School Course 14004 -- $50

Click here to sign up:

The Scarsdale Schools will host three Town Hall events in advance of the May 19, 2026, bond vote.

Tuesday, April 21st, at 7 PM in the Scarsdale High School Auditorium

Monday, May 4th, at 7 PM at Fox Meadow Elementary School

Wednesday, May 6th, at 7 PM at Edgewood Elementary School

Each event will include a presentation of the proposed projects along with a chance for discussion, questions, and answers. Building tours will be available at Fox Meadow and Edgewood starting at 6:30 PM on May 4th and 6th, respectively. For more details, please visit our Bond page at https://www.scarsdaleschools.org/bond2026.