Vero Beach, FL-With college applications at an all-time high, students need an edge to beat out the competition - and author Pam Proctor provides the solution in her new book, The College Hook: Packaging Yourself to Win the College Admissions Game, just published by Center Street.

Pam, a Vero Beach resident who is president of College Application Consultants, Inc., will be featured at an author talk and panel discussion at the Vero Beach Book Center at 1 P.M., Saturday, September 8. She will share proven strategies that have helped her guide hundreds of students throughout the country to the colleges at the top of their wish lists.

"Stellar academic achievement has become commonplace," says Pam, a nationally recognized college counselor who also serves as a consultant to the International Baccalaureate Program of Sebastian River High School. "As a result," she says, "students need a 'hook'- a special passion, talent, or activity that will set them apart from other applicants."

Pam will bring The College Hook to life at the Vero Beach Book Center with the help of Michael Stutzke, Athletic Director of Sebastian River High School, who will discuss the power of athletics as a hook for college admission. During his fourteen years as Athletic Director, he has played a special role in paving the way for students to West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy. In addition, two Saint Edward's graduates featured in The College Hook, Nihar Shah, a sophomore at Northwestern University, and Erika Pagano, a senior at Georgetown University, will tell how they shaped and "marketed" effective hooks that caught the eye of admissions officers.

What sets The College Hook apart from other college guides are more than fifteen real-life case studies of students from around the country - including students from Vero Beach High School, Sebastian River High School, and Saint Edward's School - who have successfully used the "hook" concept to achieve success in college admissions. Using actual résumés, activity lists and essays from winning applications, the book provides a step-by-step program that will enable students to pinpoint and develop a hook, then package and sell themselves to colleges.

" Every student has a hook," says Pam. Whether it's leadership, athletic accomplishments, understanding of other cultures, talents, or aptitudes, Pam insists that every high school student has that one special something that will separate him or her from the pack. Once a student discovers a hook, the next step is pitching it to colleges in a powerful "package" that includes a résumé, activity lists, and essays themed to the hook.

"Start early," says Pam, whose program has enabled students at every level of academic achievement to gain admission to colleges they once thought out of their league.

"In the end, applying to college is all about empowerment," says Pam. "It's about discovering who you are through your hook, and then learning how to promote yourself on paper and in person at every stage of the application process."

For more information about the book and author talk, contact the Vero Beach Book Center, 2145 Indian River Blvd., Vero Beach. 772-569-2050, or log on to www.collegehook.com.