Higher Ed Experts Offer Tips for Finding the Right College Fit

Chris Gruber, Jeff Selingo, Melissa Korn

Best-selling authors Melissa Korn, of the Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post columnist Jeff Selingo; discussion moderated by Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Chris Gruber. 

An acceptance or rejection letter from a college or university reflects the school’s needs as much as the student’s credentials. It is not a judgment on a high school student’s life so far.

High school students should follow what drives them, rather than dive into a club or sport in order to present themselves as something they are not.

Stop fixating on the few schools that admit a small percentage of applicants. Just because you haven’t heard of a college doesn’t mean it’s not a great school.

Two of the most prominent experts and authors on higher education recently visited Davidson College by Zoom for a discussion of how college admission really works. They offered these tips and many more for high school students and their families who are looking for a college.

Bestselling author Jeff Selingo recently released Who Gets In & Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, the result of a year embedded in the admission offices of three very different institutions: the University of Washington; Emory University, in Atlanta; and Davidson.

Melissa Korn is the higher ed reporter for the Wall Street Journal. In her book, Unacceptable: Privilege, Deceit & the Making of the College Admissions Scandal, she peeled back the layers of the celebrity college admission scandal that rocked Hollywood, college athletics and the public’s faith in higher education all at the same time.

Watch the discussion for more insights and recommendations on how to navigate the admission world.

Published

  • November 20, 2020

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