Podcast Summary: College Bound Mentor
Episode: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You with Jeff Selingo
Date: September 11, 2025
Host: Lisa, Abby, and Stefanie (College Bound Mentor)
Guest: Jeff Selingo, New York Times bestselling author and higher education expert
Overview
This episode features an in-depth conversation with Jeff Selingo on his new book, Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You. The discussion explores the rapidly changing landscape of college admissions post-COVID, the myths and realities surrounding college selectivity, the need to broaden the college search, and how students and families can prioritize fit and value over brand prestige. Selingo and the hosts break down actionable advice for students and parents, share relevant data and stories, and challenge long-held beliefs about what constitutes a "dream school."
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Changes in College Admissions Since COVID-19
Timestamps: 03:03–05:37
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Top Five Impacts:
- Test-Optional Policies: 100+ schools went test-optional during the pandemic, and many stayed that way, leading to more applications.
- Application Inflation: Students are applying to more colleges than ever, causing "application inflation."
- Yield Volatility: Unpredictable student acceptances make enrollment management more challenging.
- Early Decision/Early Action Growth: More schools now offer early application options, including large public universities.
- Value Questioning: Families scrutinize the return on investment, especially after seeing their students' remote learning experiences.
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Quote:
"The outcomes, by the way, are not as different as they think they are between the highly selective and the less selective institutions."
— Jeff Selingo, 08:42
2. The Reality of Hyper-Selectivity
Timestamps: 06:27–10:59
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Early Application Cuts: Highly selective schools, like Duke, now cut a large portion of applicants early—sometimes in 15 minutes—because of volume and time constraints.
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Families Struggle with Selectivity: Many parents find it hard to accept that super elite schools are "near impossible" to get into.
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Widen Your Lens: The book and episode encourage looking beyond the top-ranked schools and focusing on fit, engagement, and transformation.
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Quote:
"Rather than focusing on those schools, we need to widen our search to find schools that will engage the students, transform them, be a good value for the families."
— Lisa/Abby, 07:47 -
Quote:
"I'm not discouraging students from applying to these highly selective schools...but I am encouraging them to widen their lens."
— Jeff Selingo, 08:42
3. Outcomes Over Prestige
Timestamps: 12:33–15:30
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Honest Conversations: Admissions at top schools has become so competitive that parents must acknowledge how slim the odds are.
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Focus on Outcomes: For most students, average outcomes at selective and less selective schools are quite similar, especially for popular majors like business and STEM.
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Undergraduate Experience: The quality of teaching, mentorship, and engagement often runs higher at less selective schools.
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Quote:
"With the exception of the highly selective liberal arts colleges, most highly selective universities are there for one reason, and that's for graduate students, not for undergrads."
— Jeff Selingo, 14:21
4. The Rise of "Value" and Shifting Parental Priorities
Timestamps: 15:57–18:22
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"Quiet Luxury" in Higher Ed: Gen X parents are less brand-focused and more value-driven compared to previous generations—they're less willing to pay full price for a prestigious undergraduate experience.
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Skip-Over Schools: Some mid-tier privates are losing full-pay students, with parents choosing either elite schools at full price or less selective schools with merit discounts.
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Quote:
"The big change...is that [Gen X parents] are willing to kind of skip over...brands that 10, 15 years ago parents would have gladly paid full price for."
— Jeff Selingo, 17:58
5. Student Engagement and the Power of Fit
Timestamps: 19:50–24:00
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NSSE Student Engagement Data: Across 900 colleges, engagement scores were similar regardless of selectivity, with less selective institutions sometimes scoring higher on faculty interaction.
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Importance of Mentorship: Students who thrive often cite access to engaged faculty over brand-name recognition.
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Quote:
"At all levels of selectivity, only 4 or 5 percentage points were the difference between the most selective colleges and the least selective colleges [in terms of engagement]."
— Jeff Selingo, 21:34
6. Foundational vs. Technical Skills: What Employers Want
Timestamps: 24:20–28:44
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Foundational Skills: Critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving.
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Specialized/Technical Skills: E.g., coding, data analytics; increasingly demanded in job postings.
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Winning Combination: Students should seek colleges that help pair these skills—major in a liberal art and pick up in-demand technical micro-credentials.
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Quote:
"Having this, this broad set of foundational skills is great as long as you pair it with something that gives you a very specialized skill in a major."
— Jeff Selingo, 27:48
7. How to Research "Dream Schools"
Timestamps: 29:40–34:47
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Appendix Guide: Selingo's book includes a curated "new dream schools" appendix—75 accessible, financially sound, outcomes-strong colleges.
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Categories:
- Hidden Values: Smaller privates off the mainstream radar.
- Breakout Regionals: Robust state schools/local heroes.
- Large Leaders: Big publics not usually top-of-mind compared to flagship universities.
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Selection Criteria: Excluded hyper-selective schools (under 20% admit rate), prioritized financial health and strong earnings outcomes for students.
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Quote:
"It's not a ranking, it's not a rating, it's not a definitive list...it's to give us some examples that put the tools that I outline in the book to work."
— Jeff Selingo, 30:28
8. Myths and Real Truths about College Selection
Timestamps: 34:47–38:57
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Myth: Rankings or selectivity are accurate proxies for quality.
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Truth: Outcomes and satisfaction often don't correlate with selectivity; many less selective ("buyer") schools offer strong financial aid and student outcomes.
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Example: Students have succeeded—sometimes more than at name-brand schools—when attending small or regional colleges, especially regarding grad school access.
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Quote:
"You could get a really good deal at less selective institutions...many of them, by the way, end up in the dream school list at the end of the book and have great outcomes to boot."
— Jeff Selingo, 35:06 -
Quote:
"She ends up going to Harvard Law School and not only that, but ends up on the Harvard Law Review from this very tiny liberal arts college..."
— Jeff Selingo, 37:55
9. Giving Parents Permission to Choose the Right Fit
Timestamps: 39:39–41:36
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Social Pressure: Prestige matters more to neighbors and communities than to students or parents themselves.
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Permission Structure: Selingo seeks to empower parents to look beyond prestige and normalize the search for "fit" and value—predicting a shift in what parents will brag about, from cost paid to merit earned.
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Quote:
"It's okay that my kid is not going to those highly elite colleges. By the way, I'm going to have a lot more money to spend on them...they might end up with a great mentor, they might really discover their true passion because they're not so pressured."
— Jeff Selingo, 39:39
Notable Quotes & Moments
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On the evolution of college admissions:
"Admissions didn't change for 65 or 70 years...and then it changed a lot. Just in the last five years."
— Jeff Selingo, 03:03 -
On the value discussion:
"It's not where you go, it's what you do with it. The mentors you make, the connections you make, the opportunities you take."
— Lisa/Abby, 11:46 -
On breaking the myth of selectivity:
"Rankings and selectivity...are seen as a proxy for quality among parents and they're not."
— Jeff Selingo, 35:06 -
On future parent bragging rights:
"Maybe now that will be the new bragging rights is how little did I pay for college and how much merit did my kid get?"
— Lisa or Abby, 41:29
Useful Timestamps by Segment
- Guest Introduction: 00:19–01:26
- Overview of admissions changes: 03:03–05:37
- Hyper-selectivity & early application review: 06:27–10:59
- Advice on searching beyond prestige: 10:59–15:30
- Value-driven decision making: 15:57–18:22
- Surprises from research: student engagement: 19:50–24:00
- Practical skills colleges should foster: 24:20–28:44
- How Jeff built his “Dream Schools” list: 29:40–34:47
- Debunking myths/truths about college choice: 34:47–38:57
- Permission structure & social pressures: 39:39–41:36
Takeaways
- The admissions landscape is far more competitive, unpredictable, and complex than even just a few years ago.
- There is increasing evidence that engagement, mentorship, and outcomes are at least as strong—if not stronger—at less selective, “under the radar” colleges.
- Parents and students are encouraged to dig deeper than rankings and prestige, assess true outcomes, and consider fit and value.
- The future of college bragging may shift toward financial savvy and discovering unique opportunities, not just name-brand recognition.
For more insights: Check out Jeff Selingo’s new book Dream School, his Next newsletter, or his podcast Future U. For support in the college process, visit collegeboundmentor.com.