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Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You
Event Details
Parents and college-bound students are invited to join best-selling author Jeff Selingo for an informative talk that explores how students can define and find their ideal college experience — one rooted in growth, belonging, and opportunity.
In his newest book, Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You, Selingo uses more than two years of research and a survey of some 3,000 parents to give families permission to think more broadly about what signals a “good” college, offering the tools to help them discover their dream school.
There will be a book signing before the talk at 5:30 pm. The talk will begin at 6 pm.
Copies of Dream School will be available for purchase at the event.
This event is presented in association with and through the generous support of Horizon Foundation.
Why You Should Come
Getting into prestigious schools has become a kind of lottery. “Plan A” may work out, but increasingly it doesn’t. In Dream School, Selingo urges families to ditch the “Top 25 or bust” mindset and look beyond the usual suspects. Hidden-gem schools with incredible value and rich opportunities are waiting to be discovered.
Backed by unparalleled research — and an eye-opening survey of more than 3,000 parents — Dream School reveals what really matters in a college: strong job prospects after graduation, hands-on learning experiences, and a sense of belonging.
To help students find their perfect match, Selingo highlights 75 accessible and affordable colleges that will satisfy those priorities. The list of 75 "New" Dream Schools are colleges that might not (but perhaps should) be on your radar. It isn't a ranking, nor is it a comprehensive catalog. It’s a sampling of schools designed to expand your thinking — and your search.
About Dream School
From the best-selling author of Who Gets In and Why, a must-have playbook for families coping with a more stressful era of startling low admission rates and sky-high prices — one that widens the aperture beyond the Top 25 schools and connects students, parents, and counselors with quality, affordable choices.
Attending college has long been a rite of passage for millions of teens and a bedrock of the American dream. But that well-worn path has lately taken a wrong turn, denying admission even to super-achievers and putting intolerable stress on family finances. Now, in Dream School Jeffrey Selingo shifts the spotlight from how colleges pick students to how students can better pick colleges.
Organized into three easy-to-digest sections, Dream School explains why elite college degrees turn out to matter less than you think, why many parents and students are choosing value over prestige, and how to make sure the degree really pays off. In these pages, Selingo’s engaging style and expert insights turn what is often an unnavigable maze into a clear roadmap.
Destined to become the ultimate guide for families crossing the perilous college admissions landscape, Dream School isn’t just a book — it’s a lifeline for those who can find themselves trapped in an overwhelming process.
About the Author
Jeff Selingo has written about colleges and universities for more than 25 years and is a New York Times bestselling author of four books. His latest, Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You (September 2025), draws on more than two years of research and a survey of some 3,000 parents to give families permission to think more broadly about what signals a “good” college and then the tools to discover their dream school. He is also the author of Who Gets In & Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, named one of the New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of the Year in 2020.
A regular contributor to The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, Selingo is a special advisor to the president and professor of practice at Arizona State University. He writes the biweekly newsletter Next and co-hosts the podcast Future U. He lives near Washington, D.C., with his family.
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