Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You
4.7 | 104 ratings
Price: 19.7
Last update: 12-16-2025
Product details
- Publisher : Scribner
- Publication date : September 9, 2025
- Language : English
- Print length : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1668056208
- ISBN-13 : 978-1668056202
- Item Weight : 1.15 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank:#1,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Higher Education Administration
- College Entrance Test Guides (Books)
- Education Administration (Books)
- Customer Reviews:4.74.7 out of 5 stars(101)
Top reviews from the United States
- traceyj1234More than one way to a quality educationAs a high school counselor, I watch students and parents driving teens to the brink of exhaustion trying to get into the "right" school. I will not deny that there are some benefits to certain highly selective schools, but the issue is that very few do get in there, even if they are capable, and then what? Students think their future will not be as bright or that they will have fewer opportunities, and this book debunks that idea with research and sound principles. Finding a school that works with your strengths, your goals, and your budget is paramount today, and the very best way to create a future that brings fulfillment. Well-written and researched, this book should be reassurance for parents and students that there are many schools that can provide quality education and opportunities for our young people.
- Tracy Y.Parents of HS Students: READ THIS BOOK!A must-read book for parents navigating the "IVY OR BUST" aspirations of all top-performing high school students. Families simply can not afford the near-100K/year tuition for these institutions. It's unsustainable, and adding soul-crushing debt (before a career is even begun!) is not what parents want for our students. Enter Dream School: a guide to finding YOUR student's opportunity (and less expensive education) amid the noise and rah-rah of aggressive college recruiting. The book is a fast, comprehensive read which gives parents guidance and "permission" to consider schools with less name recognition/lower cost, but with high performance teaching and reasonable return on investment (ROI.) Remember the goal: a college degree for a happy, fulfilled student ready to enter the job market or grad school.
- DLPermission to Help My Child Find JoyAs a parent starting the college search process, I've really come to appreciate Jeff's insights in his previous books, podcast and newsletter. So pleased to finally have this book at my disposal, and less than a month in, it's already dog-eared and marked up!
Like most parents out there, I'm fighting my own internal inertia to align my child's accomplishments against the "metrics" (real or imagined) of admission, and gravitating towards the big names. If you are in that stage, I'll say from personal experience that now is a great time to pick up this book. It's a quick read (for someone who's not a "reader"), and it plants the right questions and data in your head to open your perspective.
Its funny, every good parent I know just wants their kid to be happy, to find their joy in life. When it comes down to it, our only equating of big name to their happiness comes a derivation that success brings happiness, and big school brings success. As Jeff suggests, this book doesn't say DON'T seek the big name... It just gives permission to look more broadly, that the same success, and perhaps even greater happiness, can be found elsewhere. Now we just need need to make sure our kids see that too, and they are empowered to seek their joy with our full support.
There is still data in here that confirms name schools do convey certain advantages. Whether those advantages align with a child's success and happiness is the question we can chase in this process. I, for one, really appreciate Jeff's efforts to make the case for the broader search and taking the time to do it with excellent, fresh analysis of the data in hand. Maybe this book and others generate the momentum to continuing these unique data streams to break the US News/Naviance overload of the process.
Good luck to everyone in a similar boat, and I hope you find this as useful a reference as I did. - ChrisSmart analysis that gets you past parental cocktail party chatterLook, I work at a college and I admit that I tore through the book to see if my college made it into the book (it didn't). But Jeff is right and uses the correct data to look beyond the brand name and get to the real issues that impact a student's experience during college (and success after college). A great read.
- Pamela F Roperexcellent analysis, with practical adviceThis is a great pairing to his book,”Who Gets In and Why,” but with the focus on the data points and attributes that should be meaningful in a student’s evaluation of college options. Very readable and useful.
- Pen NameKnowledge SeekerA comprehensive, thorough guide and enjoyable read in the pursuit of seeking the best college for the individual student. The book is evidence knowledge is powerful. I recommend parents and willing students read the book.
- Mindy LA must read for parents of high school students.If you have a high school student, this book is a must read. Jeff Selingo has immense knowledge and has done detailed research to help families find institutions of higher learning where their students will thrive. Learning how to evaluate colleges that offer excellent value and return on investment both for career and intellectual and social growth is a key component to this book. Definitely a worthy read.
- Devorah Heitner, PhDExcellent, readable, pragmatic book on choosing a college.Excellent and readable book that empowers families and young people to make thoughtful choices without falling into the fairy tale trap of magical thinking about a very small group of schools. As always, Selingo's work is well-reported with great stories and strong data to back up his conclusions. Pragmatic and actionable. If you have a high schooler or a middle schooler, read this ASAP.