Beyond the Headlines: Trends, Truths & Realities of College Admissions Today!

Recent years have seen dramatic and profound changes to the admissions landscape, particularly amongst America's selective universities. For some parents and students, these changes go beyond mere headlines and have introduced anxiety, confusion, and frustration. For others, it begs the question, "Is college even worth it anymore?"

In this presentation, followed by Q&A, Arun Ponnusamy with his admissions experience at three highly selective universities (UCLA, Caltech, UChicago) will draw on his deep college counseling knowledge to break down what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what remains, well, a bit murky when it comes to admission to schools like the Ivies, the UCs, Duke, Stanford and so many others with eye-watering admit rates. Using data, he'll explain how schools like NYU (8%) and Tulane (11%) have joined the highly selective ranks and what that means for students as they build their college lists. Most importantly, he'll share what these famous schools look for now when evaluating student applications. How many APs do you need? How many community service hours do you need?