College Admissions in An Ideal World

Room: Ontario

presented by Ted O'Neill, Dean of Admissions, University of Chicago

Does the college admissions process really need to be so crazy? With record number of applicants, universities are admitting a smaller percentage than ever. Some students apply to 20 colleges or more, and spend thousands of dollars on private college counseling. Add in early decision, early action, a student loan scandal, and the normal stress of senior year, and you have a volatile mix. But Ted O'Neill, one of the most respected and outspoken deans of admissions in North America, believes the process need not be so difficult. We challenged him: if he were able to change whatever he wanted, what changes would he make? How can we work together to move towards a saner, fairer and more balanced system.

Ted O'Neill, Dean of Admissions, University of Chicago
Ted O’Neill has been the Dean of Admissions and Instructor in the humanities at the University of Chicago for the past 20 years, after having served as Associate Director at the university since 1981. Prior to coming back to the university, he was Associate Director of Admissions and Instructor at the Seminar College of the New School for Social Research. His college years were spent at Michigan State University, where he received a B.A. in American Studies. After teaching in The Chicago Public Schools, he received an M.A. in English Language and Literature and then completed course work for the Ph.D. in English from the University of Chicago.