Saint Ursula Academy hosted the first of its Winter Virtual Parent Speaker Series speakers on Monday, December 14. Nearly SUA 100 families joined the SUA Counseling Department as they presented New York Times bestselling author Jeff Selingo. Jeff immersed himself in the world of college admissions for a year to answer the question on the minds of teenagers and their parents: how do colleges select their freshman class?
In this conversation along with members of the Saint Ursula Academy Counseling Department, Jeff dispelled the entrenched notions of how to compete and win at the admissions game, revealed why families have much to gain by broadening their notion of what qualifies as a “good" college, and explained how the pandemic will impact admissions.
The conversation, facilitated by SUA counselors Laura Roman and Wendy Long, was followed by audience Q&A, based on questions parents submitted online. 
Jeff also discussed his new book “Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions,” which has been named an Editors’ Choice by the New York Times Book Review.
For the book, Jeff was embedded in three admissions offices — the University of Washington, Emory University, and Davidson College — and followed a group of high-school seniors through the process as well as players behind-the-scenes, including the marketers, the financial-aid consultants, and the rankers. You can view the recorded Parent Series session with Jeff Selingo through December 21, 2020.
This is just the first of several planned sessions for parents this winter. Please watch your email for notifications about future Virtual Parent Speaker Series events. Still to come:
Jeffrey Schiffman
Director of Admissions at Tulane University
Tips for Parents and Guardians in the College Application Process
Tuesday, January 12th at 4:00 pm
Todd Provenzano, LPCC-S
St. Aloysius Managing Director, Clinical Service, and Partnership
Coping with Anxiety and Stress-The Sanctuary Model
Date TBD