The information marketplace around college admissions has become overwhelming and unhelpful for students, writes Jeffrey Selingo for the Chronicle of Higher Ed. Selingo recommends that institutions move beyond rankings-focused marketing and instead build a more “responsible information marketplace.” This marketplace would highlight the data that truly matters—such as quality of teaching, student belonging, and access to mentors—and provide better context for stats on graduation rates, net cost, and job outcomes. He also calls for admissions officers to serve as navigators who help families interpret complex data. These changes, he argues, could help restore trust in the admissions process and better align it with what students and families actually need.
