Schools Welcome Bestselling Author
The Common Ground Speaker Series welcomed New York Times columnist and bestselling author Frank Bruni to St. Mark’s on Monday and Tuesday, October 26-27, 2015, before two sold-out audiences of parents from 14 DFW-area schools. Drawing on facts, research, and anecdotes from his new book, Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admission Mania, Bruni encouraged parents and students to rethink the college admission process.
“We should be talking less about where to go and how to get in,” he said, “and more about how you use your college experience once you get in.”
Mr. Bruni taught journalism at Princeton University and spent years researching the admission process, interviewing both college and high school students, and studying the stress and anxiety associated with applying to top-tier schools. Frank proposed to the audience that getting into an exclusive university does not affect a student’s future as much as they might think. He cited that a large majority of U.S. senators, governors, Pulitzer Prize winners, and MacArthur “Genius” Fellows attended schools that were not highly selective.
“If getting into an elite school doesn't have as much of an impact on a student’s life, is the amount of anxiety we pump this process full of worth it?” Frank asked. “The glory of higher education is that we have literally hundreds of colleges where you can get an extraordinary education, and it's a crime when you narrow that down to just a few well-known institutions.”
Frank Bruni is an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times, where he also served as the chief restaurant critic from 2004–2009. His previous books include Born Round and Ambling into History. He was a 1992 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. The Common Ground Speaker Series is an initiative of 14 private schools in the Dallas metroplex that welcomes distinguished authors to speak to parents on relevant issues each year.
Back
“We should be talking less about where to go and how to get in,” he said, “and more about how you use your college experience once you get in.”
Mr. Bruni taught journalism at Princeton University and spent years researching the admission process, interviewing both college and high school students, and studying the stress and anxiety associated with applying to top-tier schools. Frank proposed to the audience that getting into an exclusive university does not affect a student’s future as much as they might think. He cited that a large majority of U.S. senators, governors, Pulitzer Prize winners, and MacArthur “Genius” Fellows attended schools that were not highly selective.
“If getting into an elite school doesn't have as much of an impact on a student’s life, is the amount of anxiety we pump this process full of worth it?” Frank asked. “The glory of higher education is that we have literally hundreds of colleges where you can get an extraordinary education, and it's a crime when you narrow that down to just a few well-known institutions.”
Frank Bruni is an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times, where he also served as the chief restaurant critic from 2004–2009. His previous books include Born Round and Ambling into History. He was a 1992 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. The Common Ground Speaker Series is an initiative of 14 private schools in the Dallas metroplex that welcomes distinguished authors to speak to parents on relevant issues each year.
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
