Hobart and William Smith Colleges

23 September 2025 • Alums HWS Named a “Dream School” by NYTimes Bestselling Author

New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Selingo cites Hobart and William Smith as a dream school for its strong outcomes, accessible admissions and student experience.

Hobart and William Smith is one of only 75 colleges included in “Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You,” by New York Times bestselling author and higher education expert Jeffrey Selingo.

Selingo’s book shifts the spotlight from how colleges pick students to how students can better pick colleges, with the goal of giving them “tools to discover their dream school,” the author says.

In the book, Selingo recommends 75 colleges based on their strong outcomes, accessible admissions and engaging student experiences. To create his list, Selingo evaluated data from HEA Group, Bain & Company, the National Survey of Student Engagement and the Burning Glass Institute. He also surveyed 3,500 parents.

Selingo praises HWS’ record of strong career outcomes, citing HWS alumni who’ve landed jobs at financial firms including Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley and an 80% acceptance rate for HWS graduates to medical school – which is nearly double the national average.

In 2024, the Wall Street Journal named HWS the No. 4 school in the nation for student experience. In his book, Selingo points to the WSJ ranking as a standout factor and says it’s a reflection of HWS’ commitment to “personalized education and global engagement.”

Selingo also selected HWS because of the “Affordable Return on Investment,” which he determined by identifying the school’s earnings-to-net-price ratio. Schools who made the list have a total net price that is commensurate with how much graduates earn, on average, 10 years after enrolling.

“Dream Schools are where students thrive – where they build confidence, find belonging and launch into meaningful work and life,” Selingo says. Hobart and William Smith was selected, he adds, “because of how it delivers on that promise.”

Order a copy of the book here.

Selingo is also the author of Who Gets In & Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, which was named among the 100 Notable Books of the Year by the New York Times. He is a regular contributor to The Atlantic, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the former top editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education.