Ted O'Neill listed as one of "10 Admissions Deans Who Are Shaping Their Field"

[idad]

<p>

Theodore A. O’Neill, dean of college admissions at the University of Chicago, asks people to call him Ted. But some of his colleagues have other names for him, like “guru,” “philosopher-king,” and even “the god of admissions.”</p>

<p>Mr. O’Neill is a deep thinker at an institution that prizes deep thinking, and his insights have won him many listeners. Take “You Must Re-Member This,” an essay he wrote for College Unranked: Affirming Educational Values in College Admissions (Education Conservancy, 2004), a book that examined the causes and costs of ultracompetitive admissions.</p>

<p>In that piece, Mr. O’Neill ruminated on the commercialization of admissions: “Somewhere along the way, the College Board or ETS, or we as members, decided that education in this country could be defined, analyzed, and sold as AP courses. Why romanticize college education? Romance is, after all, antique and relates to mere human storytelling.”</p>

<p>The sarcasm was not lost on those admissions deans and high-school counselors who believe academe’s emphasis on numbers — test scores, selectivity rates, and rankings data — has warped the college recruitment and application process.</p>

<p>During his 25 years at Chicago, Mr. O’Neill has preserved the university’s personalized admissions approach even as he has helped expand its applicant pool. Each year many prospective students (about four-fifths of admitted applicants) accept Chicago’s offer for a personal interview, in which administrators, professors, or alumni meet with students to delve into their intellectual interests and attempt to determine if each applicant is a good match for the university and vice versa.</p>

<p>Mr. O’Neill, who earned his master’s degree at Chicago, personally interviews between 50 and 100 candidates each year. “They don’t all work,” Mr. O’Neill says of the chats. “But the reason they’re so good is that they’re so human.”</p>

<p>Recently Mr. O’Neill helped start an overnight-visit program for prospective minority students. Last year Chicago decided to accept the Common Application, to appeal to more diverse students, but the university will continue to require distinctively quirky essays (such as a response to “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there,” a quote by Miles Davis) on its cherished “Uncommon Application.”</p>

<p>“One of our issues is to keep this a human and small-scale enterprise,” Mr. O’Neill says.</p>

<p>High-school counselors praise Chicago’s admissions staff for being clear about what Chicago is — and is not — when they talk about the university. “He’s always been candid and open about the admissions process, and he tries his best to demystify it,” says Dave Mouldon, a counselor at St. Louis University High School, about Mr. O’Neill. “He’s very clear about his institutional mission, how Chicago isn’t a place for everybody.”

</p>

<p><a href=“University of Chicago News”>University of Chicago News;

[phuriku]

<p>

Each year many prospective students (about four-fifths of admitted applicants) accept Chicago’s offer for a personal interview

</p>

<p>Holy… And I just suggested to someone that they shouldn’t get an interview… better go fix that.</p>

[davnasca]

<p>I love Ted O’Niell. I want to hear one of his welcome speeches so bad…</p>

[dahliaandpearls]

<p>That made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And magnified my Chicago pride! :)</p>

[anon43256521]

<p>Ted O’Neill is just about my favorite person in the entire world. Nothing else to contribute, just that he is. I want to hang out with him and talk about life and stuff.</p>

[corranged]

<p>Are you in his hum section, Jack?</p>

[badman89]

<p>Which course does he teach?</p>

[davnasca]

<p>IDK, but I would donate a kidney to have him interview me when I visit!</p>

[idad]

<p>I believe he has taught (teaches ?) Human Being & Citizen.</p>

<p>Here is a link to his convocation speeches in case anyone has not read them. (They are even better in person)
<a href=“College Admissions at the University of Chicago”>College Admissions at the University of Chicago;

[corranged]

<p>He teaches spring quarter of Human Being and Citizen.</p>

[badman89]

<p>Damn! I wish I could take that course as well but unfortunately I’m very keen on “Philosophical Perspectives on the Humanities”.</p>

[corranged]

<p>He gets mixed reviews as a professor.</p>

[anon43256521]

<p>I’m unfortunately not in his hum class. Also, I just realized that he references my Miles Davis prompt, haha.</p>

[Rogoe]

<p>^^^^
Wow, you wrote that? That was pretty creative, and gave me tons to write about. Probably helped tip the scales in my favor. Not sure what I would’ve done without it, thanks.</p>