This year, we were lucky to work with some of the most driven, reflective, and self-directed students in the country. Many were admitted to some of the most selective colleges in the U.S.—from Stanford and Yale to UT Austin’s CS and Business Honors programs. These weren’t students who simply checked every box. They were students who built something.  In almost every standout application we read, there was a throughline—a summer capstone project that brought the student’s story into focus.

The 2025 admissions cycle revealed something parents and students can no longer afford to overlook: colleges are not just evaluating students. They are building classes that reflect a carefully designed set of institutional priorities. While your teen may have done "everything right," the schools they applied to were also weighing factors well beyond grades and test scores. Understanding these factors is key to helping families navigate the process with less stress and more clarity.

In the rush to help our kids succeed, we may be quietly steering them away from the very roles that hold our communities together.  Careers in teaching, social work, counseling, journalism, and the humanities were once seen as noble, purpose-driven paths. But today’s college students are walking away from them in large numbers. And while it’s tempting to celebrate the surge in tech and health degrees, there’s a deeper story beneath the data—one that every parent of a teenager needs to hear.

When it comes to preparing for college, summer doesn’t need to be expensive to be impactful. In fact, many of the most powerful growth opportunities are free. Whether it’s volunteering, launching a creative project, or taking on a self-directed learning experience, what matters most is how a student engages with the experience. A thoughtfully chosen summer activity can help a student discover their interests and clarify what they might want to study in college. It can also provide the kind of story colleges remember—one that shows curiosity, initiative, and heart.

If your teen isn’t in the top 5% of their class, you’ve probably heard some version of this:  “There’s no way they’ll get into UT.” It’s a myth we hear all the time—and it’s simply not true. Yes, UT Austin is more competitive than ever. With over 90,000 applicants for the Class of 2025 and an admit rate of just 24% , the numbers tell a clear story. And for students who are not in the top 5% , the odds drop even further: the admit rate for non-auto-admit students was just 11% .