16 Mar New Books to Read in 2025
Families often ask me to share my current reading list. While each new year brings an exciting array of thought-provoking books in higher education and college admissions, here are some of my must-read titles released in 2024 or the first few months of this year. These works dive deep into topics ranging from enrollment management and financial aid strategies to the evolving role of AI in education and the enduring debate over the future of academia.
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (2024)
By Jonathan Haidt
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines the alarming rise in mental health issues among Generation Z, particularly since the early 2010s. He attributes this surge to two primary factors: the decline of unsupervised, play-based childhoods and the pervasive use of smartphones and social media. Haidt argues that overprotective parenting has limited children’s opportunities for independent exploration and risk-taking, essential for developing resilience. Simultaneously, the advent of “phone-based” childhoods has introduced harms such as social deprivation, sleep disruption, attention fragmentation, and addiction. Haidt advocates for collective actions to address this crisis, including delaying children’s access to smartphones and social media, implementing phone-free policies in schools, and promoting environments that encourage unstructured play and independence.
Lifting the Veil on Enrollment Management (2024)
By Stephen Burd
Burd pulls back the curtain on the intricate world of enrollment management in higher education. The book examines how factors such as rankings and institutional finances shape admissions policies, often in ways that contradict the principles of access and equity. This is a must-read for those interested in the hidden mechanics behind college admissions.
Straight From The Admissions Office: Insider Strategies for College Applications (2024)
By Dr. John Durante
Durante draws on his experience hosting The College Admissions Process Podcast to deliver practical tips for students and families. The book compiles advice from admissions professionals across various institutions, providing actionable strategies for crafting standout applications, approaching interviews, and navigating the often-confusing world of financial aid. This book is a roadmap for demystifying the admissions process, perfect for those seeking insider perspectives.
College Sports: Navigating the Intersection of Athletics and Academics (2024)
By Eric Moyen and John R. Thelin
Moyen and Thelin delve into the fascinating and often controversial world of college sports. From debates over student-athlete compensation to the balance between athletics and academics, this book explores the policies and practices shaping collegiate athletics today.
Learning with AI: The K–12 Teacher’s Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (2024)
By Joan Monahan Watson
Watson provides a comprehensive guide for K–12 educators on effectively integrating artificial intelligence tools into the classroom. Building upon the foundational work of José Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson’s Teaching with AI, this book offers practical strategies for utilizing AI to enhance interactive learning, assignment design, and assessment methods. Watson emphasizes the importance of developing AI literacy among educators and students to navigate the evolving educational landscape, promoting critical thinking and information literacy in the age of AI.
The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better (2025)
By Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop
Anderson and Winthrop explore teenage disengagement from learning, identifying four distinct modes: Resisters, who silently struggle; Passengers, who see school as irrelevant; Achievers, who tie their worth to grades; and Explorers, driven by intrinsic curiosity. The book emphasizes fostering the Explorer mindset to inspire a love of learning and provides practical, research-backed strategies for parents and educators to connect with teens, ignite curiosity, and support emotional growth to address the challenges of disengagement and its impact on mental health.
Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn’t Matter—and What Really Does (2025)
By Ned Scott Laff and Scott Carlson
Laff and Carlson empower students to rethink the traditional college journey in this groundbreaking guide. The book challenges the notion that choosing a major defines success, instead advocating for a tailored approach where students craft their own academic and professional pathways. Combining research and real-life stories, Hacking College is a game-changer for students and advisors alike.
The Conversation on Higher Education (2025)
By Mary Churchill
Churchill invites readers into a thoughtful dialogue about the complexities of higher education today. Tackling topics such as academic freedom, the role of liberal arts, and the impact of globalization, Churchill offers a balanced, critical, and hopeful perspective.
Mindset Matters: The Power of College to Activate Lifelong Growth (2025)
By Daniel R. Porterfield
Porterfield’s inspiring book argues that college is more than just a stepping stone to a career—it’s a launchpad for a life of continuous growth. Focusing on developing a growth mindset, the author highlights how colleges can prepare students for a world where adaptability and resilience are essential for success.
Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You (2025)
By Jeffrey Selingo
Set for release in September, this new book from Jeff Selingo focuses on how students should pick colleges, rather than how colleges pick students (the topic of his previous best-seller Who Gets In and Why). Selingo cautions families to disregard rankings (I agree!) and pay attention to what actually makes a college “great”: fostering a sense of belonging, prioritizing relationships with professors, creating hands-on learning opportunities (research, internships, study abroad), and providing robust career services that help students get jobs after graduation. I am excited to read this book, after having been invited to participate in one of Selingo’s focus groups at the 2023 NACAC conference.