Dialogues Portfolios: A New Admissions Trend from Schoolhouse.world
Students applying to college in 2025 and beyond are seeing a brand-new opportunity to stand out: Dialogues portfolios.
Created by the nonprofit learning platform Schoolhouse.world (co-founded by Sal Khan of Khan Academy), Dialogues portfolios are a new college admissions credential. Several top universities — including the University of Chicago, MIT, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Colby College, Northwestern, and Washington University in St. Louis — have announced they will accept a Dialogues Portfolio from Schoolhouse.world as part of students’ applications. This development marks a shift in admissions, as colleges pivot to evaluating how students engage in thoughtful discourse and handle differing viewpoints. It comes a time when political discourse feels impossible and colleges are grappling with rapid advancements in AI. In this post, we’ll explore what Dialogues portfolios are, how Schoolhouse.world’s Dialogues Events and Clubs work, and why this trend matters for students.
What Is a Dialogues Portfolio?
A Dialogues portfolio is essentially a certificate and summary of a student’s participation in a series of guided discussions on important topics, demonstrating their communication skills, empathy, and open-mindedness. When a high school student takes part in Schoolhouse.world’s Dialogues sessions, they receive an official portfolio highlighting how those conversations helped them develop as a communicator and critical thinker. The portfolio includes concrete evidence of the student’s dialogue experience – such as the number of discussions completed, topics explored, and feedback from peers – which can be submitted to partner colleges as part of an application. In short, it’s a record of the student’s ability to engage in civil, productive dialogue on complex issues. According to Schoolhouse.world’s help center, the Dialogues portfolio is designed to showcase a student’s open-mindedness, empathy, and communication skills to admissions officers.
Example of a Dialogues portfolio from Schoolhouse.world, highlighting a student's discussion topics and peer feedback (e.g. being noted as "Curious," "Empathetic," etc. by Dialogues partners). Such a portfolio is a supplemental credential students can submit with college applications.
To earn a Dialogues portfolio, Schoolhouse.world requires completing at least 3 Dialogues sessions (either events or club meetings) and submitting a short reflection survey after each. Once these steps are met, the student’s Dialogues portfolio becomes available in their Schoolhouse.world profile, ready to be downloaded or shared with colleges. The portfolio itself is comprehensive – it not only notes the quantity and topics of discussions, but also includes qualitative highlights. For example, students receive peer feedback tags (like being curious, respectful, empathetic, etc.) and even direct quotes from their peers about the conversation. They also provide self-reflections on what they learned. All of this is intended to give admissions committees a multi-dimensional view of the student’s interpersonal and critical-thinking abilities in conversational settings, something traditional essays or test scores may not capture.
Dialogues Events and Dialogues Clubs: Two Ways to Engage
Schoolhouse.world’s Dialogues program offers high school students two main formats to participate and build their portfolio:
Dialogues Events: These are one-on-one Zoom conversations with another student on a thought-provoking topic of your choice. In a casual 30-minute chat, students exchange perspectives on issues ranging from climate change and AI to mental health and immigration. Each Dialogues event pairs you with a peer (matched by the platform) for a single conversation. Schoolhouse provides a discussion guide to help facilitate the talk, but the emphasis is on an open-ended, respectful exchange rather than a structured debate. “It’s not a debate… you do want to give your point of view in a thoughtful way, and be able to understand the other side’s,” explains Sal Khan. This format allows students to practice articulating their ideas and listening to another’s viewpoint in a focused one-on-one setting.
Dialogues Clubs: These are recurring, virtual clubs that meet regularly (usually every other week) for group discussions You join a club with a cohort of students from around the world, often centered on a general theme or a mix of topics. Some clubs run for a few sessions, while others span a semester – offering flexibility for busy students. In club meetings, typically around 10 students come together on Zoom to delve into different sub-topics each session. The atmosphere is like an ongoing seminar or a friendly debate club, but with an emphasis on dialogue over debate. The goal is to form a community and explore diverse perspectives over time. As one Dialogues Club participant noted, “Through Dialogues, I'm able to challenge my thinking and engage in discussions that deepen my understanding of the world.” By joining a Dialogues Club, students not only make new friends across borders but also gain a unique extracurricular experience that colleges may value.
Both formats are completely free and open to any high school student (ages 14–18) globally. After each event or club session, participants fill out a brief survey to reflect on what they learned and to give feedback. This data feeds into the Dialogues portfolio. Notably, students are identified only by first name and last initial during sessions, and video use is optional (though most choose to keep cameras on) – fostering a degree of privacy and comfort. The program also encourages respectful discourse techniques; for instance, students are prompted to try “steelmanning” – actively making the strongest case for the side they personally disagree with – as a way to build empathy and critical thinking.
Hundreds of students have already embraced the opportunity: during the pilot phase, over 600 students participated in more than 2,000 Dialogues sessions before the public launch. Many have found the experience eye-opening, as it connects teens who might never meet otherwise. “Once you go into Dialogues, you realize that there’s a lot more breadth to the world around you,” one student reflected, after talking with peers from different countries.
Why Colleges Are Embracing Dialogues Portfolios
Colleges involved in this initiative are eager to gain new insights into applicants’ character and interpersonal skills. In the wake of recent changes to admissions policies (the 2023 Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action considerations, the emergence of ChatGPT, etc.), universities are looking for additional ways to evaluate students beyond test scores and personal essays. The Dialogues portfolio aligns with this shift by highlighting how a student handles challenging conversations and engages with differing opinions. Admissions officers can see evidence of traits like intellectual curiosity, empathy, respect, and the ability to civilly debate.
Another driving factor is the authenticity of this format. With the rise of AI tools, admissions readers sometimes question whether an applicant’s polished essay truly reflects their own voice and thinking. A dialogue, by contrast, is a real-time interaction – it’s unscripted and harder to fake. When a student submits a Dialogues portfolio, it comes with timestamps and peer-validated feedback from actual conversations, providing a layer of credibility. In fact, Sal Khan’s team has shared recorded Dialogues sessions and transcripts with admissions officials at partner colleges; the response has been very positive. “Their consensus is, this is incredible – these are kids that we would want to accept,” Khan reports of college admissions officers’ reactions.
Crucially, the adoption of Dialogues portfolios is not without precedent. Schoolhouse.world had already developed an academic portfolio for student tutors (documenting their volunteer tutoring and mastery of subjects), which is accepted by over 40 universities. The Dialogues portfolio builds on that concept, focusing on a different dimension of the student. By partnering with Schoolhouse.world, elite colleges are signaling that qualities like communication, empathy, and civic engagement are an important part of what they seek in incoming students. This doesn’t replace traditional metrics like GPA or essays, but serves as a supplemental resource for students to demonstrate personal qualities in a concrete way. Dialgoues portfolios serve a similar function to letters of recommendation, enabling colleges to understand how an applicant behaves amongst others. That said, Dialgoues portfolios are NOT a necessary part of the application process; they are a supplemental material to provide admissions teams with more context, but as of July 2025, they are not required by any college.
That said, it’s worth noting that not everyone in the education community is fully convinced. Some critics caution that a highly polished Dialogues portfolio might end up reflecting students’ coached performance rather than raw authenticity. There’s a concern that teens might learn a performative maturity, where they only engage in civil discourse as a means to gain admission to selective colleges. These observers worry that it could discourage the messy but honest debates that foster real growth. However, proponents argue that the very act of practicing civil discourse is a valuable skill, and that the program’s design (including multiple sessions and self-reflection) pushes students toward genuine understanding, not just performance. As this trend is brand new, its impact will become clearer with time – but the initial reception suggests that colleges find merit in seeing how students engage with others when faced with complex ideas.
What Students Gain from Dialogues
For students, participating in Dialogues Events and Clubs isn’t just about college applications; it’s an enriching experience in its own right. First and foremost, it builds strong communication and listening skills. By regularly talking to peers from different backgrounds, students learn how to clearly express their opinions, ask thoughtful questions, and disagree respectfully. These are life skills that are useful well beyond school. Many participants report increased confidence in speaking about difficult topics and a better ability to consider perspectives other than their own. Such growth in critical thinking and empathy can also be a great talking point in college interviews or application essays (students might reflect on what they learned in their Dialogues sessions).
Another benefit is the exposure to diverse perspectives and global issues. In a typical Dialogues event, you might find yourself discussing climate policy with someone from another continent, or trading views on free speech with a peer who has a very different cultural background. Schoolhouse.world’s platform has connected students from across the United States, India, China, Europe, and more. This global peer-to-peer learning can broaden one’s worldview. It’s like a modern pen-pal or exchange program experience condensed into a half-hour Zoom call. The Dialogues format makes these eye-opening interactions accessible to any teenager with an internet connection.
From an extracurricular standpoint, Dialogues can help students stand out in the eyes of admissions officers. It shows initiative and a commitment to personal growth. Engaging in Dialogues Clubs, especially, can count as a unique extracurricular activity – something a bit different from the usual roster of clubs like debate, Model UN, or sports. In fact, Schoolhouse.world emphasizes that Dialogues Clubs are a distinctive opportunity that can set students apart in the application pool. If you take on a leadership role – say, as a Dialogues Club president or organizer – that’s even more noteworthy (Schoolhouse is rolling out applications for club presidents as the program grows).
Let’s summarize some key benefits of participating in Dialogues for students:
Improved communication & empathy: Regular practice in civil discourse hones your ability to listen actively and articulate ideas clearly, even on sensitive topics. This fosters greater empathy and open-mindedness toward others’ perspectives.
Authentic personal growth: Through real conversations (not just classroom simulations), you often end up challenging your own assumptions and growing intellectually. These experiences can provide rich material to discuss in personal statements or interviews, showing colleges your maturity.
Global connections: Dialogues link you with peers far beyond your local community. You gain international awareness and cross-cultural communication experience – qualities that align with campuses seeking diversity of thought.
A unique credential: The Dialogues portfolio itself becomes a concrete piece of evidence you can submit to highlight your soft skills and character. It’s officially recognized by multiple top universities (see partner colleges here) as a supplemental credential, which can give you an extra edge. Even for colleges that aren’t formal partners, you can still share the portfolio in your applications or resumes to showcase this aspect of your learning. Remember that it is not necessary nor expected for applicants to provide a Dialogues portfolio as part of the 2025-26 cycle.
Cost-free enrichment: Unlike some extracurriculars that may require fees or travel, Dialogues are free and virtual. This lowers barriers to participation – any motivated student can join and benefit, making it an equitable opportunity.
How to Get Involved and Build Your Dialogues Portfolio
If you’re a student (or parent of one) interested in this trend, getting started with Dialogues is straightforward. Here’s how you can participate and earn a portfolio:
Join Schoolhouse.world: Create a free account on the Schoolhouse.world platform (it takes just minutes). This will give you access to all their programs, including Dialogues.
Sign up for Dialogues Events or Clubs: Check the schedule of upcoming one-on-one Dialogues events or available Dialogues Clubs and enroll in sessions that interest you. New topics are posted each week for one-off events, and new club cohorts start each term. You can choose any topic you’re passionate about or simply curious to discuss. (Examples of topics: artificial intelligence, climate change, student debt, mental health, etc., as listed on the site.) If you prefer a single conversation, register for a one-off event at a convenient time. If you want a deeper experience, join a club that fits your schedule – clubs typically meet biweekly and may run for a set number of sessions. All sessions are conducted via Zoom; you’ll receive the meeting link once you sign up.
Participate and engage earnestly: When the time comes, show up to your Dialogues session ready to converse! Each session will pair or group you with other students and provide a facilitator or guide with questions to prompt discussion. Be respectful, keep an open mind, and share your honest thoughts – remember, the goal is to learn from each other, not “win” an argument. If disagreements arise, practice the program’s ethos of civil discussion (for instance, try summarizing the other person’s point to ensure you understand it, or explore why you disagree without attacking). The more genuine and thoughtful your participation, the more you’ll get out of it. After the session, don’t forget to complete the quick post-session survey. This is where you’ll reflect on what you learned and possibly highlight something your partner did well, etc. The survey responses (both yours and your partner’s) are what populate your eventual portfolio. Be honest in your evaluation of others!
Earn and use your portfolio: After you’ve completed at least three sessions (they don’t all have to be the same format – it could be two events and one club meeting, for example) and filled out the surveys, Schoolhouse.world will compile your Dialogues portfolio. Once ready, you can access it through your profile’s “My Portfolio” section. Review it to see all the quotes and feedback gathered from your sessions. You even have the option to request minor edits – for instance, removing a specific quote or correcting a typo in your self-reflection, via a form. Finally, when you apply to colleges, you can upload this portfolio PDF alongside your applications or provide it via portals, wherever the college allows supplemental documents. For the eight partner universities mentioned earlier, they have explicitly noted that they will consider the Dialogues portfolio. But you can send it to other schools too – it can only bolster your application by providing extra insight into your character.
Keep in mind that quality matters more than quantity. While the minimum to earn a portfolio is three sessions, you might choose to do many more if you enjoy them. Each conversation is different and will add more depth to your portfolio (and personal growth). However, avoid the temptation to treat Dialogues as just a box to check off; the whole point is to genuinely engage with others. Admissions officers reading your portfolio will be looking for authenticity and self-awareness. They’ll see the actual comments and reflections – so if you approach Dialogues cynically, it may be apparent. Instead, have fun with the discussions and focus on learning. The portfolio will then naturally reflect your positive engagement, with peer feedback like being “passionate about finding common ground” or “a great listener,” etc., which can truly humanize your college application.
Conclusion
Dialogues portfolios represent an alternative approach to showcasing who you are beyond grades and test scores. In an admissions landscape that is evolving post-affirmative action and grappling with the influence of AI on applications, this initiative from Schoolhouse.world offers a new window into students’ values and interpersonal skills. By participating in Dialogues Events and Clubs, students have a chance to demonstrate qualities like empathy, curiosity, and the ability to engage with opposing ideas – traits that universities and society at large greatly appreciate. Early signs indicate that colleges value these portfolios; when some of the most selective universities say they will officially review an applicant’s Dialogues portfolio, it’s a signal that such experiences matter. However, not everyone in the education community believes the Dialogues experience will live up to its ideals.
For students, whether you’re aiming for the Ivy League or any other college, getting involved in Dialogues can be very rewarding. Not only might it give you an extra edge in admissions, but it can genuinely prepare you for college itself – where classrooms are full of diverse opinions and the ability to discuss and collaborate is key. Through these conversations, you’ll likely gain new insights, challenge your own viewpoints, and sharpen your communication skills. Those are benefits that go far beyond an application; they’re tools for personal growth that will serve you in college and in life.
As with any new trend, it’s wise to approach Dialogues portfolios with both enthusiasm and realism. They are not a magic ticket into college – you still need a strong overall application – but they are a promising platform to showcase a side of you that transcripts and test scores can’t. If this concept resonates with you, our recommendation is to give it a try. Sign up for a couple of Dialogues sessions on a topic you care about, and see how you feel. At the very least, you’ll have an interesting conversation and learn something new. And at best, you’ll walk away with a meaningful credential and experience that enhances your college journey. Regardless, they are not yet a necessary part of the admissions process, and should not be treated as such.
In the fast-changing world of college admissions, Dialogues portfolios hint at a future where who you are as a communicator and collaborator matters. It’s an opportunity to let your voice and mindset shine through.
If you’d like to learn more about Dialogues, explore it at Schoolhouse.world, and let us know what you think of the experience!
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