Podcast: College Uncovered

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  S2 Eps 2 - Bait and switch

  Colleges work hard to make their prices seem much lower than they actually are. The problem has become so frustrating for families that now there’s an effort to fix it. But don’t hold your breath. Colleges are fighting attempts to make financial aid forms easier to compare and more understandable. We’ll give you tips on how to negotiate for more financial aid and ask for a better offer.

  Listen • 16:54 S2 Eps 2 - Bait and switch
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  S2 Eps 1 - Buyer beware

  Congratulations, you got accepted to college! The next notification you’ll get: a financial aid offer, telling you what it will cost. And those financial aid offer letters are notoriously indecipherable and misleading, making it difficult to make college cost comparisons or even know how much you’ll owe.

  Listen • 15:26 S2 Eps 1 - Buyer beware
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  Season 2 is coming!

  College Uncovered Season 2 is coming! First two episodes drop on Thursday, April 4th.----------Credits:Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon MarcusSupervising Editor: Megan WoolhouseEditor: Jeff KeatingExecutive Producer: Ellen London Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary MottTheme Song and original music: Left-RomanArtwork: Matt Welch Project Manager: Meiqian HeConsulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick RobinsCollege Uncovered is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report and made possible by Lumina Foundation.

  Listen • 2:56 Season 2 is coming!
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  To address climate anxiety, colleges embrace environmental humanities

  While higher education veterans question whether students enrolled in these new courses are learning anything to address the climate crisis and land a job, Harvard students say they're gaining a nuanced understanding of climate issues.

  Listen • 6:58 To address climate anxiety, colleges embrace environmental humanities
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  S1 Eps 8 The Enrollment Industrial Complex

  Colleges are quietly buying – or as they like to spin it, licensing – lists of potential student names and personal information from companies administering tests like the SAT and ACT. The goal? Recruit, but also recruit to reject. The more applicants a college recruits, the more selective and prestigious they seem in the college rankings. In this final episode of Season One, Kirk and Jon explore how both selective and less selective colleges and universities use enrollment and financial aid management strategies to increase their applicant pool, lower admission rates and meet their bottom line. And here’s the key: college is the only industry – outside banking – that can legally access all of your income information and make decisions on your ability to pay before charging you a price. Kirk and Jon trace the origins of these practices back to Boston College in the 1970s and follow the evolution of enrollment management systems into a multi-billion dollar higher ed shadow industry. Colleges now rely on their enrollment management systems to survive and compete for students. And their opaque analysis of a family’s budget can determine whether a student receives steep tuition discounts or “merit scholarships” that can dramatically lower the cost of tuition. These backroom practices have some former administrators concerned about the effects on access to and equity in higher education – and they’re calling for renewed transparency in college . “College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

  Listen • 20:44 S1 Eps 8 The Enrollment Industrial Complex