Hey all, today’s episode is a special one. We had one of our rockstar essay coaches, Shira Harris, sit down with two of her former Matchlighter students, Melina Veliz and Sayem Kamal, to discuss their experiences navigating the college application process as First Generation Low Income Students.
210: The Being Not-Rich Guide
209: Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream
SHOW NOTES
Friends, I enjoyed doing the first series on access and equity so much that I thought, why not do another? This episode is the first of three that focuses on paying for college. My guest for this first episode is Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Professor of Higher Education Policy & Sociology at Temple University, author of Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream. On this episode we discuss:
Why has paying for college become such a problem?
Which students are most impacted by needs insecurity and why don’t students tell their stories of struggle?
How is the current financial aid system broken, and what are some solutions?
How can students avoid getting into debt without getting a degree?
Advice for students currently applying
A really specific way that you, dear listener, can make a difference.
Sara Goldrick-Rab is Professor of Higher Education Policy & Sociology at Temple University, and Founder of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice in Philadelphia, as well as the Wisconsin HOPE Lab.
Dr. Goldrick-Rab’s commitment to scholar-activism is evidenced by her broad profile of research and writing dissecting the intended and unintended consequences of the college-for-all movement in the United States. In more than a dozen experimental, longitudinal, and mixed-methods studies, she has examined the efficacy and distributional implications of financial aid policies, welfare reform, transfer practices, and a range of interventions aimed at increasing college attainment among marginalized populations. Dr. Goldrick-Rab is best known for her innovative research on food and housing insecurity in higher education, having led the four largest national studies on the subject, and for her work on making public higher education free.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
[1:30] Who is Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab?
[2:30] What’s the premise of Dr. Goldrick-Rab’s book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream
[4:10] Why has paying for college become such a problem?
[5:55] What is #realcollege?
[7:26] Why don’t students tell their stories of struggle?
[8:06] How did these students’ stories lead Sara to begin her work?
[10:08] Which students are most impacted by needs insecurity?
[11:55] How is the current financial aid system broken, and what are some solutions?
[14:58] A message to those who feel like there’s no hope...
[17:45] How do students avoid getting into debt without getting a degree?
[20:02] What’s some advice for students who are currently applying?
[22:06] Advice for counselors helping students apply
[24:20] What’s one specific, practical thing each of us can do to make a difference?
Relevant LINKS:
208: Resources for First-Generation Students (and Their Counselors)
SHOW NOTES
Did you know that every year 500,000 academically qualified, lower-income students who should go on to college… don’t? That’s the problem an organization called Strive for College is working to solve. On this episode, which is part 3 of 3 in my series on access and equity, I sit down with their Chief Strategy Officer, Matt Rubinoff, who for years has been advocating for first-generation and low-income students and we discuss, among other things:
What’s so special about being first anyway?
Why first-gen students should take a “What’s in it for me?” approach
Resources for first-gen students and their counselors, including (one of my all-time favorites) the “I’m First! Guide to College,” which highlights resources and opportunities available to first-gen students at hundreds of colleges and universities
Questions first-gen students should ask when researching colleges
The importance of not just getting to college, but getting through it
How first-gen and low-income students can receive not only free mentoring but also free test prep!
PLAY-BY-PLAY
[1:40] Who is Matt Rubinoff?
[3:16] What the problem is Strive for College trying to solve?
[5:21] What’s so special about being first anyway?
[6:44] Why should first-gen students take a “What’s in it for me?” approach?
[8:16] The (amazing) “I’m First Guide to College”
[12:13] Resources for First-Gen Students
[13:33] How to get free mentoring (if you’re a first-gen student)
[15:28] How to become a mentor (if you’re a counselor)
[17:00] Questions first-gen students should ask when researching colleges
[19:57] What does Matt want first gen student to know?
Relevant LINKS:
Use the code COLLEGEESSAYGUY at checkout for 30% off your guide!
