On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Amanda Miller, who got her start in financial aid through Davidson College’s Advising Corps in 2014. A few thousand students, several resources, and dozens of financial aid presentations later, Amanda hasn’t lost her love of explaining the ins-and-outs of financial aid to folks who just want to figure out how to pay for college. She’s an independent financial aid specialist and college adviser who also serves as the financial aid go-to lady for the Matchlighters program and someone we consider to be a part of the extended College Essay Guy family.
211: Financial Aid Tips for International Students (and Their Counselors)
This is the last episode in a three-part series on paying for college. My guest is Joan Liu, a college counselor who has a giant heart to go with her giant brain. In this episode she draws on her years of experience helping international students who need financial aid in order to attend college in the US.
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?
