The essay is a vital piece in the college application puzzle; portraying the strengths and challenges of aspiring high school students. In this bonus episode of "College Uncovered," Tayana Antoine describes for the producers of the "Dear College" podcast, the similarities between a teen mom and an older sister. How her dual role as caretaker for her siblings and maturing adult sometimes can clash but also brings her much delight.

Learn more about the Dear College podcast here: www.dearcollegepodcast.org

While there are a lot of tests to get into college, there are no exit exams to get out. Despite the soaring price of tuition and the benefits a degree offers, researchers have found that undergrads often spend little time studying compared to other activities like working, socializing or partying. As a result, many show limited gains in critical thinking — the hallmark of American higher education. 

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

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Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

Students at one New York university have a surprise awaiting them: an $8,000-a-year “academic excellence fee.” We have to ask: Isn’t academic excellence included in tuition? In fact, tuition is only part of the cost of college. Like car dealerships, schools are nickel-and-diming consumers with huge fees — fees for student activities, fees for athletics, fees for building maintenance, fees for libraries, even fees for graduation, the bills for which arrive just as students and their families thought they were finally done paying for college.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

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Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

Student loans aren’t the only kind of university debt. Colleges and universities have borrowed billions, mostly to build new dorms, dining halls and facilities, spaces they may – or may not – need as student enrollment declines nationally. Today, nearly 10 cents of every dollar in university budgets helps pay interest on institutional debt.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

----------

Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

To boost enrollment and meet workforce needs, more states are offering free community college programs. But do these programs effectively help students graduate from college? And by offering college for free, does that diminish its value? We look at the research, as well as a new free college program in Massachusetts and an old one in Tennessee, where community college has been free for years.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

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Credits: 

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report. 

Okay, so you’re going to college. But will the college you pick still have its lights on before you graduate? It’s a question more and more families face as colleges experience financial and enrollment challenges that force them to close or merge. We’ll look at what colleges are doing to stay alive, whether should states disclose institutions’ financial health to consumers, and what happens to students - and their credits - when their school suddenly shuts down.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

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Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

Universities dole out more than half of the revenue they collect from tuition in the form of discounts and financial aid in their efforts to attract students. The US average is 56 percent. If a private company discounted its products by more than half, it would probably go out of business. So why do colleges use this self-destructive business model that leaves many prospective students thinking college costs more than it does? We explore.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

----------

Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins 

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

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.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

----------

Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

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.

“College Uncovered” is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

----------

Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

"College Uncovered" is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report.

College Uncovered Season 2 is here!

----------

Credits:

Hosts: Kirk Carapezza & Jon Marcus

Supervising Editor: Megan Woolhouse

Editor: Jeff Keating

Executive Producer: Ellen London 

Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott

Theme Song and original music: Left-Roman

Artwork: Matt Welch 

Project Manager: Meiqian He

Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins

College Uncovered is a production of GBH News and The Hechinger Report and made possible by Lumina Foundation.