Does College Matter?

In our conversation with Dr. Teri Delane, the founding principal of Life Learning Academy Charter School, you'll learn about Teri's own journey as an everyday hero, why students who may not have been successful in traditional settings are thriving at the school, and how Teri has changed the lives of hundreds of Bay Area students over the past 20 years.

Believe it: 10 text over the summer can increase college enrollment by 10%. A joint effort between digital creative agency Huge, non-profit Civic Nation & the White House's Office of Public Engagement, UP NEXT is a texting program designed to provide students with guidance on college. Today, you'll hear from a professor whose research on texting inspired the Up Next program as well as a student who used Up Next during her senior year.

The Reach Higher initiative is the First Lady's effort to inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university.

In our conversation with Reach Higher's Exec. Director Eric Waldo, Better Make Room's Don Yu & college student Darius Wesley, we talk about the inspiration behind the program, the impact that school counselors and mentors can have, and what advice they would give high school students today.

Google’s Chief Education Evangelist, Jaime, talks about his experience as a first generation college student, what it means to be an education evangelist, and growing up in 1970’s New York. 

In our final episode of Season 2, we talk to Mary Daly, "the people's economist," about what roles economic mobility and economic inequality play in education. Also in the episode: Jody's own college story and reflecting on this season with our producer, Ellen Chan.

In our interview with Isabel Sawhill and Beth Akers, two Research Fellows from the Brookings Institution, we talk about college affordability, why college debt is usually worth it (though it's not without risks), and what advice they would give to a room full of high school students.

In our interview with Susan Dynarski, a professor at the University of Michigan and writer for the New York Times' Upshot column, she dispels commonly held myths about college debt and explains how she stays innovative with her research.

In our conversation with economist Jaison Abel, he talks about the "well-educated barista" and how new grads fare in the job market.

In our conversation with Maddy Maxey, the Co-Founder and President of The Crated, she talks about how she came up with her company's name, her experience as a Thiel Fellow, and why the ah-ha moment is a myth.

We're taking a quick break from "Does College Matter?" this week. We'll be back next week with the founder of The Crated, Maddy Maxey.