In the final installment of “Unmuted,” we dig in to the college advising equity gap, made even worse by the pandemic. Consistently, NYC public high school students have told us that they don’t feel properly supported by their schools in the college process.

We wanted to find out how students managed applying to college at the height of a global pandemic––when students were not even in the school building. What obstacles presented themselves to seniors? Did students think college was still worth it? 

We spoke with students and their advisors from the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice, and representatives from College Access: Research and Action (CARA) to find out.

Since beginning to report this story back in the fall of 2020 as high school juniors, we’ve become seniors ourselves. As we’re nearing the end of our own college processes, we round out this episode by reflecting on our experience applying to college.

• For more reporting on this issue, check out the Guidance Gap series from The Hechinger Report.

• To learn more about CARA, visit caranyc.org.

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Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.