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College Uncovered

GBH

In a world focused on getting in, do you know what you’re getting into? College Uncovered, from GBH News in collaboration with The Hechinger Report, pulls back the ivy on American higher education, exposing the problems, pitfalls and risks — and helping you navigate them. If you wonder how college really works, subscribe now. Because it’s a real education.

College Uncovered is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

©2023 WGBH Educational Foundation

In a world focused on getting in, do you know what you’re getting into? College Uncovered, from GBH News in collaboration with The Hechinger Report, pulls back the ivy on American higher education, exposing the problems, pitfalls and risks — and helping you navigate them. If you wonder how college really works, subscribe now. Because it’s a real education.

College Uncovered is made possible by Lumina Foundation.

©2023 WGBH Educational Foundation
6hr 3min
Thumbnail for "S2 Eps 8 - What do college students learn, anyway?".
May 30, 202438min 15sec
Thumbnail for "[Bonus]: Dear College - Jenessa Otabor".
June 20, 202414min 35sec
Thumbnail for "[Bonus]: Dear College - Tayana Antoine".
June 20, 202410min 59sec
Thumbnail for "S2 Eps 7 - Junk Fees".
May 16, 202423min 37sec
Thumbnail for "S2 Eps 6 - The Other College Debt".
May 16, 202417min 34sec
Thumbnail for "S2 Eps 5 - The real cost of "free"".
May 2, 202421min 46sec
Thumbnail for "S2 Ep4 - Closing Time".
April 18, 202426min 2sec
Thumbnail for "S2 Ep3 - Loss Leaders".
April 18, 202418min 32sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 2 - Bait and Switch".
Colleges work hard to make their prices seem much lower than they actually are.
April 4, 202416min 24sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 1 - Buyer Beware".
Congratulations, you got accepted to college! The next notification you’ll get: a financial aid offer, telling you what it will cost.
April 4, 202414min 56sec
Thumbnail for "Season 2 is coming! ".
College Uncovered Season 2 is coming soon!
March 21, 20242min 56sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 8 The Enrollment Industrial Complex".
Listen to most broadcast stories, and you’d think it’s really hard to get into college. But here’s one of higher ed’s dirty little secrets: colleges are competing hard to be on your shortlist. Let’s talk about the US college enrollment industrial complex.
December 14, 202320min 44sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 7 The “M” Word".
Colleges and universities have a problem: a public skeptical of what they’re getting for their money. So, like all red-blooded American institutions, they’re responding … by buying advertising!
December 14, 202318min 34sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 6 Graduation Frustration".
Almost all freshmen starting out at four-year universities and colleges think they’ll finish in four years. But fewer than half of them actually will. The numbers are even worse for Black and Hispanic students. Let’s talk about why, and how to graduate on time.
November 30, 202315min
Thumbnail for "Eps 5 The Transfer Trap".
What’s the “transfer trap?” It’s when you transfer into a four-year institution from a two-year or community college and learn that your credits have been rejected by your new school. It’s a problem that costs students money, and can ultimately prevent them from graduating on time and with less debt.
November 30, 202321min 49sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 4 The Meritocracy Myth".
Former admissions officer Kyra Tyler says she was asked to remove a young Black applicant from consideration in favor of a less academically qualified white student, solely because of the latter's family connections and wealth. Let’s talk about how college admissions really works.
November 9, 202321min 3sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 3 Secret Sophomore Admissions".
Another secret to gaming the college admissions process? Apply as a freshman to get accepted as a sophomore. It’s not well known, but colleges recruit students to fill seats vacated by freshmen who don’t return. It’s a backdoor admissions strategy, one that colleges don't openly advertise but happens more than you think.
November 9, 202320min 4sec
Thumbnail for "Eps 2 Affirmative Action … for the Rich".
The Varsity Blues scandal where rich and famous parents effectively paid off colleges to admit their kids, exposed alarming shenanigans around college admissions. There are other ways colleges give preferences to wealthy students, and they’re all completely legal.
October 26, 202318min
Thumbnail for "Eps 1 Misleading U".
How do you pick the “right” college? Very carefully. And how do you know you’re getting the best deal? You don’t. Welcome to the messy world of higher education, where colleges aren’t upfront about costs or how long it takes to graduate.
October 26, 202320min 5sec
Thumbnail for "Introducing College Uncovered".
Higher education looms large in the American psyche: as the route to prosperity, a good job and a stable career.
October 12, 20232min 25sec

S2 Eps 8 - What do college students learn, anyway?

Thumbnail for "S2 Eps 8 - What do college students learn, anyway?".
May 30, 202438min 15sec

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.