President Obama's daughter, Malia, is taking a year off before starting college in the fall. Taking a break from academics the year after high school before starting college is commonly called a "gap year." Although it’s often an option for wealthy families, it’s starting to be a real option for more high school graduates. Colleges are looking for students who have more life experience and independence. Listen to hear more about the benefits of taking a gap year.
Story Length: 3:49
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May 1, 2019
3:14
A Washington, D.C. tutoring program is based on a unique concept for helping struggling students learn to read. In the Reach program, high school students tutor elementary school students in reading, and both benefit from the experience. Listen to this story to learn how both elementary and high school students are benefiting from this program.
Read MoreMay 2, 2018
4:10
High school seniors applying for college often hear from schools in April. It’s a stressful time and students are eager to hear from their first choice colleges. More and more colleges are putting students on a waitlist instead of giving a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ This gives the colleges more options and a wider pool of students to choose from. But it also can be misleading if only one or two percent of the students on the waitlist are actually accepted to attend the college. Listen to hear from a college admissions adviser who criticizes this practice.
Read MoreSeptember 12, 2017
4:53
Going to college is a dream for many people. Alex Gutierrez is a 16-year-old junior at International Leadership of Texas high school, and would like to go to college and study criminal justice to become an FBI agent or a police detective. Her mother also has hopes for Alex to be successful. But finding and applying for college can be overwhelming. Listen to hear about the fears and hopes of Alex as well as her mother, about going to college. This story from KERA also has resources that can provide more information about the process.
Read MoreSeptember 18, 2015
4:09
Colleges compete to enroll the best students. Traditional admission methods look at SAT and ACT test scores, GPAs and extracurricular activities. Now there is an increasingly popular trend: colleges that tell students the SAT and ACT are optional. They are choosing not to emphasize standardized test scores in their admissions decisions. The hope is that this will diversify enrollment and open doors for underrepresented populations. But there is some evidence that it does not achieve those goals. For example, test-optional colleges may increase their applicant pool but not their enrollment numbers. Listen to hear both sides of this debate.
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