🌎 It’s World Press Freedom Day. Stand with Marketplace and our independent journalism. Donate now

Financial aid applications are down. Does that mean fewer college students?

Mar 18, 2021
The pandemic seems to be causing students to put off applying for financial aid, which may mean they're putting off college.
Applications are down 9% compared to this time last year, said MorraLee Keller with the National College Attainment Network. She said some of the decline may be due to uncertainty.
designer491 via Getty Images

How do interns learn about the workplace when there is none?

Mar 11, 2021
The programs are less about casual networking and observation in a remote world. Remote internships need more direction, one expert says.
"There's no observation, really, there's no serendipitous contact," in remote internships, says Marianna Savoca of Stony Brook University.
Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images

There are fewer visas, but Chinese students still want a U.S. education

Feb 19, 2021
Chinese students spend years mapping out the path to U.S. colleges. The pandemic has disrupted all of that.
"Contemplation in the afternoon," is one of the many pieces of art Li Jiayan has posted on social media in hopes of getting more freelance work while she figures out the next steps in her study plans.
Courtesy of Li Jiayan

College enrollment overall has dipped, but it's down significantly at community colleges

Oct 16, 2020
That could be because many community college students need jobs to pay tuition.
College enrollment is down just 4% compared to last year, according to the National School Clearinghouse Research Center. But the drop-off is much steeper when it comes to first-year students and those at community colleges.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Colleges grapple with student food insecurity during COVID-19

May 8, 2020
Schools are trying to assess student needs through the summer, and possibly through the coming year
Anthony Maly, senior program manager in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Office of Student Involvement, unloads canned goods at the school’s food pantry.
Peggy Lowe/KCUC 89.3

College communities rally together to support students struggling with campus departures

Mar 20, 2020
Alumni, professors and fellow students have donated time, money and resources to help those who have to leave campus but don't have an easy path home.
Students are worried about more than just whether or not commencement will happen. Some have uncertain living situations now that campuses are closing.
Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

Campus chaos: International students navigate COVID-19 closures

Mar 18, 2020
Whether they're heading home or finding a way to remain on campus, international students have had their semesters upended by COVID-19.
When news broke that Harvard was shutting down in-person classes for the rest of the semester, international students had to figure out how they would stay on campus or depart.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Inside today's fraternities

Jan 1, 2019
A lot of us have an image of what they look like. Is it justified?
Greek organizations "occupy this unique position where they are both dependent on universities and separate from them, and they are big businesses," author Alexandra Robbins says. Above, the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house at San Diego State University in California in 2012.
Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

As many students nationwide grapple with hunger, California offers food assistance

Sep 29, 2017
A survey of 34 universities and community colleges found that about 48 percent of students reported food insecurity in the previous 30 days, 22 percent with such low levels of food security that they qualified as hungry.
Emaline Friedman, a Ph.D. student and CalFresh recipient, unpacks groceries in her Los Angeles apartment.
Emaline Friedman/ for Marketplace

NYU program piles on classes for early graduation

May 25, 2017
That's a year's worth of tuition saved. But something may be lost as well.
Students celebrate at the beginning of commencement ceremonies at New York University.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images