When I went off to college, I packed a trunk with clothes, a bedspread, a coffee maker that perfectly fit cups of ramen noodles, and enough anxiety to fill a dormitory suite. I worried on a scale that I’d never experienced in the familiarity of my hometown public schools. …

(or “How to Stay Zen About Staying Zen”) — Every now and then, a comic strip comes along that is both hilarious and humbling. As someone who often feels trampled by a herd of “shoulds,” I felt “seen” in this recent Sunday edition of Pearls Before Swine. Just like Pig, I’ve heard advice from a variety of sources that…

When I was four years old, I wandered into the kitchen and headed directly toward a hot stovetop. My mom called out in no uncertain terms not to touch the burner but, before she could reach me, that’s precisely what I did. Decades later, I still have the scar on…

It was 1999. As I slogged through an MCAT prep test, hunger usurped focus in the middle of a biochem question and my brain refused to think about anything other than a grilled cheese sandwich. I stuffed several study guides as thick as phone books (remember those?) …

I opened an e-newsletter today, shook my head in disgust while reading, then hit delete. “We deserve better,” I thought. A few moments later I found better — but from a different source. Both sources are elected leaders — one who seeks to inform his constituents and one who seeks…

When the United States first began a system of higher education, it was designed for wealthy White men. That’s not a controversial statement; that’s simply a fact. To say the world has changed since then is like saying cars today have changed a bit since the Model T was first…

I specifically didn’t title this post “College Data” because I didn’t think you’d read it if I did… was I right? But data-informed decisions are smart decisions — which I didn’t fully appreciate until I joined the team at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). Unfortunately, current data about…

Did you know tuition is only a small fraction of the cost of attending college? Non-tuition expenses (e.g., housing, books, fees, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and emergency expenses) are a significant chunk of the cost — and often a reason why many struggle to afford higher education. As I shared in…

Did you know that at least 39 million people across the United States began college but needed to stop out before completing a degree? I didn’t either until I joined the team at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). In my three years of leading IHEP’s communications , it’s…