Meredith Kolodner
The Hechinger Report
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Meredith:
As the Supreme Court hears arguments on student loan forgiveness, three experts explain what's at stake
Many people on both sides of the debate are awaiting the Supreme Court oral arguments next Tuesday about the constitutionality of President Biden's student loan forgiveness action, which he announced last August. Legal challenges quickly followed, putting the plan on pause, and leaving the financial fate of millions of borrowers in the hands of the Court. → Read More
Why racial graduation gaps exist across the nation
Remedial education, financial challenges and even just a jarring campus culture contribute to racial graduation gaps. → Read More
Public colleges shock students by sending them to costly debt collection agencies
Public colleges in every state except Louisiana use private debt collection agencies to retrieve overdue bills for tuition. → Read More
Flagship universities don't enroll proportionate numbers of Black and Latino students
At the majority of flagship universities, the percentage of Black and Latino students who enroll each fall is well below that of the state’s public high school graduates. → Read More
Left in the lurch by for-profit college direct loans
Institutional loans - borrowing directly from schools - can leave students with ruined and jeopardized futures. → Read More
Does income-based loan repayment drive borrowers of color into debt?
New research finds that students of color who get income-based loan repayment plans are hit harder than others by rising interest rates. → Read More
We let school buildings crumble for years
The coronavirus has exposed a crisis of crumbling and dilapidated school buildings brought on by decades of underfunding and neglect → Read More
Students sick of ‘lip service’ about addressing racism on college campuses
Racism on college campuses: In the wake of widespread protests, many college presidents issued statements opposing racism and police brutality. → Read More
How do you manage college online — quarantined with eight people?
Low-income students' online education is hampered by cramped quarters, spotty internet and job losses for themselves and family members → Read More
Canceled research, sports, recitals — college students are coping with more than closed campuses
Colleges and universities universities closed due to coronavirus has disrupted the educations of millions of students across the country. → Read More
'They just saw me as a dollar sign': How some certificate schools profit from vulnerable students
When government turns a blind eye, for-profit certificate programs fail to fulfill promise of a fast path to a new career and leave students in debt → Read More
'They just saw me as a dollar sign': How some certificate schools profit from vulnerable students
An investigation into Premier Education Group shows how shortfalls in oversight enable for-profit companies with questionable track records to continue to recruit vulnerable students and profit off taxpayer money. → Read More
How cosmetology schools mire students in debt
For-profit cosmetology schools have beaten back attempts to create cheaper alternatives, even while miring their students in debt. → Read More
Eligible for financial aid, almost one-third of students never get it
Last year alone, more than 873,000 low-income students who applied for and were found eligible for state financial aid for college never received it, because states ran out of money. The number is likely much higher — many states don’t keep track of the number of eligible students they turn away. → Read More
These formerly homeless single moms beat the odds and are now college grads
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The single, formerly homeless mothers living in Family Scholar House apartments are used to seeing faces drawn down with pity or judgment when they tell their stories. Pregnant at 15. Bruised and beaten by a boyfriend. Kicked out of school. Living in a car or a windowless basement with an infant. But … → Read More
A program helps low-income parents graduate at twice the rate of other community college students
Low-income parents in an Arkansas program are earning college degrees and certificates at twice the rate of other community college students, a new report shows. The program is remarkable for its low cost and impressive results with groups of students who have traditionally struggled, which could allow other states to adopt Arkansas’ model. The Arkansas … → Read More
Many state flagship universities leave black and Latino students behind
Many of the nation’s best public universities are enrolling disproportionately few African-American and Latino students. Flagship universities are the jewels in the crown of public higher education systems — they have sought-after faculty, preeminent research facilities, the most resources and often the highest graduation rates, for all races. They also stand as beacons of affordable … → Read More
The community college “segregation machine”
Anthony Rodriguez and Juneba Sulaiman both passed a college-level statistics class last summer after a placement exam indicated they weren’t ready for college-level math. Photo: Meredith Kolodner/The Hechinger Report This story was produced jointly by inewsource San Diego, a data-focused investigative news organization, and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused… → Read More
Undocumented high schoolers work long hours, putting college further out of reach
Ranferi Avilez is meeting friends for a late lunch. It’s unseasonably hot in Houston for mid-October, but instead of spending his Saturday as usual pouring cold brews and squirting whipped cream on iced caramel macchiatos, the 18-year-old is doing something special for himself: He is taking a day off. Avilez is a high school senior … → Read More
Wealthy students pushing out low-income students at top public universities, new research shows
More than half of the country’s top public universities replaced low-income students with affluent ones over the past 14 years, according to a new report. The study provides evidence to back up the sense in many communities that climbing into the middle class has become increasingly difficult for low-income families. It may also help explain some of the pervasive anger and feelings of being… → Read More