Author Alexis Brooke Redding is an advanced doctoral student and instructor in education at Harvard University. In the spring of 2015 she spent six weeks interviewing administrators and students about the myriad pathways that bring students to Hampshire College. More than simply understanding the nature of this singular campus, her study focused…

As an administrator of a program intended to help retain students at Syracuse University, the author found herself in an ironic position this past August. She was presenting a workshop to parents of incoming first-year students about what they could expect from their sons and daughters during the first semester of college. It was ironic because…

The college selection process is a learning experience and a stressful time. One high achieving student describes being recruited by colleges with the promise of scholarships. She recounts the process of choosing the right school, realizing along the way that her college years could not only determine her occupation, but where she might live, and…