Kyle Dotson is used to waking up with the sun. Back when he lived at home, he was regularly up at dawn to “conduct business,” selling drugs at the school bus stop in his Chicago neighborhood. He got kicked out of high school, but that didn’t bother him. Dotson was 17, and the streets, he was sure, would keep him in cash. A stiff shot of reality soon changed that tune, though. “I didn’t want my mom to see me end up in jail,” he says, “or dead.” Read the rest of this entry »

Like many incoming college freshmen, Mia Cruz isn’t sure about her career path. On the eve of her high school graduation, she’s thinking of a job in law enforcement. Even if that plan changes, she’s headed to college. Cruz accepted an offer of admission at Florida International University in Miami, not far from her home. The school has a reputation as a good bargain, but with the cost of in-state tuition at more than $3,300 per year and room and board adding $8,250 more, Cruz is searching for ways to fund her future. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting stuck on a college’s waiting list is a kind of like being sent to limbo. And while the Roman Catholic Church is poised to remove limbo from the catechism, higher education is wait-listing more students than ever. As students apply to more and more schools, schools accept more and more students with the knowledge that some of the students who are accepted will take other offers and not join the freshman class. Read the rest of this entry »