{"podcast":{"title":"Admissions Beat","slug":"admissions-beat-4462287","podcast_index_feed_id":4462287,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/Xa7viccF","website_url":"https://admissions-beat.simplecast.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/0439f9d6-ef41-4970-954e-2e52feec7fe4/f346788d-53d7-44e8-930d-559ce9f7e836/3000x3000/s8-admissionsbeat-logo-1500x1500p.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"Dartmouth Admissions","episode_count":136,"summary":"On the Admissions Beat, veteran dean of admissions Lee Coffin from Dartmouth College and a range of guests provide high school students and parents, as well as their counselors and other mentors, with \"news you can use\" at each step on the pathway to college. With a welcoming, reassuring perspective and an approach intended to build confidence in prospective applicants, Dean Coffin offers credible information, insights, and guidance—from the earliest days of the college search, to applications, decision-making, and arrival on campus. He does so by drawing on nearly 30 years of experience as an admissions leader at some of the nation's most prestigious institutions.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admissions-beat-4462287"},"episode":{"title":"Can I Afford It?!","slug":"can-i-afford-it","published_at":"2025-10-28T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admissions-beat-4462287/can-i-afford-it","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admissions-beat-4462287","url":"https://admissions-beat.simplecast.com/episodes/can-i-afford-it-HQCmrd1d","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/b86abed6-d3fe-4642-bea6-db292e207f10/episodes/3f571e78-3813-4e16-8eeb-a987baccc478/audio/52586216-ea95-4324-b6ae-0a42acb36eb2/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=Xa7viccF","summary":"Sticker shock is real. Perceptions of college affordability represent one of the biggest concerns that most families navigate as a college search unfolds, with a 2024 survey of US voters revealing that 77% of Americans see college as “unaffordable.” This week, the pod tackles that (mis)perception as Admissions Beat becomes “Financial Aid Beat.” Justin Draeger, SVP for Affordability at Strada Education Foundation in Washington D.C., and one of the nation’s leading advocates for college affordability, joins Lee Coffin and Dino Koff from Dartmouth for a primer on the ins and outs of financial aid. The trio reassures families that higher ed really can be affordable as they offer tips on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and colleges' net price calculators, and they help translate some of the “jargony language” that muddies the financial aid conversation and causes unintended confusion.","meta_description":"Sticker shock is real. Perceptions of college affordability represent one of the biggest concerns that most families navigate as a college search unfolds,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2881,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/admissions-beat-4462287/episodes/can-i-afford-it/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/admissions-beat-4462287/can-i-afford-it.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}