By Toli Begum

When school went remote last spring, it also meant that the college process went remote. This was only an added challenge for immigrant students like me who are the first in their families to apply to and attend college in the United States. I had to navigate language barriers, confusing websites, financial aid forms, and decision deadlines with only the help of my college counselor, who became harder to reach when the pandemic struck because she was understandably juggling work and home life. In this episode I share what it’s like to be an immigrant student going through the college process during a pandemic.

This podcast season, “Students in a Pandemic,” is produced in partnership with The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

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Music for this season includes original tracks from Brooklyn teens Lens Louis and Joshua Senior.