About our podcast

Dear College grew out of the common interest and respect Steve Marantz and David Goodman have for high school education. Dave’s son attended Fenway High School in Boston, the subject of Steve’s 2013 book: “Next Up at Fenway: A Story of High School, Hope and Lindos Sueños.” A school with an innovative approach to teaching and learning, Fenway High has been a high performer since the mid 1980s.

Through their relationships with Fenway High, the co-producers were introduced to college admission and scholarship essays written by seniors. In their essays seniors recount how they’ve confronted and solved problems: personal, academic, cultural, economic, and political. They are encouraged to be candid, include information not found elsewhere in their applications, present themselves in a positive light, and draw upon their cultures, traditions, and seminal life experiences.

After hearing a few essays, Steve and Dave came to believe in their beauty and power. They decided that the essays deserved an audience beyond college admission and scholarship officials. Dear College celebrates the literacy and storytelling skills of high school seniors. And while the podcast got its start in Boston, their plan is to expose audiences to essays from a broad diversity of students across America.