Photo: Alexis Wary

Kendra Wilmer, a rising high school senior, had planned to write a college entrance essay about her struggles as a Black student in a predominantly white school. But on this particular morning, she wasn’t so sure.

It’s the first college application season since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities can no longer consider race in the admissions process. Schools are now attempting to find new ways to pursue racial and ethnic diversity in their student enrollments, while applicants adjust their tactics.

Photo: Sarah Silbiger

Most colleges and universities offer monthly payment plans as an alternative to student loans or a way to reduce the amount needed to borrow. Students can pay for educational expenses over a semester or the full school year without being charged interest.

Not so fast, says a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The study is warning students that they could encounter a host of unforeseen fees that significantly drive up the cost of the plan.

As New College of Florida continues to move in a different ideological direction, former students and faculty members are building what they see as an educational resistance.

They have joined national and international free-speech and education groups to form “Alt New College,” a network of online courses for students who remain at the revamped New College and, as critics see it, face limits on what they can learn and say.