Scripture tells us, “To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

You may know it from the song from the 1960’s by The Byrds, “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

As applied to financial aid, there is a time to apply, and a time to award.

Ten years ago, my youngest entered her senior year of college.  Besides coming to the end of a long stretch of tuition payments, I looked forward to January of 2015.

Why?

It was the first year in 10 years (and 3 children in college) that I did not have to complete a FAFSA form to apply for financial aid.

But elementary school and high school is different, right?

Nope.

The tuition for high school is higher than what we were paying for college tuition 15 years ago.

And the tuition for elementary school is higher than what I paid (not my parents paid) for going to college.

Sidenote: Both of my parents didn’t go to college.  I was told that if I wanted to go to college, I’d have to figure out how to pay for that.  So, between scholarships, financial aid, and two jobs, I paid for my tuition.  I stayed at home rent free and got to use my parents’ car.  That was their contribution.  Tell that to a child today and watch what happens.

Faith-based and private school education can be a significant expense today, and some K-12 institutions have tuitions that are significantly higher than some higher education options.

When I administered the financial aid program for 18 elementary schools, our applications were due on March 15th so that we could make financial aid decisions by April 1st, and notify parents of their awards by April 15.  Doing so helped to solidify enrollment.

Further, because I used FACTS as our third-party financial information processor, I was also able to calculate a potential award for parents that were interesting in enrolling their children, but who wanted to know if they could afford the tuition before committing to enrolling their children in one of our schools.  By having that type of control of the process, I was able to determine an estimated award quickly, rather than having to wait until the family had all their tax verification submitted before their data was even processed.

Today, some enrollment directors I know have had this same experience, making estimates faster, and therefore, helping to grow their school’s enrollment.

However, there are still some companies today that wait until all the tax documentation has been submitted before a decision is rendered.  Unfortunately, parents expect immediacy, and don’t want to wait.  School leaders say, “Well, you’ll just have to wait until all your tax information has been submitted and verified.”  They must think they’re going to train parents to follow the rules.

(Insert huge laugh here).

Parents will indeed take action – they’ll leave that school…and will ghost the school leaders when they try to contact them to see if their child is coming to their school.

If the goal of marketing for enrollment is to increase the number inquires from parents and guardians of prospective students to the school, then how those inquires are handled via a school’s enrollment process determines if enrollment will increase.

A financial aid discussion is usually a part of that process.

A parent may contact a school because of the recommendation of one of their friends whose children are enrolled at the school, or they visit the school’s Web site to discover more information about it.  If your school’s Web site has your tuition schedule listed, it also probably states that financial aid is available, and may even list some funds that have been begun by generous benefactors of the school from which aid is available.

But if your tuition matix comes first, the parents will see four- and five-figure numbers, and not even get to the part where you say you offer financial aid.

By marketing your financial aid resources FIRST, you may receive requests for tours and appointments to meet the teacher of the grade the child will be entering, creating hope for the family that they’ll be able to afford the excellent educational environment your school offers.

So let’s say a family hears great things about your school, visits your school’s Website, likes the virtual tour video, and looks at the financial aid page (NOT the tuition page – that’s a page you can keep hidden today.  If you’d like to know why and how, send an email to [email protected] with the words “Hide My Tuition Page” in the subject line).

The parent contacts your school (perhaps by completing an inquiry form to set an appointment for a tour, is impressed with the teacher’s enthusiasm, and applies for admission and financial aid.

The parent receives a letter from your school that their child has been accepted, and the next steps of enrollment include signing on for a payment plan.  The parent becomes concerned, however, when they don’t see that financial aid has been awarded, and when they call the school, you tell them that the scholarship organization that makes awards at your school will only notify parents of their awards 1) If they receive any aid at all, and 2) that may happen several months after the first tuition payment is due.

What would you as a parent do?

More importantly, how would you as a parent feel if you just paid a fee to apply for financial aid, AND a fee to apply to the school?

Indeed, financial aid can be a powerful marketing tool for your school, but only if your school has control over the process, and can make awards (even if they’re only estimates) to families before payments for the next school year begin.

Millennial parents make up the majority of parents in the PK-12 vertical today.  While Generation X didn’t like to wait, Millennials expect immediacy.  They also don’t like surprises and want options.

If your school doesn’t provide any, more than likely, they’ll create their own options, one of which may be disenrolling their children.

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2014-2024 (Original Publication Date: 20140721)