Responding to student voices: 3 solutions for improving the college application process

O processo de Candidato a auxílio financeiro e a admissão na faculdade é árdua, mesmo para estudantes e suas famílias. Para os candidatos da Firstgeneration College, aqueles que sofrem dificuldades financeiras ou aquelas sem o apoio de seus pais e famílias, a jornada para a faculdade pode ser absolutamente esmagadora. A pandemia covid-19 elevou a economia americana e iluminou uma luz sobre a insegurança financeira generalizada, fazendo com que o Transformação do processo de ajuda financeira ainda mais crítica hoje. Agora eles estão pedindo mudanças para limpar o caminho para os alunos que seguirão seus passos. No entanto, mesmo com seu conhecimento de ajuda financeira e internações da faculdade e o apoio de uma rede ...

For Enoch Jemmott and Karoline Jimenez, two Brooklyn-based students profiled in the documentary Personal Statement, their experiences with the college application process opened their eyes to the inefficiencies, inequities and inadequacies inherent in the American higher education system. Now they are calling for change to clear the path for those students who will follow in their footsteps.

We recently spoke with Jemmott and Jimenez about their experiences and how higher education leaders can create a different, more encouraging experience for future generations of students.

Jemmott and Jimenez worked as peer counselors helping others apply to college. Yet even with their knowledge of financial aid and college admissions and the support of a network of teachers and counselors, they found the process difficult and frustrating.

Both students struggled with understanding the language used in the Federal Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) form required for all aid-seeking college-bound students. And both had trouble acquiring their parents’ tax forms for a variety of reasons.

Jimenez also worked with many first-generation, immigrant or undocumented students who were unsure how the process would work for them or even if college was an option at all. A first-generation student of immigrant parents herself, Jimenez says she was also uncertain whether she would be able to clear the hurdles to college admission.

Stories like those of Jemmott and Jimenez are becoming increasingly common as the demographics of college students expand to include more first-generation, immigrant, and other underrepresented and vulnerable populations. And there are many other well-qualified individuals with stories much like theirs but whose paths do not lead to enrollment in a postsecondary institution.

Os alunos hoje vêm de origens familiares e educacionais muito diferentes, possuem experiências variadas de vida e trabalho e aspiram a objetivos acadêmicos individuais. Consequentemente, o processo de ajuda financeira não pode ser um que é estreitamente Scoped ou inflexível a circunstâncias únicas. Os conselheiros de um ambiente em que a relação conselheiro / aluno era astronômica, um cenário que é, infelizmente, muito comum nas escolas de ensino médio americanas. Os líderes do ensino superior podem melhorar essa proporção, tornando as funções de ajuda financeira nas faculdades mais voltadas para a comunidade. Os profissionais de ajuda financeira podem coordenar com escolas de ensino médio e escolas secundárias para fornecer educação precoce para a alfabetização financeira a estudantes e suas famílias que as configurarão para o sucesso posterior. Comece garantindo que o idioma usado em todos os recursos disponíveis seja acessível e fácil entender o maior número possível de estudantes e famílias. Deve haver recursos escritos em vários idiomas e, sempre que possível, as instituições devem contratar conselheiros bilíngues ou trilíngues que possam educar estudantes imigrantes e internacionais e suas famílias sobre as nuances do processo. Escolha participar. Faculdades e universidades devem procurar incorporar a noção de que o escritório de ajuda financeira está lá para ajudar os alunos como um aliado no processo. Muito antes da admissão na faculdade ser considerada através das lentes acadêmicas, é Visto através de um financeiro, pois as famílias restringem suas opções com base nas informações que possuem.

There are three primary solutions colleges and universities can consider to address the challenges inherent in the current processes, which will eliminate some of the barriers faced by Jemmott and Jimenez when they applied to college.

Jemmott and Jimenez went to high school and worked as peer counselors in an environment where the college counselor-to-student ratio was astronomical, a scenario that is, unfortunately, all too common in American high schools. Higher education leaders can improve that ratio by making financial aid roles at colleges more community-facing.

Offering guidance to students as early as possible starts well before they are thinking about going to college. Financial aid professionals can coordinate with middle schools and high schools to provide early financial literacy education to students and their families that will set them up for later success.

It is critical for colleges and universities to find ways to remove fear and trepidation from the financial aid and college application processes. Start by ensuring that the language used in all available resources is accessible and easy to understand for as many students and families as possible. There should be resources written in multiple languages, and whenever possible, institutions should hire bilingual or trilingual counselors who can educate immigrant and international students and their families about the nuances of the process.

Another key element of this outreach revolves around teaching students and families what resources are available to them and how to get the answers they need at each point in the journey — regardless of which school they choose to attend. Colleges and universities should seek to embody the notion that the financial aid office is there to assist students as an ally in the process. Long before college admission is considered through the academic lens, it is viewed through a financial one, as families narrow their options based on the information they have.

Em muitos casos, o ensino superior considera o auxílio financeiro uma operação comercial. No entanto, cada vez mais, os escritórios de ajuda financeira estão evoluindo para um centro vital de acesso a estudantes, integrado às admissões e outros serviços dos alunos. Ele espera utilizar seu diploma trabalhando como assistente ou assistente de produção de um diretor para ganhar experiência no campo. Ano. Atualmente, eles estão colaborando na campanha

Students do not care about a university’s divisions or how services are administered. They do, however, care deeply if it is difficult to get the business side of their education in order. Creating an institutional strategy that consolidates the student experience into one comprehensive resource eliminates the need for students to navigate multiple offices and processes. The days when the recruitment team would do its work and then throw that application over the wall to financial aid are over. Treating students as whole individuals and addressing all aspects of their educational journey, while not an easy task, sets institutions on the path to creating a student-centric environment.

Technology can also play a vital role in creating a student-centric approach to financial aid by delivering a common interface that offers streamlined, modern insights and support.

By investing in intelligent automation for certain back-office functions (e.g., aid packaging, verification, document collection, etc.), financial aid staff can redirect their efforts to spend more time with students, helping to demystify the process. Chatbots can also be used to answer frequently asked questions to allow the front office to be creative and individualized in addressing more specific queries. Even apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime and Snapchat can be useful to engage with a younger generation of incoming students in a more personalized way.

The bottom line is that the college application process as it stands today does not serve all students, and there are some steps colleges and universities can take to bridge that gap. By investing time and resources in outreach, integration and technology, we can clear the path for future generations of students like Jemmott and Jimenez and position institutions to remain viable in a rapidly changing environment.