Financial Aid
I was fortunate as an undergrad not to have to go through the financial aid process. However, that also means the finanical aid process seems a little daunting to me as an Admissions Rep. One of the questions I got wrong on the quiz was about when to feel like you need to handle all questions and when to defer them. Does this just come with time and experience?
When answering the question with "basic answers", do you ever fear that the student may interpret that meaning you may be unknowledgable?
How do you guard against that?
Working in Admissions it is nice to have a business office that I can refer all students to, knowing that they are in great hands. I always make sure to stay away from talking about financial aid in specifics and leaving that to the business office.
Admission reps are required to know only the very basics of financial aid. Any questions a potential student may have regarding what exactly they may qualify for should be should be referred to the financial aid department representative.
You're definitely going to get the hang of it once you start practicing more and more. If a student has basic questions like do you offer financial aid or what does financial aid consist of, I will answer it in the way my Director of Admissions told me to, if they have a more in-depth question about pell grants or their deffered loans, I give them a Financial Aid Advisor's contact information or transfer the student if she is not busy.
today we rrecvd training on a portion of the financial process (fasfa). I have found that to be really helpful not just for prospective students but for my personal benefit as well. I beleive that all reps should have some understanding of how to complete fasfa forms in the event that a FAC is not available to assist.
Experience would help. However, in my experience ANY question about financial aid goes to student finance. That way you can't give any wrong information.
I think that it is a good thing that we don't have to worry about the complete details of knowing all of the financial aid information
we are required to answer only basic questions. the student will receive indepth info at the orientation meeting.
Spot on!
I look at it like this; would you want an FA rep answering admissions related questions for your student? I would prefer to answer those questions for the student as I have already built that trust and know what they want in the school. Now if that same student has a question about FA, I will make sure the FA rep is aware of the question/concern.
In many states there are certain laws governing how much information an admissions rep is actually allowed to disclose concerning Financial Aid. We play it pretty safe at my school and get them over to a Financial Aid Rep pretty early in the process. Our FA reps are always ready and willing to help with any student inquiries.
I have found that having a financial aid representative fully trained in all areas of whats available is really helpful as we go through the applications process with a prospective student.
How much financial aide information is an admissions rep required to know exactly?
I thought the financial aid process was daunting also but I was trained from the start to always refer students to a financial aid representative for detailed information and my students always find that acceptable if I can't answer their question specifically.
Stephen,
Yes, experience certainly helps. But even for experienced admissions reps, it is always better to refer any specific financial aid questions to the financial aid department.
John Ware
I think it is great that our PS can have a financial advisor assigned to them so that the process is not so daunting to them.
