After much needed reflection and review I have taken this research in a slightly different direction. My initial research question was to discover the motivations for prospective students to chose one school over another. I asked this question because I thought it would lead me to the core of the issue with increasing student debt. However, I knew I needed to do more preliminary research and thus I found a great online source called The Project on Student Debt. Their mission, to “Keep College within Reach” by “[i]dentifying cost-effective solutions that expand educational opportunity, protect family financial security, and advance economic competitiveness” (projectonstudentdebt.org).
This online platform has many sources regarding student debt but one in particular that I found most helpful was Lost Without a Map: A Survey about Students’ Experiences Navigating the Financial Aid Process(PUB_Student_Loan_Borrowers_1012). This survey was conducted by NERA a global economic consulting firm along with Young Invincibles who are a youth advocacy organization. They analyzed data from approximately 13,000 respondents where 40% were current students and 60% had already graduated. The study had very predictable findings in regards to what students were typically borrowing, however, what I found most interesting was the word cloud (see below).
This stood out to me because it was a great visual representation of how students feel about the FAFSA. Biggest words are “confusing”, “easy”, complicated” and “long”.
The data was clearly showing some ambiguity among students and it was apparent that applying for student financial aid was a complicated process. This notion was then amplified in the section of this report, which dealt with Loan Counseling. If and when a student is awarded financial aid, the federal government is required by federal mandate to execute “entrance” counseling before a student can accept their first student loan. “The purpose of federal student loan counseling is to ensure that borrowers understand the responsibilities and obligations they are assuming by taking out student loans. The counseling covers topics such as the different types of federal student loans, interest rates, and repayment plans” (Whisett and O’Sullivan, 15). However what this study proved is that 40% of students do not recall ever experiencing loan counseling. I was curious if current students at The New School living in Loeb Hall shared a similar forgetfulness.
In response to this disturbing amount of ambiguity NERA and Young Invincibles concluded their report with three policy recommendations:
1) Effective Enforcement of Policy Requirements
2) Support High School Counseling
3) Simplification of FAFSA
Now these three areas would in no way address the rising cost of tuition but “these common sense, low-cost recommendations would represent a major step forward which could empower millions of students to successfully navigate our higher education and financial aid systems” (Whisett and O’Sullivan, 20).
After reading this study I had a revelation. It was apparent that perhaps it was not motivations or peer pressure but in fact an ambiguous application process that was causing students to borrow money irresponsibly. I read those three recommendations and on paper it sounds great. I decided to speak with an expert and thus I sent the article to former VSAC Outreach Counselor Jim Estes.
He read the article over the weekend and this past Sunday night we spoke over the phone analyzing in great detail this report. He was frustrated to say the least, saying that they were leaving out a big gaping hole, which was “childhood development”. He recommended that this survey should have spoken to kids before they were in college because, in his experience, applying to college is an exciting time for kids and they tend to focus on the “sexy stuff” not the financial stuff. He agreed with their analysis on Student Loan Counseling and was not surprised to hear that most of them did not recall doing it. The Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling are good ideas in theory but in reality they do not work because they’re vague and only required when your borrow your first loan, which in most cases is when your 18. Jim made it clear that enforcing Loan Counseling is not an effective solution.
Thus I asked him about the one-on-one counseling in high school recommendation and he was much more supportive. He recalled his days with VSAC saying that when he was given the opportunity to sit down with his students and actually go through the numbers semester-by-semester he approximated that 90% of those students would change their mind. He credited this to the one-on-one in-person counseling, which spoke with kids in real numbers, their numbers. By ‘their numbers’ I mean the students’ specific financial aid award package.
In April when those financial aid award letters came out the “VSAC Guy” (as he came to be known) sat down with his students and went over their specific award semester by semester. He took out the calendar and broke down the numbers so that there were no surprises. And he always encouraged his students to have a back-up school so in case the numbers were too high; there was always another option.
CONCLUSION
We cannot blame the kids because, as my father says, “They don’t know what they don’t know.”
With this newfound knowledge where does my research go from here…it has been suggested that my action agenda should be to help students be more proactive by challenging the lack of education about options for financing their education being provided by academic institutions themselves. This could include both the high school and collegiate levels. Participatory Action Research would require a method that empowers student voices and in that case I think my new research question would be as follows:
How can current students educate prospective students about the financial aid process through media tools and networks?
It is a legitimate question however I do not believe it is possible. After my focus group and impromptu video interviews in my residence hall, I am not confident that current students have the capacity to convey the urgency of financial aid impacts. I say this because it is clear to me that even now, while in school, students do not comprehend the implications, as one student said “I try not to think about it”.
Therefore, I have arrived at a conundrum. There is hope however, and I think my research must take a new focus towards the Student Financial Services at the collegiate level and the Guidance Department at the high school level. Within these departments I can gather information pertaining exclusively to how students are accessing financial information before college and during college.
In terms of an online platform I still want to move forward with this because having a blog that contains, photos, videos and articles will provide a somewhat effective source for students to encounter. Having a one-stop shop, similar to The Project On Student Debt, which is a great resource, will only benefit prospective students…
UPDATE
I have reached out to local high schools in the area the most promising is Xavier High School where the head of their Guidance Dept., Chris Kennedy, is very interested in participating in the study. I have also reached out to the Admissions department here at The New School and should be hearing from them later this week. My next move is to speak with Student Financial Services and hopefully speak with a representative who could provide rich insight as to what students actually know when they come in to their offices. I do have one last thought, which was to find one male student and one female student who would be willing to share their entire financial aid process, in greater detail, with me…
Questions Comments or Suggestions?
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