Tips For Having Conversations About Financial Aid And Cost

Even though it’s not an easy or fun topic to discuss, we both know how important the “money” conversation is when it comes to a student’s college search process.

The best way to figure out a starting point for leading a personalized conversation is by answering one or more of the following questions:

What stage is the prospective student at?

What does the student and parent(s) or guardian(s) know about how financial aid for college works?

What has their family been talking about at home when it comes to the cost of college?

How is the student and parent(s) or guardian(s) feeling when it comes to the topic of financial aid?

Does the student/family have a plan to pay for college?

The answers to those questions (as well as others you might ask) should dictate what you talk about next. Your conversations should never be rinse and repeat.

If it’s a high school junior you might explain what sticker shock is, how to understand the numbers that appear on college websites, or what a net price calculator is. If it’s a student who has been admitted and you happen to work for a private college or university, you might explain why many of your students (particularly first-years) chose to pay more when they could have gone somewhere that cost less. Or, you might talk about student outcomes related to the academic major/program the admitted student is interested in and share a story about a recent graduate.

Let me reiterate that for traditional high school students, whenever possible include the parent(s) or guardian(s) in many of your money conversations because the vast majority of the time they’re the ones leading the process in determining affordability.

Your goal should be to get everyone talking so you can better understand each person's mindset and feelings.

Once a student has been admitted, here are a few additional direct money/value related questions that you should work into one of your conversations or messages.

“Besides money, what else are you still trying to figure out about us in order to make a decision?”

“When you think about investing in college, what do you hope that investment produces after you graduate with your degree?”

And here’s another helpful and effective question to ask the parent(s) or guardian(s):

“What do you still need to know about us to help you feel like <College Name> is worth the investment for your family?”

As you’re having back and forth conversations, if a student and/or their family expresses a concern about being able to afford the cost I encourage you to thank them for sharing, make it clear that you understand what they’re saying, and then follow that up with this question:

“I’m just wondering… If you did have the money, do you feel like this would be the right place for you?”

‘What-if’ type questions are important because what you really want to find out is what’s behind the ‘I don’t think I can afford it’ objection. I continue to find that many times people use money as an excuse for other concerns they don’t want to share with you. Or, they aren’t really understanding what the actual cost will be at the end of the day and everything needs to be explained again in a different way.

My final tip is, talking about financial aid, cost, and paying for college should not be thought of as a one-time conversation. Because there are so many moving parts I recommend you break things into a bunch of single, easy to digest conversations throughout each student’s search. The number of these conversations will be based on a student and family’s knowledge and comfort levels.

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