By Mikhail Zinshteyn. CalMatters via Bay City News.
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Even when California high school seniors set a record last year by applying for college financial aid, more than a quarter didn't bother, leaving huge amounts of money on the table.
Now, the state agency that oversees student grants and scholarships is about to embark on a new campaign to persuade more students and their parents to apply for financial aid. The strategy is backed by novel market research that produced counterintuitive findings about what compels people to look for cash for college.
It couldn't come at a better time, as applications for financial aid in California and nationally have decreased compared to last year, largely due to significant setbacks with the federal government's renewed request for aid.
Crucial to the research findings is that low-income parents and students know that a college degree often leads to higher salaries, but they have significant anxiety about paying for that education.
“Nationally, we are grappling with this question: 'How do we communicate to students the value of a post-secondary education and the return on investment?'” said Jake Brymner, deputy director of policy and public affairs for the Commission. of California Student Aid.
One lesson learned in a round of focus groups conducted by a public opinion research firm that the student aid commission hired with philanthropic funds was to avoid using language that sounds too good to be true, such as “100 percent.” of tuition covered, even if that is technically correct. The panel of parents and students told market researchers that images such as coins or bags of money implied scams, not the promise of affordability.
And video testimonies from students who were frank about their ambivalence about going to college but still mustered the will to apply for financial aid resonated deeply with participants in the focus groups, which took place between December and April.
“It was surprising to see that 'free money,' a phrase like that, sometimes creates mistrust,” said Michael Lemus, a marketing manager for the student aid commission who helps develop the videos the agency produces to explain the complexities of applying. financial help.
Sara Beth Brooks, also part of the team, added: “The core values behind our social media channels are that we believe we can cut through government jargon and bring information directly to voters.”
Financial Aid Language Is Persuasive
A survey of nearly 1,200 high school students and their parents conducted between May and June showed an increase of 11 percentage points among those who said they were likely to apply for financial aid, from 61 percent to 72 percent. Participants were asked if they would apply for financial aid and then asked a second time after viewing the polished marketing material, which included a mix of video testimonials and written material over the course of 20 minutes.
The idea to examine the best ways to reach students grew out of a commissioners' retreat last year. The findings from the focus groups and survey were presented to commission members Thursday. CalMatters received an advance copy of the results.
“Everyone talks about strengthening communication and reaching students where they are,” Marlene García, outgoing director of the student aid commission, said at the meeting. "It is not as easy as it looks. “It’s difficult, and this team is figuring it out.”
The likelihood of completing state or federal financial aid applications increased from 54 percent to 68 percent among groups the California Student Aid Commission considered a priority: students with grades below a B or C average, those who were in low- and middle-income households and students who had not taken the core high school courses required for admission to the state's public universities.
State tuition waivers and federal cash grants that do not have to be repaid can earn students up to $21,000 or more per year. Without completing financial aid applications, that vital postsecondary assistance is unattainable.
“If we communicate effectively and meet people's emotional needs, we can increase the likelihood that people will continue” to apply for financial help, Robert Perez, one of the researchers behind the marketing analysis, said at the meeting. He is the founder of the public opinion firm Wonder: Strategies for Good.
Specificity was also important to audiences. It is not enough to say “financial aid.” Parents and students were most attracted to messages that emphasized that state and federal grants are not loans and do not have to be repaid.
"I feel calmer knowing that they are not loans, but aid," wrote one mother during the focus groups.
Putting findings on student scholarships into practice
This summer, the outreach and marketing team will use philanthropic dollars to hire social media content creators with large followings to post videos about their own experiences seeking financial aid and completing community college. The team will coincide with the Sept. 3 deadline for first-time community college students to apply for the Cal Grant, the main financial aid benefit in California.
The student aid commission's video team will also present more personal anecdotes about their paths to college. In another effort to attract students who have not applied for aid, the commission will also send recent high school graduates postcards with language and images inspired by the focus groups.
The aid commission was already connecting on social media with students, parents, high school counselors and other professionals involved in the financial aid application process. A video in January generated more than 6 million views on Instagram. In it, Brooks outlined a step-by-step process for answering a confusing question on the new federal financial aid application.
The number of followers on the commission's social media channels has grown prodigiously over the past academic year. Last year he had 5,200 followers on Instagram and 800 on TikTok. In May, they increased to 58 thousand followers on Instagram and 35 thousand on TikTok.
“We could make graphs that explain these things, and I don't think they do it that well,” Brooks said. “It's the human element of someone saying, 'I heard you're in this situation, I'm going to do everything I can to help you.'”
The videos aren't slick by design: They often show an outreach team member in the car or in their office speaking candidly about how confusing it can be to apply for financial aid, especially this year when the newly revised federal application found a huge number of problems that prevented many students from submitting their applications.
Videos with low production value and high emotional impact
That humility resonates well with the public, focus group participants said.
A video they were shown earlier this year showed a mother who spoke only Spanish and her son, who spoke English, sitting in front of a wall decorated with a crucifix and family photos. The video deliberately avoided the sophisticated digital treatment common in advertisements and instead looked more like a low-budget documentary.
At one point student Kenny Funes said he never felt poor because his parents supported him, but he was surprised to learn that he qualified for a lot of financial aid because his family's income was low enough.
Another video was in Spanish and showed an undocumented student applying for state aid. This and other videos were unscripted and edited to be no longer than 75 minutes.
In a final video, a college student talked about dropping out of high school and then feeling inspired to resume his education. As you speak, focus group participants respond in real time to how the video content makes them feel.
Initially, the mood among the participants drops when the student describes the dead-end jobs he was working. Seconds later, the student remembers a phone call with his mother after she received distressing news from her doctor. That prompted him to return to college. The audience's mood begins to improve, responding well to the narrative arc of temporary setback and eventual triumph.
The researchers said that if the videos only emphasized success, they wouldn't connect as much with the audience. “When we feel like we're not alone, we feel like we can do it,” Pérez said. Sincerity encourages the audience to trust the student, which in turn encourages more people to complete the application, he added.
“I understand that frustration…not wanting to fill out the form,” said the student in the last video, Jesse Williams, about completing the financial aid application. “Because it is a process.”
Perez and some of the commissioners also agreed that reaching out to parents directly will force more students to ask for help.
“I feel like the only thing that stops a lot of students from trying, especially first-generation students, is that their parents don't even know where to start,” said Keiry Saravia, student commissioner.
“Parents are incredibly important and truly underutilized messengers,” Pérez stressed.
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