The importance of financial aid to the enrollment decision remains high, and the amount of financial aid received has increased slightly. Schools are meeting family expectations for aid amounts at a slightly higher rate in 2018 than in previous surveys.
As in 2013, nearly nine out of 10 respondents reported that financial aid was extremely important in their ability to send their child to private school. Only 10 percent of parents who applied would be very or extremely likely to send their child to private school without receiving aid.
Those who applied but didn’t receive aid were more likely to say they’d still enroll, with 21 percent of them saying it was extremely likely that they would enroll without the aid.
Since most parents report that they couldn’t enroll their child without financial assistance, using financial aid to meet enrollment targets is increasingly necessary for schools. At the same time, most schools are feeling pressure to limit financial aid growth. Given these two competing realities, schools will need to better articulate their unique value proposition to convince families that their schools are worth the financial sacrifice, with or without aid.
Strategic Question
- To what degree does your tuition increase impact the demand for financial aid from your returning and new families? How does your price (and its growth) affect your ability to manage enrollment and financial aid demand?
Action Item
- Better align expectations about the financial aid process and results. Offer a financial aid calculator/estimator on your website. Brainstorm ways to increase parents’ sense of satisfaction with the aid process, other than making more dollars available.