The following is excerpted from a blog by Spark451, a Jenzabar Company.
At the start of the fall 2025 recruitment cycle, the enrollment management world was still recovering from the FAFSA fallout of 2024.
Although the form seems to have operated smoothly this past cycle, with submissions returning to pre-pandemic levels, and is promised to return to its October 1 launch date, financial aid offices are still entering the fall 2026 cycle with trepidation. Why?
- Conversations about college affordability are more prominent than ever.
- Families (and, let’s be honest, schools as well) are wondering what changes might be coming to loan access and Pell requirements.
- Students and parents are actively discussing their financial aid offers on public forums like Reddit, asking what is normal and is it worth it, and looking for guidance on how to interpret confusing offer letters.
While all of that is out of our control, there is something we can control — how we communicate financial aid offers. Packages are currently sent in a few ways: a printed mailer, links to online portals, or a combination of the two. As families require more detailed information and clarity, more schools need to take their aid communication a step beyond by digitizing their print offer piece.
To understand why digitizing financial aid offers improves student engagement, read the full article here.
