Student financial aid offices deal in big numbers. Not just financial numbers, but massive files of FAFSA data coming into and out of large databases, hundreds, sometimes thousands of incoming and outgoing documents including student requests, requests for further information and financial aid award letters. Most college financial aid offices virtually hum with efficiency. With this in mind, it is also the role of the financial aid office staff to treat you, the consumer, with individual care and respect. Sometimes, in the hectic pace and hyper efficiency, stopping to help one student with a specific problem is like trying to stop a train to let a bunny cross the tracks. It’s a good idea and the right thing to do, but often more difficult to achieve than it should be. Train analogy aside, good financial aid offices have specially trained staff ready to help students and parents with special requests, one-on-one counseling, budgeting and financial literacy programs. In an era where most of the financial aid process is online and impersonal, meeting with a financial aid counselor or specialist can be a refreshing and informative experience for both the student and the parent.
» Read more: Student Financial Aid – The College Financial Aid Office Is Under Utilized