Anxiety over FAFSA used to afflict only the students and families who had to fill out that complex financial aid application. But the U.S. Department of Education botched this year’s launch of a new system for processing FAFSA applications, causing months-long delays in federal aid eligibility data to colleges and universities.
Anxiety soon spread to higher education admissions offices. Without eligibility data, it was impossible to finalize financial aid offers, which often make or break an accepted student’s decision to enroll. And without that data, Allied Pixel could not produce the personalized financial aid videos that our higher ed clients rely on for their students and families.
FAFSA data was finally released in late March. Admissions offices scrambled to complete in weeks a financial aid award process that normally takes months, then inform accepted students via mail, email, text and personalized video.
Knowing that Allied Pixel would be handed the baton to run the anchor leg for personalized videos, our team and our partners at Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) used the months of waiting to bolster our internal processes. Even so, go-time meant delivering hundreds of thousands of individual videos in one-third the usual time. It was all hands on deck. Working late into the evenings and through the weekends, our team delivered for every client.
For students and families, the college decision is often fraught with anxiety, and this year it was frantic as well. I like to think we did our part to ease the situation by creating videos that walked each family through the breakdown of costs and clearly explained every type of aid being offered. Having made an informed decision, students and families can now look forward with excitement to the next chapter in their lives.
Come visit us at these conferences in July
We hope to see you at one of these higher ed conferences next month.
EDUWeb Summit
July 9-11, Philadelphia
We’re exhibiting and look forward to talking with clients and anyone interested in learning how personalized video can boost the success of higher ed enrollment, athletic recruitment, financial aid, fundraising and alumni efforts.
RNL National Convention
July 23-25, Dallas
Please visit us in the exhibit hall and plan to attend our three presentations:
- Redefining Relationships: Maximizing Student Engagement through Personalized Video Strategies
- Personalized Financial Aid Offer Videos: A New Era of Financial Aid Communication
- Harnessing Personalization: Elevating Your Fundraising Efforts with Data-Driven Video
National Small College Enrollment Conference
July 30-31, Charlotte
Please visit us in the exhibit hall and plan to attend our two Special Sessions:
- Crafting Connection: How Personalized Videos Transform Student Engagement and Enrollment
- Financial Aid Offer from Paper to Pixel: The Benefits of Personalized Financial Aid Videos
Welcome new clients!
And that’s a wrap. As always, I love hearing from you. Please write me anytime.
Best regards,
