The Ethics of Financial Aid

I am sharing what I know to be the “ethics” of financial aid specific to the world of cosmetology.

Financial Aid is the topic today. Not where to find it, how to use it or the protocol of filing. It is the ethics of financial aid that I want address. However, because this is my first blog and I am an educator by nature, before beginning to write this blog I had to learn how to write a great blog.

According to the “wise ones” who write blogs, I need to write in one of three formats:

• Action or a DO
• Emotion of a FEEL
• Cognitive or to LEARN

For this blog I have chosen cognitive.

I chose this method because it burns my butt that there are postsecondary schools that make an accountable choice not to be ethical. I am qualified to write on this topic because I have been successfully guiding students thru the financial aid process for many decades. My 38 years as a private cosmetology school owner gives me the opportunity and skill set to identify the facts, not fiction. Simply put it is my nature to educate.

My First Thought:

When should the alarm should ring?

• When enrollment occurs before orientation!
• When you have to enroll to before you understand your financial aid sources!

Here Goes:

I recommend touring a school first and then filing for financial support, all forms, including private funding offered by private schools.

When choosing a school, prospective students should all do their homework first.

• Go the schools web site
  • Review the schools outcome rates. Identify Graduation, Licensure and Placement numbers.
  • Identify their loan default rate. Do these rates meet your standard?
  • Get basic information, class scheduling, cost and programs offered
• Connect with the school and do a Discovery Day at the school
• Do three different interviews
  • I call it IFO/Informational, Financial and Orientation Days.
  • Three different days.

Plan of Action:

#1 Informational Day

• Gather information and tour the campus
• Pre-write down your concerns
• Share your needs and professional goals
• You interview the person you meet with.

#2 Financial Support Day

• Choose your program and identify your financial concerns
• Identify and UNDERSTAND the financial aid package as it is offered by the school

#3 Orientation Day

• Make yourself aware of the attendance requirements, satisfactory academic policy etc.
• Are you willing or capable of doing the work that will end in your success?

Overview:

• Financial aid is a source available to those that qualify.
• It is meant to be a funding tool to help pay for postsecondary education.
• It is NOT an enrollment tool.
• Financial aid is filed by the applicant, NOT the school nor AT the school.
• The results of the financial aid application CAN be sent to the applicant’s school of choice, at time of filing or later.
• Read the outcome of your financial aid application!
• Understand it!
• Enroll in your school of choice and give it everything you’ve got!

We hope you enjoyed our 1st blog post! More to come and if you have any questions shoot us a line!

Janet Stemmer
COO/Don Roberts Beauty School and CEO/Don Roberts School of Hair Design