By Gracyn Van Bemmel<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAFSA delays and a phenomenon known as the \u201cbirth dearth\u201d are just a few factors that may negatively affect enrollment at Hood for the upcoming academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is used to determine students\u2019 eligibility for financial aid, was relaunched in December 2023 but has since experienced delays that worry students, parents and college employees.Currently only 183 students have submitted their enrollment deposits, which is a decrease from the 197 students who submitted their deposits for fall of 2023 at this same time in April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have seen some possible implications [that the FAFSA delays may affect enrollment],\u201d Bill Brown, the vice president of enrollment management, said. \u201cThere are fewer people that have filled out the FAFSA than have typically up to this time in other years. And if they don\u2019t fill out the FAFSA, they\u2019re likely not to go to college, at least for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown went on to say that the budget deficit that Hood is experiencing this semester was for \u201cmulti-pronged reasons.\u201d One of those reasons was a misallocation of financial aid, which was in response to students and families appealing for more money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cbirth dearth\u201d refers to a decrease in child-bearing that is impacting the number of students that are graduating from high school and progressing toward higher education. It is predicted that in 2026, the number of college-aged students will drop almost 15% in five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Elizabeth Gomer, who oversees visits and events, this concept was really introduced to college campuses in 2017. \u201cWe anticipated it that cliff in 2026, and that\u2019s what we would be looking at, and how colleges as a whole can be prepared for this and survive it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being part of any college\u2019s admissions team consists of constantly analyzing demographic trends such as this, as well as analyzing other, similar colleges to see how they are reacting to the changing demographics and challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the FAFSA delays. Additionally, they also heavily rely on feedback from the students and faculty that attend their campus, as well as the prospective students who are thinking about attending their campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hood\u2019s admissions team is always working to ensure that they\u2019re one step ahead of the curve. They\u2019re always trying to give prospective students and families the best experience when they visit Hood, and the way they do that, according to Brown, is that they recruit one person at a time. \u201cIt\u2019s not about selling anything, it\u2019s about asking questions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Payton Mills, the events specialist of admissions, the reason that the Blazer Ambassadors remained in the library even after the rest of the admissions team was relocated back to the Admissions House was due to current student and prospective student and family feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prospective students and their families felt that the library was a more welcoming space to check in for tours and that the Admissions House felt like a \u201cfuneral home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The admissions team is also constantly adjusting the organization and format of admissions events and visits based on student and family feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re meeting students where we are with the program we\u2019re offering,\u201d Mills said. \u201cIt would be very easy to fall into a pattern with our visits and events and do what we\u2019ve always done because that was successful. And it\u2019s not to say that those things aren\u2019t great\u2014they were successful\u2014but students need different things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An example of a recent change that was made is the tour route that Blazer Ambassadors follow when giving tours. According to Mills, the original route focused on academic, but the admissions team noticed and we told by experts that the hierarchy of needs had shifted to other college-related things besides academics, such as where the students were going to sleep, what the food was like, how the college will take care of the students and if the students will be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, the new tour route consists of showing residence life first and academics lasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of the event, whether it\u2019s a Discover Hood Day or Accepted Students Day or just a regular campus visit, there is one thing that has never changed: emphasizing the importance of one-on-one interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At events, prospective students and families get the opportunity to meet their admissions counselors and the admissions team, exchange emails and phone numbers, talk to the president of the college and current students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we say is: it\u2019s not what you say, it\u2019s how you make someone feel,\u201d Gomer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"