Every touchpoint with a student has the potential to impact their level of engagement, and that starts with the onboarding process. Your earliest interactions may have an outsized impact as students develop an understanding of where you fit into their future plans. From the start, it’s important to focus on the relationship-building that will serve […]
Every student you support is attending a college that will have an outsized impact on their path to a degree. As a college success advisor, imagine what would be possible if you had a direct line to those colleges. What if you could pick up the phone to make a warm hand-off, or coordinate on […]
Financial aid verification adds an extra step for students applying for college, a routine process that comes around again each year. For college success advisors, this is familiar territory, but the process is anything but routine for our students. We shouldn’t forget what an unnerving experience it can be for students who may perceive verification […]
When supporting students’ college persistence, it’s important to recognize where your goals overlap with those of their institution and how you can partner effectively. Most college success programs are exceptionally responsive to their students’ needs, but their services are unlikely to match the breadth of offerings at a college campus. Imagine if your advisors had […]
When a student is struggling in college, it can take a lot of courage to ask for help. It’s not easy to overcome insecurities and self-doubt to admit that their grades are suffering. Financial difficulties, mental health struggles, and family problems can leave a student feeling vulnerable. Whatever the challenges they are facing, their college […]
College success advising is both an art and a science. The most effective advisors bridge technical expertise, from degree planning to financial aid verification, with the interpretation, empathy, and heart that make it possible for them to connect with students. It takes a certain kind of person to do this work well, but the blending […]
College students have been pushed to their limits over the past year and the pandemic has demonstrated their determination and resourcefulness like never before. This is true both in the ways they persevered through new challenges, but also in the ways they no longer could, as longstanding workarounds and fragile support systems were put to […]
The beginning of the fall semester is likely to leave many college students feeling vulnerable. Amid public health concerns, social isolation, and increasing financial insecurity, along with a national reckoning when it comes to racial inequity, many students have struggled with anxiety and depression in recent months. As coronavirus cases spike across the country, college […]
For millions of students each year, college can seem out of reach before completing one important step — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It may seem unceremonious, but this application can unlock grants, scholarships, federal work-study, and federal student loans, all helping to cover the cost of a college education. As an […]
Adjusting to life in the era of COVID-19 has been challenging for everyone, but it’s especially difficult for students from low-income backgrounds and those already at risk of not completing their college degrees. Almost immediately, the pandemic upended these students’ entire lives. As campuses closed, many found themselves without housing — some hundreds of miles […]