Financial Aid Strategy

In over 15 years of financial aid modeling, Hardwick-Day has rarely seen a situation in which grant aid accounted for more than 20 percent of the variance in matriculation. Stated another way, aid is 20 percent of the decision—other factors account for 80 percent.

As a result, although Hardwick-Day starts with setting efficient award targets, the firm approaches aid optimization engagements as extended relationships through which principals involve clients in serious assessments of how the institution presents and communicates its value and difference in the marketplace; how the admissions operation segments its prospective students, follows its recruitment plan, and builds relationships with students; and how the institution delivers its financial aid packages and counsels families.

Hardwick-Day provides management information, tactical discipline, and help in managing the risks and rewards associated with strategic pricing. This approach does not depend on easy routes like increasing aid to increase enrollment. Indeed, the firm is proudest of those engagements in which it has helped clients reduce discount and improve academic profile within absolute limits on total enrollment. Hardwick-Day principals and analysts gain a lot of satisfaction from helping clients realize their true value in the marketplace.

While the firm applies the same underlying analytic methodology in each engagement, the questions and objectives posed by each institution differ significantly. Each engagement produces a unique analysis and an institution-specific set of recommendations for financial aid award targets, communication, and delivery strategies—as well as recommendations for integrating enrollment strategies into broader campus planning.