Financial Aid Form Revisited

By: Tucker Gibbs, Tina Huang, Clark Wu

Last winter, Track and Field Head Coach and Chair of Physical Education Department, Hillary Hall, realized that a group of athletes on her team needed performance-level sneakers in order to compete. 

“In coordination with the Athletic Training staff, the F.A. [financial aid] office gave us permission to take a group of athletes on F.A. to a running specialty shoe store in Haverhill, MA,” she said. “They were able to be fitted by experts and didn’t have to stress about the bill. We all were really grateful for that!”

While this particular request was out of the ordinary scope of requests the Financial Aid office receives for Exeter students, the office receives many requests each month, ranging from instruments for music lessons, to eyeglasses and sports equipment, to winter coats and other cold weather necessities. The Financial Aid form, available on ExeterConnect, was designed to streamline student requests, but many teachers, coaches, and advisers say they are still relying on previous and more informal methods to ask for needed items for their students and athletes. Some adults even cover expenses out of their own pocket if a financial aid request is denied.

“While most of this funding comes through the Office of Financial Aid, other departments such as the College Counseling Office, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Religious and Spiritual Life and the Office of Equity and Inclusion have some limited funding which has occasionally been used to support financial aid students as well,” said the initial email sent announcing the forms release.

The students and faculty have different experiences with financial aid--some getting the assistance they need, others confused on where to go. For one, the Office of Multicultural Affairs can only fund requests that fall under their responsibility. These discrepancies raise a question of equity. The Financial Aid Non-Tuition form, though functioning, has not increased the efficiency of fund-request due to low student and staff awareness. 

English Instructor Christine Knapp commented on the relationship between equity and publicity. “Regarding the online form, we want to have fairness... I believe any system that tries to make sure all students have an awareness of what funds are available and how they can obtain assistance makes our practices more equitable and inclusive,” she said.

Due to the non-tuition form’s recent release, Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo believes its impact will improve over time. “It's brand new,” she said. “They’re working out the kinks, my guess is that it will speed up.”

Lembo described the range of reasons students can utilize the form for. “If [students] need a winter coat, [they can] use that form,” she said. “If they need new glasses, [they can] use that form. What I hate seeing is students going, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t do this, it’s expensive and it’s my fault that my glasses broke.’ We’re fortunate to have generous donors who have given money for the students. I never want to see a student cold during the winter.”

The Office of Multicultural Affairs has been vocal about this particular student need, posting in an Instagram Story, “It’s cold out” and “Here is a friendly reminder that you can request funds through the financial aid link (in bio) to get winter gear.”

Knapp, a former International Student Coordinator at PEA, noted especially the difficult experience for international students on financial aid. “We don't have very many international students on financial aid, but I think they face unique challenges partly because they often don't have family in the United States,” Knapp said. “We tried very hard to match those students with host families, [who were] often very generous, and helped those students to get things that they needed.”

Some students in need of financial aid go to their advisors. “If it’s my advisee, we go to Financial Aid,” said English instructor Courtney Marshall. “I was telling the group of seniors that if they know of someone who doesn’t have blankets or pillows to send them to me directly.  I’m happy to get them what they need whether I know them or not, whether Financial Aid covers it or not. I don’t like seeing people go without the things they need.”

Knapp acknowledged the limits of the requests the Financial Aid Office can handle. “It's impossible for us to raise all students to the same level,” said Knapp “But sometimes we would get compelling requests, and they didn't fall under what the financial aid office can reasonably promise to every student. The question then becomes: where should we draw the line?”

Financial constraints also apply to classes such as art. In art classes, students may have difficulty buying within the class’s provided budget. “My medium is fashion design, so I had to buy fabrics, zippers, and that stuff can get really expensive fast,” said senior Ramyanee Mukherjee. “I wanted to make two pieces originally, but there was no way that could fit in the budget they were giving us.”

Other students believe the Academy’s Financial Aid system has been accommodating students well. “I’m very grateful for all the support the school has already provided me,” said senior Mai Hoang. “I actually think it’s pretty crazy the amount of resources this school is just throwing at us.”

Within clubs, if Student Activities and club funding cannot subsidize for trip of material fees, club advisors and co-heads often advise student members to go through with the Financial Aid Office’s standard process rather than to the new electronic form. “When we email the ski club members about the trip, we inform students that they can apply for aid through the financial aid office,” Ski Club advisor and History Instructor Nolan Lincoln said. 

Different types of clubs, academic, cultural, or interest-based, standardized this process. However, there remain cases where Financial Aid cannot cover these non-tuition fees. If so, “[within MUN], the student is responsible for finding funding,” Model UN club advisor Eve Southworth said. Students can seek additional funding via the Principal’s Discretionary Fund, Phillips Church, OMA, or directly through the Committee for Community, Equity and Diversity.

A certain few long-standing, influential clubs, enjoy the benefits of alumni and school endorsement and circumvents the Student Activities or Financial Aid funding issue altogether. “The Debate Club receives a budget from pre-existing endowed funds for debate,” Club Advisor Betty Luther-Hillman said. “Debate is actually a ‘department’ in the school's budget structure, just like the history, science, and English departments.”

Although many on campus believe the form is a step towards helping students in need of aid, it remains difficult for some. “I still think that it may be hard for some [students] to reach out,” Mukherjee said. “They might feel like it’s not worth it to ask for money.”