HESC Debuts Its First Financial Aid Podcast
Joanne Razzano
In late March, HESC expects to debut the first in a series of high-quality financial aid video and audio podcasts that will be available for download to portable devices and computers from HESC.org. HESC will be one of the few guaranty agencies making this vital information available to its audiences in a portable format.
High school counseling offices, colleges and lenders will be able to link their Web sites to HESC’s podcast landing page, making the podcasts available to their customers and students. Distributing information this way has the potential of reaching thousands of students and their families.
The first episode is called Introduction to College Financial Aid and includes a step-by-step guide to completing the FAFSA and New York TAP online forms.
This video podcast features Heather McDonnell, president of the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA) and director of the Office of Financial Aid at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.
“Making financial aid information available to students and families in a multimedia format accessible through their video iPods and computers is an important step in educating the public about available college resources,” said McDonnell. “I’m excited to be part of the first of HESC’s podcasts.”
Other podcasts in the series will cover topics such as entrance and exit interviews, avoiding identity theft, and other financial literacy themes.
It’s no secret podcasting is evolving rapidly. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, “more than 22 million Americans own iPods or mp3 players, and 29 percent of them have downloaded podcasts from the Web so they could listen to audio [and video] files at a time of their choosing.”
Nearly half of people between the ages of 18 and 28 who own a portable media device have downloaded podcasts, compared to the 20 percent of those over the age of 29 who have done so.
Clearly, the primary beneficiaries of HESC’s services – college and pre-college students and their families – are most likely to be helped by the financial aid information HESC will provide via podcasting.