Since it’s Financial Aid Day, we wanted to explore the history of this special day and how ScholarNet fits into the equation.
Financial Aid Day, also known as FAD, falls on the third Wednesday of every October, making it Oct. 21 for 2020. This is a special day to celebrate the contribution financial aid professionals make guiding students to achieve their dreams and helping institutions succeed. So, in case this isn’t said it enough, thank you for everything you do for students and their families.
This marks the 10th annual Financial Aid Day, as the first one dates back to 2010. The holiday was conceived by Neville Brown, president of the Eastern Association Student Financial Aid Administrators (EASFAA).
The sentiment behind the holiday was to have a day where financial aid professionals could do something special like have a party or meal together to celebrate their contributions to higher education. While something special is rather limited this year, it could be a nice excuse to have a virtual happy hour or meal with some of your colleagues this Financial Aid Day.
Extending the history lesson just a bit, financial aid in the United States goes all the way back to 1643, when Lady Ann Radcliffe Mowlson made a donation of £100 to help students pay for their Harvard education. As higher education has evolved over the past 300+ years, so too have the means of paying for higher education, like the College Scholarship Service, established in 1954, that provided low-income and minority students with university funding.
How ScholarNet fits into this equation is that we want to help make things easier for you in the financial aid office. We’re here to streamline and simplify the private student loan processing so you can spend more time helping students and their families get what they need. We know how important your job is, and that’s why you deserve this day to celebrate all that you do – so happy Financial Aid Day!