Ardeo News
Why students and families need reassurance, not just affordability information.
Author: Raquel Bermejo, Ed.D., Director of Thought Leadership, Encoura
A student sits at the kitchen table late at night with their parent, calculator open, multiple college website tabs open, trying to answer one question: “Can we actually do this?”
Not whether college matters, most students still believe it does; in fact, 80% of students still say college is a worthwhile investment in their future (Encoura, Ardeo, & NextGrad, 2026). But belief alone is no longer enough.
Today’s students and families are not simply evaluating the promise of higher education. They are evaluating the financial risk attached to it. They are asking whether pursuing an opportunity could damage their future before it even begins.
And right now, too many institutions are still approaching affordability conversations the way they always have –late in the process, heavily focused on information, and built on the assumption that students and families will eventually figure it out.
But the data across three recent national studies tells a very different story. Institutions believe they are communicating about affordability. Students and families are telling us something else entirely: they still do not feel safe, confident, or reassured enough to move forward.
That gap matters because students and families are no longer waiting for clarity. They are making decisions without it, and they are walking away.
INSTITUTIONS ARE TALKING ABOUT LOANS. STUDENTS ARE FEELING THE FEAR.
The 2026 Affordability Poll shows that nearly every institution communicates information about borrowing to prospective students and families. On paper, that sounds encouraging, right? But when you look closer, the conversation is still heavily focused on mechanics, not reassurance.
Most institutions explain federal loan types, many discuss Parent PLUS loans, but very few communicate the things students and families are desperately trying to understand:
- What will repayment actually feel like?
- What happens if I struggle financially after graduation?
- What protections exist if life does not go according to plan?
- How do I know this debt will not follow me for decades?
Only:
- 9% of public institutions and 22% of private institutions communicate estimated monthly repayment amounts.
- Only 16%–17% communicate projected debt at graduation. (Encoura, 2026)
Meanwhile, students (Encoura, Ardeo, & NextGrad, 2026) are carrying an enormous emotional weight around borrowing.
- 72% of students report to be somewhat or very anxious about taking out student loans.
- 70% are anxious about paying those loans back after college.
- 60% have already ruled out colleges because of the amount of loans they would need to borrow.
That last number should stop every enrollment leader in their tracks! Students are not rejecting institutions because they do not value education. They are rejecting uncertainty.
FIRST-GENERATION FAMILIES ARE CARRYING THE HEAVIEST BURDEN
The emotional divide becomes even more visible when you look at first-generation students and families.
First-generation students consistently report higher anxiety around borrowing and repayment than continuing-generation students.
And their families are feeling it too. The 2025 Prospective Family Engagement Study (2025) found:
- 74% of first-generation families report stress about taking out loans for college.
- 68% say debt stress is negatively impacting college planning itself.
This is one of the most important realities institutions must confront: For many families, affordability is not just a financial calculation; it is emotional risk management. It is the fear of making the wrong decision. Fear of burdening a child. Fear of creating debt that changes a family’s future. Fear of stepping into a system they do not fully understand.
And when institutions fail to address those fears directly and early, families do what humans naturally do under uncertainty: They retreat to what feels safer.
That often means:
- choosing a lower-cost option,
- staying closer to home,
- avoiding borrowing altogether,
- or eliminating institutions before applying.
Not because those institutions lacked value, but because the risk felt too unclear.
STUDENTS AND FAMILIES ARE ASKING FOR A SAFETY NET
Here is what makes this disconnect so striking: Students and families are telling institutions exactly what would help.
When students (Encoura, Ardeo, & NextGrad, 2026) learned about Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs), the response was immediate and powerful:
- 74% said they would be interested in receiving a program like this.
- 63% said they would prefer attending a college that offered one.
- Nearly half said it would influence where they enroll.
Families responded similarly (RNL, Ardeo, & CampusESP, 2025):
- 66% said they would be interested in receiving an LRAP as part of the financial aid package.
- 61% said they would favor a college offering one.
- Among first-generation families, that jumps to 75%.
That is not a niche finding. That is a flashing signal from the market. Students and families are not asking institutions to eliminate all financial risk. They are asking institutions to acknowledge it. To share it. To show that support does not end once tuition is paid. And that changes the emotional equation entirely.
Because an LRAP is not just a financial aid tool, it is a message, it says: “We believe in your future enough to stand beside you after graduation too.” That matters emotionally, especially to students who are trying to decide whether college feels possible at all.
Many institutions still approach affordability communication as an information-delivery challenge. But students and families are showing us something deeper. The problem is not simply access to information. It is whether the information creates confidence.
You can explain loans perfectly and still leave a family terrified. You can send award letters and still fail to answer the emotional question underneath: “Will we be okay if we do this?” That is why the institutions that will stand out over the next decade are not necessarily the ones that communicate more; they will be the ones that help students and their families feel safer moving forward.
WHAT INSTITUTIONS NEED TO DO NOW
This is not about adding one more brochure or webpage. It is about redesigning affordability communication around emotional understanding, long-term reassurance, and human clarity.
Here are five practical shifts institutions should make immediately:
#1: Stop Treating Borrowing Conversations Like Fine Print
Students are already thinking about debt long before enrollment.
Bring borrowing conversations earlier into the search process:
- estimated repayment examples,
- projected debt ranges,
- simple explanations of what repayment looks like,
- realistic salary and career context.
Do not wait until the award letter; by then, many students have already emotionally eliminated you.
#2: Explain Risk Reduction, Not Just Aid Packages
Families want to know: “What happens if things go wrong?”
That means discussing:
- repayment protections,
- financial wellness support,
- career outcomes,
- emergency support,
- and LRAP-style safety nets.
Affordability is not just about lowering cost; it is about lowering fear.
#3: Build Financial Aid Communication for First-Generation Interpretation
First-generation families are navigating unfamiliar systems with higher anxiety and less inherited knowledge about college financing.
That means institutions should:
- simplify language,
- avoid jargon,
- use visuals and videos,
- explain terms repeatedly across channels,
- and create family-centered explanations.
If families cannot confidently explain their financial aid offer to each other at the dinner table, your communication is still too complicated.
#4: Treat LRAPs as Enrollment Strategy, Not Just Financial Aid Strategy
The data is clear: Students and families respond strongly to institutional risk-sharing. LRAPs communicate something students desperately want to hear: “You will not be alone after graduation.”
For institutions trying to reach:
- first-generation students,
- middle-income families,
- debt-sensitive students,
- and students questioning college value,
This is not just a support program; it is a trust-building strategy.
#5: Remember That Affordability Is Emotional Before It Is Mathematical
Students do not experience affordability through spreadsheets alone.
They experience it through stress, through family conversations, through uncertainty, through fear of regret, and through whether the future feels stable or fragile.
The institutions that understand this will communicate differently; they will be more human, more direct, more reassuring, more transparent, and more willing to share responsibility for outcomes. Those institutions will not just recruit more students; they will earn more trust.
Because right now, students and families are telling higher education something important: “We still believe in college. We just need to believe college believes in us too.”
Sources:
Encoura, Ardeo, & NextGrad. (2026). 2026 students’ perceptions of college financing [Report coming September 2026]. Encoura.
Encoura. (2026). 2026 college affordability and financial aid communication practices report: How colleges communicate cost, aid, and value. Encoura.
RNL, Ardeo, & CampusESP. (2025). 2025 prospective family engagement study. Ruffalo Noel Levitz.
