Student View of My Red Kite Dashboard for Target Colleges




The truth about financial aid is that the process is often mysterious, confusing and stress-inducing for over 90% of families in America needing monetary support in order for their teenagers to aspire to, apply for, and afford paying for college. Tuition and fees are notoriously pricey, and not knowing how to navigate the labyrinth results in millions of dollars every year of unclaimed aid across the US. That is, right when students need a transparent process to apply and identify their strategy for covering the gap between need and cost of attendance, it can feel overwhelmingly complex. That's where GATE College System's Red Kite support comes in.

The reason for these complexities is as simple as it is predicable: federal and state government agencies, as well as colleges and private lending institutions, all operate in such a way as to save and accrue as much money as possible for their own strategic purposes. Since the financial aid industry is one of the largest and most controversial financial sectors in America, and as the cost of higher education now looms over $50k a year, it is time for public high schools and nonprofits to leverage technologies that can offset student confusion and unfortunate under-aspiration that generally accompanies it. After all, America did not land itself in $1.5 trillion in student debt and counting because everyone knows what to do and when.

GATE's goal is simple: to empower parents, teachers and counselors to help students receive the maximum amount of financial aid available.

Take a look at the dashboard above. In one quick and easy glance, this student knows not only the cost of attendance (COA) but also the amount of aid bookmarked within the platform based on her unique demographic descriptors. She sees what's been applied for, what remains, and how much has been confirmed.



Looking at another image from within the platform, we see a color-coded record of what's already been submitted, what's pending, and what's next on the schedule to ensure maximum financial aid. Because students are able to leverage GATE's essay coaching and also apply directly within the platform, the time savings here is substantial. Since most 11th and 12th grade students are over-booked and under-rested, this tool offers not only financial support but a real quality of life impact as their stress decreases and clarity of a step-by-step process takes its place.


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