A parent refreshes the financial aid portal again while their student scrolls through classmates' social media posts announcing their commitments. One student is showing off dorm décor. Another is posting orientation photos and college merch. Meanwhile, this family is trying to answer a very different question: "Can we afford this?"
That moment captures something institutions often underestimate about the college search process. Students may submit the applications, but families are deeply involved in interpreting what affordability means. They are helping students compare aid offers, understand loans, evaluate risk, and decide what feels financially manageable.
Strong Belief in College Meets Strong Doubts About Paying for It
As our recent post, Lost in Translation: Helping Students Make Sense of Financial Aid Offers, explored, understanding affordability is not simply about providing information. But once institutions make financial aid easier to understand, another question emerges: Are they communicating with the people helping students make those decisions?
Encoura’s research shows that 60% of students, early on, say they turn to parents or guardians when they have questions about college, making families the most common source of guidance overall. Students also consistently describe understanding college costs and figuring out how to pay for college as among the most stressful parts of the process, especially for first-generation students.
We have also found that families carry many of the same fears students do. More than 70% (up from 58% in 2022) say they have ruled out colleges based on sticker price, and 66% say stress over debt has negatively affected college planning. Despite these concerns, nearly eight in 10 families still believe that college is a worthwhile investment in their students' future.
The belief in higher education remains. The confidence in affordability does not.
That reality sits at the heart of Encoura’s College Affordability and Financial Aid Communication Practices Report, an institutional study of 154 institutions. Rather than focusing on what students and families believe about affordability, the study examines whether institutional communication practices reflect the role families play in affordability decisions.
The Gap Between What Institutions Provide and What Families Need
While institutions recognize the influence families have on college decisions, communication with parents and guardians remains inconsistent, limited, and often not designed to help families understand affordability with confidence.
Figure 1 illustrates this disconnect. First, only 17% of public institutions and 29% of private institutions say they frequently send cost and financial aid information directly to parents or guardians. What's more, 61% of public institutions and 40% of private institutions do not currently provide personalized affordability content for families.
At the same time, institutions acknowledge uncertainty about whether families understand affordability information. Only 11% of public institutions and 15% of private institutions say they feel very confident that they communicate affordability clearly to families.
How Institutions Communicate With Parents and Families
Do you send cost and aid information directly to parents or guardians?
| Response | Four-year public | Four-year private |
|---|---|---|
Yes, frequently | 17% | 29% |
Yes, occasionally | 34% | 36% |
No, but planning to | 4% | 14% |
No, and not planning to | 45% | 22% |
Do parents receive personalized financial or affordability content?
| Response | Four-year public | Four-year private |
|---|---|---|
Yes, frequently | 9% | 16% |
Yes, occasionally | 30% | 44% |
No, but planning to | 21% | 16% |
No, and not planning to | 40% | 24% |
How confident are you in your institution’s ability to communicate net cost and affordability to families?
| Response | Four-year public | Four-year private |
|---|---|---|
Very confident | 11% | 15% |
Confident | 26% | 43% |
Somewhat confident | 51% | 37% |
Not confident | 13% | 5% |
Not sure | 0% | 1% |
Figure 1.
Source: Encoura, 2026 College Affordability and Financial Aid Communication Practices Report
The consequences of this communication gap are most evident among the populations institutions most often say they want to support. More than one-third of first-generation families reports difficulty finding cost information, and nearly half struggle to locate financial aid resources. About 42% of low-income families struggle to find cost information, and more than half do not know where to find financial aid calculators or affordability tools.
Institutions themselves recognize this communication gap, acknowledging that the information families need is not always easy to find, personalize, or communicate in ways that build confidence.
Families Become Even More Important During Yield and Final Decision-Making
The final stages of the college planning process are often where affordability questions become most urgent and emotionally charged. Institutions do recognize how powerful family influence becomes during this stage.
Figure 2 shows that 62% of public institutions and 57% of private institutions report using summer melt text campaigns, while 60% of public institutions and 64% of private institutions offer dedicated financial aid office hours during yield. One-on-one affordability conversations are also common particularly at private institutions where 89% report offering them, compared with 56% at public institutions.
At the same time, there are gaps in the consistency with which institutions provide these supports. Only 31% of public institutions and 36% of private institutions report using parent-centered affordability content during yield, and relatively few institutions use personalized videos explaining financial aid or borrowing.
How Institutions Communicate With Parents and Families During Yield
Which yield-phase affordability or support strategies
does your institution use? (Select all that apply)
| Strategy | Four-year public | Four-year private |
|---|---|---|
AI-assisted chat or tools to answer affordability or next-step questions
during yield | 11% | 6% |
Dedicated financial aid office hours | 60% | 64% |
One-on-one affordability conversations | 56% | 89% |
Parent-centered affordability content | 31% | 36% |
Peer-to-peer affordability discussions | 7% | 8% |
Personalized scholarship updates | 36% | 55% |
Speed-to-lead workflows (an automated response within X minutes) | 2% | 6% |
Summer melt text campaigns | 62% | 57% |
Videos explaining award letters | 18% | 21% |
Videos explaining financial aid terminology | 18% | 10% |
Figure 2.
Source: Encoura, 2026 College Affordability and Financial Aid Communication Practices Report
The Bottom Line
Think back to the family at the beginning of this story. They're still sitting around the kitchen table trying to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. But this time, imagine the conversation is different. They easily find the net price calculator. They receive information that reflects their circumstances, and they know exactly whom to contact with questions.
They still have difficult decisions to make, but they are no longer making them in the dark.
That's the opportunity for institutions.
Here are five recommendations for institutions that can help provide the support students and families need:
- Start the conversation earlier. Help families understand college costs long before they have to make a decision.
- Personalize affordability. Help families understand what college might cost for them. Make your net price calculator easy to find, explain how to use it, and provide personalized estimates whenever possible.
- Talk to families, not just students. Parents and guardians are helping make these decisions. Make sure they're part of the conversation.
- Make borrowing easier to understand. Families need more than loan definitions. Show what borrowing could look like after graduation with simple examples and repayment estimates.
- Build confidence, not just awareness. The goal isn't simply to share information. It's to help families feel confident enough to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.
