@CC_Sorin
Maybe it’s me…but since you changed the name from Financial aid/scholarships to Paying for College, it seems like there are far fewer posts inquiring about financial aid…and scholarships…period.
Is anyone looking at the metrics of this to see if this name change is worthwhile?
Usually at this time of the year, there are many questions about special circumstances, reconsideration of need based aid, etc. I really haven’t even seen that many about the FSA mess as before the name change…and there still are issues.
I’m concerned that this name change isn’t drawing the same numbers that the former name did.
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@thumper1, thanks for reaching out. We do look at these metrics and it does not seem like the change has an impact (we just implemented a week or so ago). We restructured the forum following a study group conclusion with our community experts @Mwfan1921, @kelsmom, @jym626, @tamagotchi, @DramaMama2021. The goal is to expand the resources to not only Financial Aid & Scholarships. Contrary to last time when we did it, this time we have created a Financial Aid subcategory so all questions regarding that component of Paying for College can be asked there. I’ll post a general announcement on this in the upcoming days.
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I admit that I was confused when I couldn’t find Financial Aid after the change - but Paying for College does make sense as the overall category. I feel like there are fewer people asking questions than there used to be (not in terms of weeks - more like months or years ago) - but not sure if that’s accurate or if it is, why it is.
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@CC_Sorin OK…so on the last week there have been maybe three if that posts in Paying for College.
Here is my opinion…this section is a little too restrictive. Folks used to ask where they could find scholarships for certain stats…or what colleges provided auto merit, for example. Those things just aren’t on the current list.
I think it’s worth changing it back to Financial Aid and Scholarships. See if the traffic picks up again. This is the time of the year when folks are asking about special circumstances considerations. It’s also when some Juniors are starting to look for advice on college aid. . There should be someplace for folks to inquire about scholarships at colleges…amounts and what it takes to get them. Am I missing that.
@kelsmom what am I missing?
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National Merit is a beast in itself. It was briefly moved into “Financial Aid (need based, merit aid, loans).” Fortunately it is back into its own sub forum again. Unfortunately, whomever moved it used the title, “National Merit Aid” which is confusing. It is not a national program for merit aid. It is a scholarship program of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation that is based on 11th grade PSAT scores. It should be titled “National Merit Scholarship.”
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I do feel like things have dropped off. Maybe it is related to the name change, but I don’t know. It does feel very quiet compared to past years at this time.
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Thanks for the feedback, @lkg4answers! I updated the category name.
@thumper1, why is Paying for College restrictive? We changed the title to broaden the scope. Financial Aid & Scholarships would have been restrictive to just that, while P4C is broader.
And there is. If someone wants to post their FA questions, they still have a dedicated forum where they can do so. It’s called Financial Aid (Need-Based, Merit Aid, Loans).
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i think its dropped off, unfortunately, because of the FB group with a very similar name. that group is nonstop, and nuts. Smart to add this name change here. I will add that on some of the fb posts, i’ll mention coming over here for in-depth thoughts on different schools.
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Thanks for recommending CC, @bgbg4us! Appreciate it! 
Yes, the P4C FB group can be seen as a competitor. We actually partnered w/ them on some initiatives recently. I’m going to open this up for community input, so would value any feedback:
Is there anything that would make the FA experience on CC better? Any topics would like us to cover? Bring in more FA experts? Host webinars or forum AMAs?
I have been on the FB P4C page but left because much of the info is inaccurate.
To me CC seems superior re: financial aid…people can ask questions anonymously (which is an advantage when you are dealing with finances IMO) and get accurate answers (avoiding the nonsense/inaccurate info on that FB page.)
It’s a matter of getting the word out and making it easy for people to find info (which I know is a goal of the renaming/reorg of CC’s Paying for College forum and subforums). I have no expertise sadly in how to market/get more eyes on CC’s FA sections.
I do think having events is good marketing…so a school FA person, webinars, AMAs all can work.
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Have you noticed…no one is using this forum anymore. 1 or 2 posts in a week…that’s pathetic. Clearly, something isn’t resonating with the users.
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Well…it doesn’t look like anyone has…at least this last week.
Or people just don’t know about the CC and/or the paying for college section.
The two most popular forums on CC (right now) seem to be Applying to College and Comparing College Offers. Both involve a financial component. I wonder if pinning a post in the popular forums, with info about the resources available in P4C, might help drive traffic there.
Edit to add that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add a pinned post about P4C in the Chance Me/Match Me forum as well.
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Is it possible to have two separate names in the drop down that go to the same forum? Can you have Paying for College and Financial Aid, both going to the same forum?
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Unfortunately, this change has nothing to do with it (as traffic to this section was bad before the name change). Compared to last time when we changed the name, this time we actually have a Financial Aid forum, so users interested in that can easily find the category and post there (if they don’t like the P4C).
Let’s work to revive the FA/P4C category, so, as said, appreciate your input!
I respond to just about every post on that forum. And I often suggest people post their queries there. Hoping the traffic picks up.
I see it…I hope others do also.
I actually miss the very good give and take that forum has had.
@thumper1 There is a parent in the 2025 forum that just asked about merit aid. I directed her to the P4C forum and tagged you.