How to hire a finance aid coordinator

How to hire a finance aid coordinator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step finance aid coordinator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a finance aid coordinator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new finance aid coordinator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a finance aid coordinator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The finance aid coordinator hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect finance aid coordinator also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of finance aid coordinators and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Finance Aid Coordinator	Description	Hourly rate
   Finance Aid Coordinator		$14-23
   Finance Aid Officer	A finance aid officer helps students get financial aid. They procure scholarships and loan applications and help students to fill them out... Show more	$13-23
   Coordinator	Coordinators are responsible for liaising between the department they are assigned to and any other external party. They oversee projects or agreements... Show more	$12-29

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Financial Aid Programs
   • FAFSA
   • Work-Study
   • Financial Aid
   • Title IV
   • Student Loans
   • Scholarship
   • Data Entry
   • Professional Judgment
   • Exit Interviews
   • Financial Aid Eligibility
   • Student Accounts
   • Institutional Regulations
   • Financial Aid Applications

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage patient and insurance account receivables, perform patient account reconciliations, account audits, process insurance billing/correspondence.
   • Administer quality financial aid consulting to parents and students to ensure accurate completion of all necessary FAFSA documents.
   • Review, verify, and determine eligibility for FAFSA applications, distributing financial aid and award letters as necessary.
   • Work with disbursements, Pell over awards, and default management.
   • Post loan, Pell grant and SEOG grant payments to the student account summaries.
   • Add newly enroll students to NSLDS and to check for prior loans and/or defaults, prior to start.

   More finance aid coordinator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the finance aid coordinator job description is a good way to get more applicants. A finance aid coordinator salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a finance aid coordinator in South Dakota may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level finance aid coordinator. Additionally, a finance aid coordinator with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average finance aid coordinator salary

   $38,925yearly

   $18.71 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level finance aid coordinator salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average finance aid coordinator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$48,383	$23
   2	District of Columbia	$46,247	$22
   3	Rhode Island	$46,144	$22
   4	Massachusetts	$45,882	$22
   5	New Hampshire	$45,285	$22
   6	California	$43,319	$21
   7	Maryland	$42,502	$20
   8	North Dakota	$42,293	$20
   9	Nevada	$41,198	$20
   10	Pennsylvania	$38,039	$18
   11	Florida	$36,609	$18
   12	Colorado	$36,213	$17
   13	Iowa	$35,864	$17
   14	Tennessee	$34,236	$16
   15	Texas	$33,183	$16
   16	Wisconsin	$33,173	$16
   17	Louisiana	$32,939	$16
   18	Arizona	$32,645	$16
   19	South Carolina	$32,531	$16
   20	Georgia	$31,646	$15

   Average finance aid coordinator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Curry College	$51,881	$24.94
   2	Harvard University	$49,639	$23.86
   3	Mount Sinai Health System	$46,911	$22.55	1
   4	The City University of New York	$43,016	$20.68	16
   5	The George Washington University	$42,726	$20.54
   6	Providence College	$41,755	$20.07
   7	LA State University Continuing	$41,508	$19.96	11
   8	Clarke University	$41,007	$19.71
   9	Pima Medical Institute	$40,956	$19.69	3
   10	Morehouse School of Medicine	$40,777	$19.60
   11	Saint Anselm College	$40,754	$19.59
   12	University of Houston	$40,703	$19.57	7
   13	Seattle Pacific University	$40,458	$19.45
   14	Colorado State Express	$40,330	$19.39
   15	Truckee Meadows Community College	$39,865	$19.17
   16	University of North Carolina	$38,857	$18.68	3
   17	PSEA	$38,581	$18.55
   18	University of Central Florida	$38,277	$18.40	5
   19	Virginia's Community Colleges	$38,204	$18.37	6
   20	Tufts University	$37,959	$18.25	4

4. Writing a finance aid coordinator job description

   A job description for a finance aid coordinator role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a finance aid coordinator job description:

   Finance aid coordinator job description example

   This position will be responsible for support of customer service and within the financial aid office; and will directly assist the A ssociate Director of F inancial A id.
   ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   + This position is primarily tasked with managing daily customer service duties. This includes the telephone, in-person, email, real-time chat (Ocelot Chatbot), and over web-meeting software such as Zoom or TEAMS and providing accurate financial aid information to prospective and current parents and students.
   
   + This position is primarily responsible for reviewing and analyzing daily reports related to aid processing including but not limited to refund reports and disbursement error reports.
   
   + This position will review and process required documentation, and act as primary data entry specialist to resolve federal C-flags and State Grant eligibility (not limited to but will include selective service, DHS verification, citizenship verification, and EASE grant verification)
   
   + Assist the Associate Director (Compliance) with validation of unofficial withdrawals for timely Return to Title IV processing.
   
   + This position is primarily responsible for creating and maintaining student employment records in Banner for federal work-study hiring, as needed.
   
   + Responsible for the bi-monthly reconciliation of FWS funds in conjunction with Student Employment and Finance.
   
   + Responsible for the certifying and awarding of tuition exchange program funds, and the posting of tuition benefits for university employees.
   
   + Assist with all areas of Enrollment Management on special activities/projects; Some weekend hours are required.
   
   + Performs other site and position-specific functions as assigned.
   
   ROUTINE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   + Act as the primary person responsible for all initial customer service contacts via the telephone, in person, via email, real-time chat, and over web-meeting software such as Zoom or TEAMS
   
   + Provide accurate financial aid information to parents and students.
   
   + The tasks involved in this position are essentially sedentary, with occasional walking, bending, light-lifting or other restricted physical activities. Tasks are regularly performed without exposure to adverse environmental conditions and they do not require special sensory demands. Occasional travel to meetings required.
   
   Minimum Education: HS Diploma; Associate degree preferred.
   
   Required Skills
   
   + Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential.
   
   + Strong computer skills, including familiarity with Word, Excel, and Microsoft Outlook, are required. Banner and Slate experience is a plus.
   
   + Ability to function and appropriately prioritize in a fast-paced, high-volume environment required.
   
   + Must be a cooperative team player.
   
   Required Experience
   
   + Associates preferred but will consider one to three years of previous financial aid or higher education.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right finance aid coordinator for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with finance aid coordinators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit finance aid coordinators who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your finance aid coordinator job on Zippia to find and recruit finance aid coordinator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting finance aid coordinators requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new finance aid coordinator

   Once you've decided on a perfect finance aid coordinator candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new finance aid coordinator. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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