Staff Excellence: Division of Financial Aid

Purdue’s commitment to affordability and accessibility is matched by its team of dedicated, caring financial aid professionals who work year-round to ensure Boilermakers can pursue their dreams by minimizing debt and easing the burden of financial stress. 

The Division of Financial Aid, made up of 41 full-time staff and 20-25 student employees, supports students from recruitment to graduation, delivering financial aid accurately and expediently to ensure access to a world-class education. Whether they’re meeting with families, answering phone calls and emails or packaging students’ eligibility for a variety of federal, state and institutional aid programs, the team strives to enable student success and stand out as a leader in financial aid delivery.

“We truly make it our mission to help Purdue be accessible for everyone, and we take that very seriously,” says Heidi Carl, executive director of financial aid for the West Lafayette campus. “We don’t want any student who wants to pursue a Purdue degree to not be able to attain that because of a lack of financial resources. Making sure they have a world-class education is to ensure that they’re not encumbered with so much debt that it’s hard for them to move forward after graduation.”

During the 2022-23 academic year, the Division of Financial Aid processed 132,449 Free Applications for Financial Aid (FAFSAs) and delivered aid to 34,124 recipients, meeting the financial needs for 78% of first-year students. The office distributed more than $181 million in gift aid from scholarships, grants and awards from federal, state, institutional and private sources for undergraduate, graduate and professional students; over $180 million in loans; and more than $466 million in total financial aid. And thanks in part to their work, 64% of undergraduate students graduated debt-free.

Meanwhile, student peer counselors answered questions through 31,769 phone calls and 23,380 emails, and financial aid counselors facilitated 3,247 office visits. Carl says these numbers reflect her team’s exceptional ability to meet students where they are and smoothly guide them along their financial aid journey. 

“We really are kind, compassionate individuals who are ready to help,” Carl says. “We know it can be a tricky business to understand, but we’re here to support and here to help and partner with others as best we can. We are always focused first on serving students, so that’s at the core of everything we do.” 

Beyond their work in the office, Division of Financial Aid staff members also regularly give presentations to help students and families better understand financial aid. Last year, the team hosted 79 outreach events on campus and at local high schools and community venues. 

Kind, intelligent and compassionate are words that Carl uses to describe members of her team. Every day, they strive to ensure the financial needs and concerns of students and families are met, and their commitment to making a positive difference in Boilermakers’ lives propels the university’s pursuit of excellence forward. For many of them, it’s a personal mission that stems from their own experiences as college students.

“I was a child of a single-parent small-business owner, and I would’ve never made it through college without the help of wonderful financial aid professionals,” Carl says. “I know that’s true of others on our staff as well, so it’s almost like a personal mission to give back and propel the next generation forward.”