Almost exactly a year ago, Clarity’s CEO, Brennan Stark, and I hosted a luncheon for admission directors representing about a dozen of the largest schools in the Philadelphia market. We were introducing a new financial aid platform and in May of 2022, the product had not even officially launched yet, so we were showcasing the design prototype only. The initial reactions were very positive and the group took some time to discuss. It’s important to note that Philadelphia is one of the most highly saturated markets for independent schools in the country with many crossover applicants so this was a major decision that impacted all schools.
The consensus coming from the meeting was to allow Clarity a year to work through the pilot year bumps and then revisit. As it turned out, a few schools decided to become our first movers in the Philly market despite the vast majority of their peers staying with the previous system.
Fast-forward to today, and Philadelphia features more Clarity schools than most other major metro markets and that is due in large part to those who were willing to pilot the system last year and the incredibly positive feedback from families who applied.
We are seeing similar patterns in markets all over the country and it really comes down to a few schools being willing to be the first to make a switch and experience how Clarity is changing the landscape of financial aid for schools and families.
Check out this video to hear more directly from our Philadelphia market early adopters!