She was just trying to get some information. Like everyone else, she goes in the Internet –
after all, when you don’t know something these days, you go on the Internet. After all, like this commercial from a few
years ago stated, if it’s on the Internet, it must be true!
Like many other families, her son is applying to college,
and she knows that soon, she will have to fill out the FAFSA – the financial
aid form. From her friends, she’s heard
so many things – it’s complicated, it’s long, not going to get aid anyway, etc.
The information her friends were giving her were making her
head spin. This counts, but not
that. That counts, but not this. You should do this before applying. No, don’t do that, do this instead.
To most, financial aid regulations are about as complicated
as the tax code – and the tax code is 70,000 pages! Of course people are confused.
Elsewhere, acronyms followed his name like medals hang on
the chest of a military general. He went
to schools that everyone would consider as prestigious. He has advanced degrees and clearly seems
like a very smart person.
Their paths crossed on an internet site where regular people
can ask and answer questions. I too have
looked at this site and answered an occasional question. People can rate answers and this guy – with the
string of letters behind his name and advanced degrees – was a popular and
highly ranked contributor.
So when she posted a question about college financial aid,
he was only too happy to oblige with an answer.
Of course, as a highly ranked contributor, many people hung on his every
word. His answer was eloquent, logical,
clear…and WRONG!
It was simply wrong.
The question was about student loans, and the types of terms offered.
Why does this happen?
Simply, it’s over-confidence.
There’s a term for this but basically, if someone is good at one thing,
they tend to think that they are good at everything. We see the string of letters and credentials
and think they must be really smart and good at this. But, how many of you would ask an excellent
plumber to perform open heart surgery on you?
And how many of you want a world class heart surgeon doing electrical
work at your house?
I shared a few tips with the mom, and encouraged her and her
friends to ask questions. After all,
just because someone is smart doesn’t mean they know what they are talking
about!
How often have you looked up things on the internet? Of those times, how often are you absolutely
certain you are getting the correct information?
In case you’re wondering, the mom is someone I spoke to
recently. The contributor has advanced
degrees in engineering and physics from a top engineering school - not finance
nor anything related to financial aid. For
followers of this engineer, it really was the blind leading the blind – they just
didn’t know it!
