How to read a financial aid offer
Aid offers don't follow one format. This checklist helps you turn any offer into a four-year number you can compare.
1. Separate free money from money you repay
Grants and scholarships don't need to be repaid. Loans (federal Direct, Parent PLUS, private) and work-study are not discounts: loans are repaid with interest, and work-study is paid only as you work.
2. Find the full cost of attendance
Check that the offer lists tuition, fees, housing, food, books and transportation. Some offers list only direct (billed) costs, which makes the gap look smaller.
3. Calculate the net price
Net price = cost of attendance − grants and scholarships. That is what your family pays from savings, income or loans for one year.
4. Check whether each grant renews
Look for words like "renewable," minimum GPA, credit-hour or major requirements, and "first-year" awards. Ask the financial aid office in writing if it isn't clear.
5. Look at four years, not one
Multiply by four only after you account for grants that may shrink and published price increases. Each school page shows the college's historical gap between freshman and later-year grants, its tuition trend and its net price by income.
6. Compare with the college's calculator
Every college must post a net price calculator. If the offer is far from the calculator estimate, ask why.
General information, not financial advice or a recommendation about which college to choose. Confirm details with each college's financial aid office.
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